"The model is quite beautiful."

Translation: Modellen är ganska vacker.

[languagepotato]

i just couldn't resist writing the model is pretty pretty

[Bluthund]

Allow me to ask a weird question: We have this paradox little word in German, "ganz". Taken by itself, it means something like "completely, entirely" or "totally". However when used in sentences like these ("Modellen är ganska vacker" = "Das Model ist ganz schön"), it changes its meaning into the opposite: "ganz schön" ("ganska vacker") does not mean "absolutely beautiful", but "quite beautiful", so it actually "weakens" the adjective instead of strengthening it.

Does "ganska" have the same double function? Could you use it in other contexts to mean "completely, entirely" or so on?

[Lundgren8]

No, in Swedish it always means ”quite, somewhat”.

[LenaStorli]

The equivalent to "ganz" would be "hel och hållen", "helt och hållet".

[BillofKempsey]

In English, the sentence could have either meaning - fairly pretty or absolutely beautiful. I think the latter meaning is the only one found in American English.

[WildSage]

Fairly pretty is used in America.

[leemonday]

silly question, why is the article for the adjective(and the -a ending) not used in this?

[MarksAaron]

I think in predicate position - i.e. after the verb "be" - adjectives can only be indefinite.

[MarksAaron]

Why is "Modellen är ganska skön" not an accepted translation?

[Arnauti]

skön for 'beautiful' is very old-fashioned, to the point where it really isn't used that way anymore. If you say it about a person, today it will rather mean, well… maybe cool or awesome – it's also not so rarely used ironically.

[MarksAaron]

Tack så mycket Arnauti!

[lUC9P]

Was having a brainfart and all i could come up with was jättefina. Is that anywhere close ?

[szenah]

Does "verkligen" mean "actually" rather than "really", as it's translated in an earlier phrase? I initially put that for "quite" but see that it's wrong.

[KteCMHkt]

in American English, the word "quite" is more superlative than in British English. I used the Swedish word "väldigt" here, which I think fits well.

[kimmartin67]

Why can one not use väldigt here?

[Larry-Johnson]

I second that question. "Quite" in (American) English is much stronger/more definite than "pretty".