ett dagis

Definition & meaning

Dagis is a familiar, informal Swedish word for a preschool or daycare center—a place where young children are cared for and take part in educational activities while their parents are at work or otherwise unavailable.

The official, standard term in Sweden is förskola ↗. Dagis is still very common in everyday speech.

Grammar & Word origin

Dagis is a noun: ett dagis (“a preschool”). Its plural form is also dagis; the definite forms are dagiset (“the preschool”) and dagisen (“the preschools”).

The word is a colloquial shortening related to daghem ?, literally “day home.” The ending -is is used in Swedish to form informal words.

Synonyms & antonyms

• förskola ? — the standard and official term; less colloquial than dagis.
• daghem ? — an older term for a daycare center, and the source associated with the informal word dagis.
• barnomsorg ? — “childcare” more generally; it refers to the care service, not necessarily a particular preschool.

There is no direct antonym for dagis.

Common phrases & collocations

• gå på dagis ? — to attend preschool or daycare.
• lämna på dagis ? — to drop a child off at daycare.
• hämta på dagis ? — to pick a child up from daycare.
• dagispersonal ? — daycare or preschool staff.