"Jag vill inte fylla femtio."

Translation: I do not want to turn fifty.

[jbrains762]

Alternativet är sämre!

[martin.mk]

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!

[FLchick]

Too late for me!

[GwenDragoness]

Would "bli" have worked here as well?

[Arnauti]

Yes.

[Vevlira]

Thank you, Arnauti! (as always! :) )

[silverthornfire]

Be careful what you wish for...

[__CRUSH__]

Fantastic comment Jane!
☺

[Vithralas]

The best one, indeed, have a lingot here :D

[HaroldWonh]

But 50 is so incredibly young!

[Will709432]

Said Gandalf :)

[Adelhaidar]

why is the translation "i don't want to fill fifty" not accepted?, and what does "turn fifty" mean?

[Lundgren8]

”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]”.

[Adelhaidar]

what a remarkable explanation!
tack!

[andrii_chr]

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.

[QGloaf]

Interesting, a somewhat similar expression exists in Hungarian too. "Betölteni", to "in-fill" an age.

[Vithralas]

I must confess it, it was me, many centuries ago :D

[djsc2012]

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

[Cxlf6]

Same in finnish:
Täyttää viisikymmentä vuotta
=Turn fifty years old

Täyttää -> fill
viisikymmentä -> fifty
vuotta -> years

[raorn]

This is the most amazing thing in swedish language...

[ilenuca_mare]

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?

[Arnauti]

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').

[B.Weber1]

How would you say "I do not want to fill fifty", for instance if someone was pouring a drink into cups for a party?

[devalanteriel]

Same way, actually, although I'd probably tack stycken on at the end for a little extra clarity.

[InvertedGo]

Context is everything

[BBroxi]

Is this a cry for help from the duolingo creators? The last question i got translates to "We are all going to die."

[devalanteriel]

Possibly, but it was created by Anrui and he's not quite that old. :)

[Vithralas]

Valar Morgulis.

[HansLovesIce]

So how would one say "I (don't) want to celebrate my 50th birthday"

[Arnauti]

Jag vill inte fira min femtioårsdag. (Also possible: femtionde födelsedag, but that's less natural).

[ilenuca_mare]

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!

[devalanteriel]

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.

[Kats437366]

I guess fyller is just to refer to turning a certain age rather than other uses of turn like turn around or turn left?

[devalanteriel]

Yes, exactly.

[mC5F5sjq]

can you say "fylla höger" or "fylla" doesn't go for directions?

[devalanteriel]

It doesn't work for directions, no. :)

[IlyaKozake]

The years flow like water

[Krizelfo]

What's the correct pronunciation of femtio? Do you pronounce the -o at the end? I've heard people pronounce it with and without. Without the -o sounds more like femti.

[devalanteriel]

I would only ever pronounce the -o if I wanted to sound formal.

[Chrisbilljohn]

Duo did not (didn't) accept don't!

[devalanteriel]

It's actually accepted - what more did you put?

[BrianClift1]

Odd not to accept: I do not want to be fifty

As a native English man, I simply wouldn't say "turn"...

[InvertedGo]

In swedish that would be jag vill inte vara femtio

[stephenbal4]

I think a much more natural way to say this in American English is "I do not want to be 50."

[Zmrzlina]

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.

[stephenbal4]

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.

[WildSage]

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.

[stephenbal4]

I would say "I don't like being 50" or "I don't like to be 50". The verb changes.

[WildSage]

I suspect it's regional.

[whippet123]

Whilst i totally appreciate the difference about becoming and being 50, I have never actually heard 'turn 50' used.

[Flutterby42]

It's used ALL the time in North Anerica.

[BillofKempsey]

and in England

[Bailjo]

In my part of the U.S., it's quite common to hear that. We would never say "become fifty."