Posts tagged with "man"

Swedish Synonyms

Posted by Tibor 2 Comments
Nov 8 2010

Synonyms are words grouped by the similarity of meaning. The meaning is not identical but of adjacent use.  Synonyms aren´t each other´s counterparts but are rather nuanced variants with slightly different meanings depending on the context. They are useful to emphasize what we want to say; also you can use them when making sarcastic and ironic comments.

Synonyms for “man” :

old-fashioned: herre, karl, pojken min        everyday language: kille,  pojke          slang: gubbe, snubbe,

  • `Farmor och vår Herre` är en riktigt bra bok av Hjalmar Söderberg. (Grandma and our Lord is a really good book by Hjalmar Söderberg.)
  • Herrtoaletten finns bredvid damernas toalett. (The gents ´toilet is next to the ladies ´toilet.)
  • Herr Augustsson har skadat sin arm. (Mr. Augustsson has injured his arm.)

  

  •   Han har vuxit sig till en stor och stark karl. (He has grown to be a big and strong fellow.)
  • Min karl jobbar som socionom. (My guy is working as a social worker.)
  • Han arebtar som en hel karl. (He works like a man.)

 

  • Jag såg henne men sin nya kille i lördags. (I saw her with her new guy/boyfriend last saturday.)
  • Lyssna här killar och tjejer! (Listen boys and girls!)
  • Det är populärt att kalla en man för en kille oavsett ålder. (It is popular to call a man for a guy regardless age.)

 

  • Hennes pojkvän har varit otrogen flera gånger, men ingen pratar om det. (Her boyfriend has been unfaithful several times, but no one talks about it.)
  • Min pojke är 4 år gammal och är rädd för allt, sa mamman. (My boy is 4 years old and afraid of everything, said the mother.)
  • Pojken min, sätt dig bredvid morfar! (My baby boy, sit down next to grandpa!) *When you are very fond of someone. This is a very loving expression.

 

  • Kom och lek här i vardagsrummet lilla gubben! ( Come and play here in the living room sweetheart!) *When you are very fond of someone. This is a loving way of saying it. The expression is also diminutive. 
  • Jag älskar dig gubben. (I love you honey.) *When you are very fond of someone. (male) This is a loving way of saying it. The expression is also diminutive. 
  • Den gamla gubben var väldigt otrevlig. (The old man was really unpleasant.)

 

  • “Snubben trodde att han var cool för han hade en pistol”. (This guy/dude thought he was cool ´cause he had a gun.) lyrics by Dogge Doggelito.
  • Det kom fram en snubbe som jag inte kände igen. (This dude came up to me but I didn´t recognize him.)
  • “Hon frågar efter sponsor men snackar med fel snubbe..haha flickorna på TV2, hey yo men det var då…” (She asks for a sponsor but talking to the wrong bloke/guy..haha gilrs on TV2, hey yo!… but it was then….) lyrics by Tripple Ett Hip-Hop group

Anybody’s “man” – another personal pronoun

Posted by Transparent Language 5 Comments
Sep 2 2009

Since we were talking about personal pronouns the other day, and as I see, it has provoked some very interesting comments, I thought it would be a good idea to continue on the subject.

“What? There are even more pronouns in Swedish?” I hear you say.

Well, not that many more. Actually, just one more that I think I should mention on here. And depending on how you look at it, it may not even be a pronoun at all. Yes, I’m talking about “man”. Not just any man, but the one that is normally translated into English as “one”. Well, it’s translated as “one” if we want to go all formal, but normally, it becomes something like “you” or “they” or “we”, or simply “people” in English. In other words, this “man” thingie is used when we want to talk about people in general and nobody in particular.

And it looks like that:

  • Man blir trött om man sover för mycket. – One gets tired if one sleeps too much. Or more like a normal person would say it: You get tired if you sleep too much. (Though personally, I disagree with this statement. What nonsense! I love to sleep!)

Here’s another example:

  • I Sverige dricker man mycket kaffe. – They (people) drink a lot of coffee in Sweden. (Yeah, that’s for sure!)

And another:

  • Man ser sjön från balkongen. – You (we) can see the lake from the balcony.

So that’s the easy part. The not so easy part could be the objective form of “man”, which is “en”. Like this:

  • Ingen gillar en, om man skryter. – No one likes you if you boast.

But, if the object refers back to the subject, then the reflexive “sig” bit is used. Like this:

  • Man frågar sig, varför det hände. – One asks oneself why it happened. Or more like a normal person would say it: You ask yourself why it happened.

I always try to abide by the K.I.S.S. principle when discussing grammar, because that’s what most people learning a foreign language need. But if you feel the need to elaborate on this very “personal” subject, the comments are all yours. Go wild! :)

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