This is the 12326th most frequent Swedish word.
sillen
"Sillen" means "the herring" in English.
Here, 'sillen' refers to the prepared dish or food item of herring.
Jag älskar att äta sillen som serveras på julbordet.
I love eating the herring served during the Christmas feast.
In this sentence, 'sillen' describes the live fish within a specific context.
Sillen i det gamla akvariet hade en vacker silverglans.
The herring in the old aquarium had a beautiful silver sheen.
This usage of 'sillen' represents the herring as a character in the story.