30 Comments
Largely just semantics in everyday usage. The technical distinction is that idrott emphasises physical prowess, whereas a sport may not necessarily do so. For instance, some consider chess a sport, whereas nobody would think it's an idrott. On the other end, there are also people who don't consider e.g. equestrian events or motorsports idrotter, although this is (obviously) more debated than chess.
I can add this Venn diagram:
- Tävlan = competition
- Stavgång = Nordic walking
- Folkrace = type of rallycross
- Datorspel = computer games
328
So it seems:
- idrott must involve physical activity
- sport must be a direct competition
Is that about right?
I love Venn diagrams.
Computer games, really? Is there a word for leisure activities?
- 953
Leisure activities is fritidssysselsättningar or fritidsaktiviteter.
Computer games are sports as in eSports (e-sport in Swedish https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-sport) – just like chess is a sport – when you compete in it.
What is ''Nordic walking"? Back packing? Hiking from hut to hut in Norway?
Ha Ha! Walking with ski poles for a full body exercise. I thought this is just what we old people do so we don't fall over when we hike! That's why I use treking poles!
- 413
Maybe it is, but I quite like it when I am in the mood for it (watching it, that is). I wonder if Stenson is still big in Sweden, or do Swedish fans root for someone else?
- 107
I find myself wondering why a translation of "Golf is a strange game" is not accepted. In at least American usage, games don't refer simply to idle ways for children to pass their time. A question of "Did you see the game last night?" would almost certainly refer to (American) football, baseball, or basketball, depending on the season of the year.
That's true, although if you asked "Did you watch the game last night?" you would never be referring to golf. I can see arguments for accepting "game" as a translation of the Swedish sport - however, it's not a proper translation of idrott.
How common is to say idrott? 'Sport' is international and most common word so I'm just wondering is idrott something Swedes often say when they talk about sport.
sport is probably more common, but it's by no means an uncommon word.
Totally unrelated to Swedish, but it reminded me of this Supreme Court case: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PGA_Tour,_Inc._v._Martin
Which I found out about listening to a Michael Sandel lecture, and the discussion about whether golf is a sport or a game: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xgih85 (from minute 4:57).
Until I saw that video (I was actually watching Sandel's "Justice" course on YouTube, which I highly recommend), I didn't know so much philosophical discussion could be derived from golf! And then I found this thread XD
I used crazy to describe konstig and was marked wrong. I thought Konstig meant strange and/or unusual. Am I wrong?
It does, but I think "crazy" is a bit too much of a stretch. We'd use galen for that.
