26 Comments
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.
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.
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?
Can "bara" be used about time? As in "Jag har bara ätit frykost" for "I just ate breakfast"?
No, it’s only used in the sense of only, otherwise it’s ”just” or ”precis” or ”nyss”.
So what does "bara" mean when attached to bra? As in "hur mår du?" "Bara bra, tack!"
Is it literally "only good" as to say " definitely good", i.e. "very good" ? Am I right?
889
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.
- 889
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.
I feel like for english swedish learners, understanding it as "it takes just a minute" is more helpful than "it takes only a minute"
- 267
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.
- 889
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.
