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- Topic: Swedish >
- "Han har en jättestor hund."
36 Comments
Can I add jätte on the beginning of any adjective to intensify it? Jättebra, jättetrött, jättedålig?
1659
In the US, we would often say "great big dog" rather than "very big dog" in this sentence. I think this should also be accepted.
Is 'jätte' only used in certain dialects? I've been told that this is used only in Stockholm and that on the West 'Riktig' is used instead, any truth?
- 2451
I don't know if it is a dialect thing (I'm from Stockholm), but I would say that 'jätte' is a familiary/spoken language thing, to intensify, used instead of 'mycket' (very). It's so common that it isn't such a big deal anymore. But of course 'riktigt stor' is another way of saying 'mycket stor' (very big), and people who take care of their written language will not use an illogical expression as 'jätteliten'. And in that case probably avoid it also when talking.
det är lik på Italienska - 'veramente' och 'molto', med också 'davvero'(grande)
- 2451
The thing is that 'veramente', 'molto', 'davvero' is all adverbs, right? But 'jätte' is really a noun in Swedish, a fairy-tale figure, like "the green giant" = den gröne jätten. But 'jätte' is also used as a measurement, meaning 'really big' (like a giant), but has evolved even further, to mean just 'very very', and can therefore be combined with 'small'; jätteliten = very small
(Vera)mente & Dav (vero) = really (Vero is from Verità is mean realty) Molto = much
My girlfriend is from Göteborg and I´ve heard a lot of people say jätte there.
Yes, I too hear it now. Sometimes it doesn't help when you have too many 'teachers' around you, you sometimes listen to one persons advice/opinion and take it as 'fact'! :)
- 2451
Did you remember to combine it with "very" ? Jättestor = very + large. I wrote "very large" and it was accepted.
"very big"... So is this translation just because jättestor means "bigger than big" but not "enormous" or something?
Does the TTS pronounce a very subtle 'i' sound between 'jättestor' and 'hund', or is it my imagination?
I think that might be supposed to be an intake of air. I don't think it's an actual "i".
Yes, but only for singular definites - and only for males.
- 139
So "jättestor" can't be translated to "gigantic" on its own, but rather to "very big"? (And does "very large" then also apply?)
- 2451
'Jättestor' is used too much, so it has lost the meaning of 'gigantic', then we would rather use 'enorm'. And yes, 'jättestor' is also 'very large'.
We'd use a larger word than jättestor for that - maybe enorm, for instance. :)
