41 Comments
Some might argue that the right word would be värre (as turning 50 is already bad enough as it is - for some). The wonderful subtleties of Swedish!
Is this the only use of the verb? Or can it be used in sentences like i fill a cup with water or i turn the pages of the book?
837
Fill a cup, yes, but for the pages, we vänder blad or use the handy verb bläddra which has this meaning (like the English verb 'leaf' in 'leaf through a book').
why is the translation "i don't want to fill fifty" not accepted?, and what does "turn fifty" mean?
”Fylla” in Swedish is a peculiar verb meaning ”to have birthday”, to ”turn X years old”. Look at these examples:
- Jag fyller år i dag. = It is my birthday today. (lit. I fill years today)
- När fyller han år? = When is his birthday? (lit. When fills he years?)
- Jag fyller tjugoett i morgon. = I turn twenty-one tomorrow. (lit. I fill twenty-one tomorrow)
So the sentence ”Jag vill inte fylla femtio” means that the speaker does not want to become fifty years old. You can imagine it’s his/her birthday tomorrow and s/he is not looking forward to it and says ”I don’t want to turn fifty [years old]”.
In Ukrainian a word with the similar meaning ("виповнюватися", where "повний" means "full") is used to say that somebody is turning X years old. I find this similarity very interesting. I wonder who started using such expression and when.
Interesting, a somewhat similar expression exists in Hungarian too. "Betölteni", to "in-fill" an age.
I just want to say this seems to mean just the same that Spanish "cumplir", for those who speak it, because it's used the same way
- 837
Jag vill inte fira min femtioårsdag. (Also possible: femtionde födelsedag, but that's less natural).
How would you say "I do not want to fill fifty", for instance if someone was pouring a drink into cups for a party?
Same way, actually, although I'd probably tack stycken on at the end for a little extra clarity.
can i use fylla for other festive occasions? say it's been ten years since we finished highschool and we're getting together with old classmates and teachers. can i say vi fyller tio? in this case? or, a better example, if i celebrate say 5 years of marriage. can i say vi fyller fem? tack!
No, I can't think of any other situation than celebrating the birth of something. It could be metaphorical, as in we might use it for e.g. a company having a "birthday" of sorts, but not for relations or similar.
I guess fyller is just to refer to turning a certain age rather than other uses of turn like turn around or turn left?
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Is this a cry for help from the duolingo creators? The last question i got translates to "We are all going to die."
Possibly, but it was created by Anrui and he's not quite that old. :)
Odd not to accept: I do not want to be fifty
As a native English man, I simply wouldn't say "turn"...
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Whilst i totally appreciate the difference about becoming and being 50, I have never actually heard 'turn 50' used.
- 1440
In my part of the U.S., it's quite common to hear that. We would never say "become fifty."
I think a much more natural way to say this in American English is "I do not want to be 50."
I see what you mean, but I think there's a difference worth keeping in both Swedish and English regarding turning fifty and being fifty.
I think they're pretty much the same, given that you don't get to jump around in time and age and that both statements imply you're younger than 50.
I have to disagree. As an American English speaker who is not 50, "I don't want to turn 50" would be the way I would express that. I will start using "I don't want to be 50 " the minute my birthday starts.
And I do mean the very minute it starts.
I would say "I don't like being 50" or "I don't like to be 50". The verb changes.
