Klartext, 8 Sidor or NÖVA? Easy Swedish news, compared
Following the news in easy Swedish is one of the best daily habits for learning the language. The stories matter to your life in Sweden, the same words come back day after day, and you always have something to talk about at fika. There are three good ways to build the habit: Klartext, 8 Sidor and NÖVA. They are good at different things, and this guide is honest about which.
First, so you can weigh what we say: this guide is written by NÖVA. Klartext and 8 Sidor are excellent free public services. We use them ourselves and recommend both.
Klartext: the news read aloud, calmly
Klartext is Sveriges Radio's news programme in easier Swedish. Every weekday there is a short new episode where the day's most important news is read slowly and clearly, with simpler words than the ordinary bulletins. You can listen on the radio, on the web or as a podcast.
Klartext is the strongest choice for listening practice. It costs nothing and asks nothing of you, which makes it easy to keep as a habit on the commute or while cooking. What it cannot do is adapt to you. Everyone hears the same broadcast, and there is no way to check whether you understood or to use the new words yourself.
8 Sidor: the easy-to-read newspaper
8 Sidor is Sweden's easy-to-read newspaper. It has existed since 1984 and is published today by MTM, the Swedish Agency for Accessible Media. New articles appear every weekday on the web, covering politics, sport, culture and the world, and there is a weekly paper edition.
8 Sidor is written in lättläst svenska for everyone who needs simpler text, not only language learners. It is the strongest choice for reading volume: many short articles, every weekday, free. Like Klartext it is one-way. The text does not know your level, and when you have read it, the reading is the whole exercise.
NÖVA: the news as a conversation
NÖVA retells a small selection of today's real Swedish news in simple Swedish, around level B1, and always links to the original article. Reading the daily edition is free.
The difference comes after the reading. NÖVA asks what you think, and you answer in Swedish. It replies calmly, corrects one thing at a time rather than everything at once, and asks a question back. Over time it learns your Swedish and meets you where you are. The news stops being only reading material and becomes something you use the language on.
NÖVA is built for adults living in Sweden, roughly A2 to C1, who want to go from following the news to talking about it. The conversation has a free trial and then costs money, which is how NÖVA stays free of ads, streaks and gamification.
Side by side
| Klartext | 8 Sidor | NÖVA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Radio news in easier Swedish | Easy-to-read newspaper | News retellings with a tutor to talk to |
| Medium | Audio, with short texts | Text | Text, interactive |
| New content | Every weekday | Every weekday | Every day |
| Adapts to your level | No | No | Yes, in the conversation |
| You use your own Swedish | No | No | Yes, with gentle corrections |
| Price | Free | Free | Reading is free, the tutor has a free trial |
Which should you use?
Honestly: combine them. They cover different parts of the same habit.
If you want listening practice, start with Klartext. A short episode a day trains your ear more than any app exercise. If you want to read a lot, 8 Sidor gives you the most text for free, every weekday.
If you want the news to improve your own Swedish, the speaking and writing part, that is what NÖVA is for. Klartext and 8 Sidor cannot answer you. NÖVA can, and it corrects you gently while you talk about the same day's news.
A realistic day: Klartext on the way to work, one 8 Sidor article at lunch, one NÖVA conversation in the evening. Twenty minutes, all of it real Swedish about real things.
Also worth knowing: SVT broadcasts Nyheter på lätt svenska, and Sveriges Radio makes Radio Sweden på lätt svenska for newcomers. Both are free and pair well with everything above.
Try NÖVA
Read today's news in simple Swedish, free, and see what talking about them feels like.