{"id":7003,"date":"2015-09-03T13:32:47","date_gmt":"2015-09-03T13:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/?p=7003"},"modified":"2015-09-03T13:32:47","modified_gmt":"2015-09-03T13:32:47","slug":"where-in-swedish-var-vart-and-varifran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/where-in-swedish-var-vart-and-varifran\/","title":{"rendered":"“Where” in Swedish: var, vart and varifr\u00e5n"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Swedish, there are three words for “where”. These are var<\/em>, vart<\/em> and varifr\u00e5n<\/em>. The differences between them aren’t too hard to master. They have to do with movement vs. non-movement, as well as direction.<\/p>\n

Var<\/em><\/strong> is the simplest of the three. It asks about a static location<\/strong>. For example:<\/p>\n

Var<\/span> st\u00e5r bilen?<\/em> – Where<\/span> is the car?<\/p>\n

In this example, the car is at a location, and it is not moving. Therefore, there is no direction involved \u2013 it’s just parked somewhere. Simple enough, right?<\/p>\n

Vart<\/em><\/strong> is different. It is used when you want to ask what direction something or someone is moving in. In other words, there is both movement and specific direction involved. For example:<\/p>\n

Vart<\/em><\/span> ska vi \u00e5ka imorgon?<\/em> – Where<\/span> are we going tomorrow?<\/p>\n

As you can see, vart<\/em> asks about movement to<\/strong> somewhere. You can think of it as corresponding to the English “to where?<\/strong>” – “To where<\/span> are we going tomorrow?”. In English, we often leave out “to”, but in Swedish, this distinction is necessary.<\/p>\n

Finally, we have varifr\u00e5n<\/em><\/strong>. This is similar to vart<\/em>, but instead of asking “to where?”, we are asking “from where?<\/strong>“:<\/p>\n

Varifr\u00e5n<\/em><\/span> kommer du?<\/em> – Where<\/span> are you from<\/span>?<\/p>\n

In other words, varifr\u00e5n<\/em> asks about movement from<\/strong> somewhere, rather than to somewhere. We can also separate var<\/em> and ifr\u00e5n<\/em> like this:<\/p>\n

Var<\/em><\/span> kommer du ifr\u00e5n<\/span>?<\/em> – Where<\/span> are you from<\/span>?<\/p>\n

Both forms \u2013 the single-word form and the separated form \u2013 are used in everyday speech. It’s totally up to you which one you prefer. In formal texts, though, usually varifr\u00e5n<\/em>, not separated, is preferred.<\/p>\n

In some dialects, strangely enough, var<\/em> is substituted by vart<\/em>:<\/p>\n

Vart<\/em><\/span> ligger sjukhuset?<\/em> – Where<\/span> is the hospital?<\/p>\n

This is typical in, for example, Uppland, the municipality where the city of Uppsala lies. Some other dialects substitute var<\/em> with vars<\/em> \u2013 this is typical, for example, in V\u00e4sterbotten, where you can find the city of Ume\u00e5.<\/p>\n

In standard Swedish, all three of these “where” words are used in everyday language, so it is important to learn them. Var<\/em>,\u00a0vart<\/em> and\u00a0varifr\u00e5n<\/em> are all pronounced with a long a<\/em><\/strong>, as in far<\/em>, “father”. Varifr\u00e5n<\/em> has two points of stress: VAR-i-FR\u00c5N<\/em>.<\/p>\n

So, varifr\u00e5n<\/em> are you? Var<\/em> do you live? And vart<\/em> in Sweden do you want to go? Answer in the comments!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Swedish, there are three words for “where”. These are var, vart and varifr\u00e5n. The differences between them aren’t too hard to master. They have to do with movement vs. non-movement, as well as direction. Var is the simplest of the three. It asks about a static location. For example: Var st\u00e5r bilen? – Where…<\/p>\n

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