Swedish word of the day: trevligt
Today’s Swedish word has an IKEA-hob named after it, which promises a nice hob, or so one might assume from the word.
Swedes love to have it trevligt or even jättetrevligt. Trevlig simply means ‘pleasant’, ‘pleasurable’, ‘nice’ or ‘jolly’, and can be used to describe a person or an experience.
The origin of the word is in the Old Swedish þriflika (that first letter is a th-sound), and it is related to trivas, which means to ‘feel a lasting sense of comfort and satisfaction’ or just ‘to feel at home somewhere or with something’. Old Swedish, by the way, is the Swedish spoken from 1225 to 1525 AD.
So where can you have it trevligt? Well, the quintessentially Swedish experience of the fika is perhaps the first thing that comes to mind. Trevligt you see is very Swedish in the sense that it is sort of implied that it isn’t too much. It is a nice time, like the one you have sitting with some friends or coworkers having a coffee and a bun.
But then there is the superlative. Oh yes. You did not just have a nice time, it was great (but perhaps not a party, mind you)! It was super nice – Det var jättetrevligt!
Likewise, a person is trevlig or jättetrevlig, if they are not rude. It is quite neutral to be trevlig, meaning simply that someone is ‘nice’, but if you really liked the person, jättetrevlig is the way to go.
In short, trevlig is a nice word, useful in your everyday life. But trevlig is not all that it once was.
Trevlig used to also mean ‘industrious’, ‘diligent’, ‘hard-working’, ‘busy’ or ‘worksome’, meanings now more associated with the word flitig. We speculate, but perhaps this might be a linguistic development that has mirrored the increasing comfort of Swedes? Once upon a time, hard work was just a fact of life for the common Swede, today Swedish society is one of the most affluent in the world. One could say Swedes have it quite trevligt.
Practice makes perfect, they say. So on your next outing, be sure to let your Swedish friends and colleagues know that you had it trevligt, hopefully even jättetrevligt.
Example sentences:
Nämen, vad trevligt!
Oh my, how nice!
Asså, jag hade såååå trevligt!
You know, I had such a nice time!
Hur gick det med Annika då? Hon var jättetrevlig!
So, how did it go with Annika? She was so nice!
Villa, Volvo, Vovve: The Local’s Word Guide to Swedish Life, written by The Local’s journalists, is now available to order. Head to lysforlag.com/vvv to read more about it. It is also possible to buy your copy from Amazon US, Amazon UK, Bokus or Adlibris.
Comments
See Also
Swedes love to have it trevligt or even jättetrevligt. Trevlig simply means ‘pleasant’, ‘pleasurable’, ‘nice’ or ‘jolly’, and can be used to describe a person or an experience.
The origin of the word is in the Old Swedish þriflika (that first letter is a th-sound), and it is related to trivas, which means to ‘feel a lasting sense of comfort and satisfaction’ or just ‘to feel at home somewhere or with something’. Old Swedish, by the way, is the Swedish spoken from 1225 to 1525 AD.
So where can you have it trevligt? Well, the quintessentially Swedish experience of the fika is perhaps the first thing that comes to mind. Trevligt you see is very Swedish in the sense that it is sort of implied that it isn’t too much. It is a nice time, like the one you have sitting with some friends or coworkers having a coffee and a bun.
But then there is the superlative. Oh yes. You did not just have a nice time, it was great (but perhaps not a party, mind you)! It was super nice – Det var jättetrevligt!
Likewise, a person is trevlig or jättetrevlig, if they are not rude. It is quite neutral to be trevlig, meaning simply that someone is ‘nice’, but if you really liked the person, jättetrevlig is the way to go.
In short, trevlig is a nice word, useful in your everyday life. But trevlig is not all that it once was.
Trevlig used to also mean ‘industrious’, ‘diligent’, ‘hard-working’, ‘busy’ or ‘worksome’, meanings now more associated with the word flitig. We speculate, but perhaps this might be a linguistic development that has mirrored the increasing comfort of Swedes? Once upon a time, hard work was just a fact of life for the common Swede, today Swedish society is one of the most affluent in the world. One could say Swedes have it quite trevligt.
Practice makes perfect, they say. So on your next outing, be sure to let your Swedish friends and colleagues know that you had it trevligt, hopefully even jättetrevligt.
Example sentences:
Nämen, vad trevligt!
Oh my, how nice!
Asså, jag hade såååå trevligt!
You know, I had such a nice time!
Hur gick det med Annika då? Hon var jättetrevlig!
So, how did it go with Annika? She was so nice!
Villa, Volvo, Vovve: The Local’s Word Guide to Swedish Life, written by The Local’s journalists, is now available to order. Head to lysforlag.com/vvv to read more about it. It is also possible to buy your copy from Amazon US, Amazon UK, Bokus or Adlibris.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.