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I read on Wiktionary that åker does not refer to walking, running, swimming, etc. but only going somewhere using a vehicle (car, plane, train, boat, bike, etc.). Is this true?
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Not totally, because in German you can use 'gehen' for going abroad, whereas in Swedish, that would be åka utomlands (as long as its by vehicle of any kind), and if you'd use gå instead, that would mean 'walk'. But the general idea is the same.
You cant use "gehen" for e.g. going on holiday, because you will probably not walk to e.g. Sweden. So, it seems to be similiar.
Does åker by itself mean "to leave"?
Closest definition I found on bab.la was "åka i viss riktning".
https://en.bab.la/dictionary/swedish-english/%C3%A5ka-i-viss-riktning
When I searched for åker these were the results:
https://en.bab.la/dictionary/swedish-english/%C3%A5ker
Is there possibly a better dictionary?
So... går could mean walking or going, (like gehen in German) while åker strickly means going?
'Gå/går' and 'åka/åker' are a bit tricky since they are used for so many things. 'Gå' is basicly walk. 'Åka' is either riding/passenger something man-made or going somewhere. Examples:
"Benen går - The legs are Walking" "Bilen går - The car is running" "Jag åker hem - I am going home" "Jag åker cykel - I am riding bicycle"
Then you can add lots of prepositions after but that is not relevant now.
Åker has so many meanings that the sentence should be extended to for instance "bus, train, bicycle...etc"
Is there a general Swedish verb for "go", or only specific ones such as "to walk" and "to move somewhere in/on a vehicle"? For instance, if I want to say "I'm going home", can I just say "going home" in the general sense, or do I need to specify whether I'm walking or using a vehicle?
'att köra' (kvinnan kör) would be the appropiate verb for "to drive" I'd say - focus is on the one behind the wheel.
Åka is going somewhere, or being the passenger in a vehicle.
Alright, that makes sense. Thanks. I think I meant to say "ride", but either way, I understand!
I think rides would also be accurate. The woman rides roller coasters - kvinnan åker berg- och dalbanor :)
Could you also use this as a command? Like if you're talking to your dog, would you say "åker!"
