SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

SWEDISH WORD OF THE DAY

Swedish word of the day: medlidande

Our word of the day can be used to express the painful sadness you feel when a loved one – or a complete stranger – is hurting.

Swedish word of the day: medlidande
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Our Swedish word of the day – medlidande – was suggested by The Local’s Member Chris Parrish a few years ago, who wrote in an e-mail: “I spent time working with adults from all walks of life in Sweden and was warmed by the natural ability of many to feel compassion for others, regardless of nationality, religion or skin colour. I’m sure this is still present even though the far-right winds are blowing stronger.”

Medlidande consists of two parts, med which means ‘co-‘ or ‘with’ and lidande which means ‘the state of suffering’. Its closest English equivalent is ‘compassion’, the act of feeling kind-hearted sympathetic concern or sadness for another person who is suffering or has been affected by some kind of misfortune.

Today its meaning is figurative, but in old Swedish it could also literally mean that a person shared an affliction with someone else, or for example that a body part was affected by pain elsewhere in the body.

It can also be expressed as a verb form: jag lider med dig, I’m suffering with you, and indicates that you feel the other person’s pain, so strongly that you are even prepared to carry some of it in a philosophical sense.

Similarly, the word compassion (which is used in various forms in languages such as English, French and Italian) comes from the Latin com (‘with’, ‘together’) and pati (‘to suffer’, compare to for example ‘The Passion’ which in Christianity refers to the crucifixion and final period of the life of Jesus).

But because lidande is a modern word that – unlike ‘passion’ – is used to talk about suffering in everyday speech, medlidande perhaps comes across as more blunt and literal than its English equivalent.

As The Local has previously noted, the Swedish language is wonderfully literal.

“For me compassion doesn’t come close to the Swedish ‘suffering with’, but I suppose that is part of the joy of learning another language, examining and bringing the words to life,” Parrish told The Local.

Example sentences:

Jag känner stort medlidande med dig.

I feel great compassion for you.

Jag vill inte ha deras medlidande.

I don’t want their compassion.

Hon är väldigt medlidsam.

She is very compassionate.

Don’t miss any of our Swedish words and expressions of the day by downloading our new app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Swedish Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

SWEDISH WORD OF THE DAY

Swedish word of the day: kondis

Today’s word has two meanings: one is healthy, the other less so.

Swedish word of the day: kondis

Kondis is a great example of a Swedish slang word ending in -is, which essentially is the shortened version of a longer word.

Somewhat confusingly, in the case of kondis, there are actually two similar words which have both been shortened in this way, resulting in one word with two different meanings.

The first meaning comes from konditori, the Swedish version of a patisserie or bakery, which you might recognise from the German word Konditor (a confectioner or pastry chef), originally from the Latin word condītor, which referred to a person who preserved, pickled or seasoned food.

  • Don’t miss any of our Swedish words and expressions of the day by downloading The Local’s app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Swedish Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button

The word kondis can either refer to a konditori itself, or to the type of baked goods and pastries they offer. A kondis differs somewhat from a bageri (bakery), which is more likely to focus on savoury or rustic baked goods, like bread (although many kondis also sell bread, and many bagerier will serve some sort of cake or sweet treat too). 

A kondis is also more likely to have some area where you can sit and enjoy your food on-site, perhaps with a cup of tea or coffee, while bakeries are more likely to be take-away only.

The second meaning of kondis is a shortened version of the word kondition, which translates roughly as your endurance or fitness. If you’re good at running, you might be described as having bra kondition or bra kondis, roughly equal to being fit. 

Another similar slang word for this in Swedish would be flås, which technically translates to “panting”, but can be used in the same way as kondis to describe physical endurance or fitness.

Example sentences:

Om man äter för mycket kondis kan man få dålig kondis.

If you eat too many pastries you could end up less fit.

Sprang du hela vägen hit? Du måste ha bra kondis!

Did you run the whole way here? You must be in good shape.

Villa, Volvo, Vovve: The Local’s Word Guide to Swedish Life, written by The Local’s journalists, is available to order. Head to lysforlag.com/vvv to read more about it. It is also possible to buy your copy from Amazon USAmazon UKBokus or Adlibris.

SHOW COMMENTS