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So it seems like the prefix o- in front of an adjective negates it, similarly to how we use im-, in- or un- in English. I've seen vanlig/ovanlig = common/rare, möjligt/omöjligt = possible/impossible, lik/olik = alike/different. Is this a general rule that can be applied widely?
this was a really cool eureka moment that i missed out on! a lingot for you~ tack
Is this also colloquial in Sweden? For example, in English we might use the phrase "a rare bird" to refer to someone who is particularly attractive or talented. Does it work the same way?
That's exactly how I perceived its meaning. =) I've mostly heard it used (in the UK) to point out someone who's also rather eccentric or introverted, so I guess it takes all sorts ;)
Also in dutch. Een rare vogel. Meaning someone really weird or odd. I wasnt aware you had t as a "saying" aswell in english. But raar in dutch means strange/weird not uncommon as in english ( and I believe latin)
In Spanish "rare" (translated as "raro/a") means "weird/strange" as well, but it can perfectly be used as "uncommon". Something even more interesting is that in Caribbean Spanish a "bird" (translated as "pájaro") means "gay", so "un pájaro raro" would be VERY OFFENSIVE.
I don't believe I've ever heard this and that makes me sad, because that's a great phrase. Where are you from?
Canada. I've also heard it used in American books, but they were generally from fifty years ago or earlier. Maybe it's fallen out of use.
So here, 'rare' and 'uncommon' are accepted, but in English they don't quite indicate the same level of probability. Are there more specific words which can be used?
890
rare is really more like sällsynt and uncommon like ovanlig.
For birds, it's also possible to use the word rar.
- 890
Too strong. That would be abnorm or onormal, but ovanlig is just 'rare' or 'uncommon'.
vanlig means usual and ovanlig could mean unusual. Why is the translation 'An unusual bird' wrong ?
- 890
It's an accepted answer. Could have been some bug or glitch if it wasn't accepted for you.
Rara avis is said in Spanish too, but when we mean this in the non Latin way, we say "un bicho raro" that is a rare bug or an odd bug
Does the 'g' in Ovanlig work in the same way as in the Word Jag? It only gets pronounced when the Word is being stressed?
I don't know if "A cool bird" is a valid translation, but this sentence makes me think of this xkcd comic 
I don't think it's a valid translation. "A cool bird" would just be "en cool fågel". It's a loan word.
- o- = un-
- vanlig = common
There's some overlap between uncommon and rare (sällsynt) in both languages, though. :)
