"Det tar bara en minut."

Translation: It takes only a minute.

[daisythebelle]

Is there a difference in Swedish between "it takes only a minute" and "it only takes a minute" ? There is a very subtle difference in meaning; the emphasis on the taking or the minute.

[Zmrzlina]

In Swedish, you could say "det tar bara en minut" or possibly "det tar en minut bara". The latter is very rare though, and not accepted here. You'd have to work with stressing certain words instead.

[daisythebelle]

Oh right, thank you!!! :)

[SrMarien]

Bara -> barely ?

[fancy__pants]

Not really. Barely = Knappt

[pacsirat]

They are cognates:

"From Old Swedish bara, from Old Norse bara (“barely, only”), from barr, from Proto-Germanic *bazaz (“bare”)."

"From Middle English bare, bar, from Old English bær (“bare, naked, open”), from Proto-Germanic *bazaz (“bare, naked”)."

[skrats]

So what does "bara" mean when attached to bra? As in "hur mår du?" "Bara bra, tack!"

[basiliotimpanaro]

Is it literally "only good" as to say " definitely good", i.e. "very good" ? Am I right?

[Arnauti]

Literally it means 'only good', but it doesn't necessarily mean 'very good', I guess it's more like it points to the absence of anything bad. (admittedly a very small difference)
I think just fine is a perfect translation.

[person222222]

Could one says bara en minut! to mean just a minute! ?

[B.D.R.]

Not very idiomatic. You would say "Ett ögonblick" ("One moment").

[Zmrzlina]

I think it works to use "en minut" to mean "a short while" though.

[person222222]

Like, in english, "Just a minute" is a short while longer than "one moment" (although not by much), while "just a second" is synonymous to "just a minute". Does it work the same way in Swedish?

[Zmrzlina]

More or less.

[SunnySundquist]

...girl, to fall in love...

[CapdeBurro]

Can "bara" be used about time? As in "Jag har bara ätit frykost" for "I just ate breakfast"?

[Lundgren8]

No, it’s only used in the sense of only, otherwise it’s ”just” or ”precis” or ”nyss”.

[CapdeBurro]

Tack!

[FLchick]

I learned bara from the song Bara fa vär mig själv by Laleh, which I enjoy a lot. I wish I remembered who to give credit.

[NajdDergham]

en minut , why do i hear people say ett minut in many cases ?

[4oYBIxtO]

You would normally not hear swedes say ett minut

[campros]

Why not "It will only take a minute"?

[Arnauti]

That's a possible interpretation. You can't be sure since the Swedish present tense covers more. I'll add it as an accepted answer. – If you want to say this unambiguously, it would be Det kommer bara (att) ta en minut.

[campros]

Tack så mycket. :)

[mattheworb]

I feel like for english swedish learners, understanding it as "it takes just a minute" is more helpful than "it takes only a minute"

[OdileBlanv]

It barely takes a minute is not accepted. Is there a specific reason for that?

[ThorstenRe8]

Should allow that instead of this as well.

[Arnauti]

that is already accepted but this isn't.
det in Swedish can be it or that in English.
that in English is det där or sometimes det in Swedish.
this in English is det här or detta in Swedish.