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- "Jag tänker, alltså finns jag…
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It's quite possible his last gig tutoring the Queen of Sweden may have greatly hastened his demise. Legend has it that she was a fan of very early morning study sessions, while he was very much not, but he was not in an advantageous position to complain when called upon at any hour, even in the dead of winter, and apparently his health suffered quite a bit on account of it. :(
It's been called Sweden's only lasting contribution to the field of philosophy. :)
No, no, the "killed" part is not meant to be taken seriously.
So, he was officially killed? I've read a little bit about it and it seems the "official" cause of death was pneumonia but it's believed that he was poisoned with arsenic :/
In my mother tongue: "Je pense, donc je suis". For French learners... ;)
Let's keep this going. In my mother tongue, Khasi, it's "Nga pyrkhat, takadaw nga don"
Could one use "därför" instead of "alltså"? If not, what is the difference between the two words?
Meaningwise, it's fine, but the idiomatic phrase uses alltså.
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Every language has it vices. As in spoken english people uses "like" all the time, in Sweden "typ" is something i hear quite often and it's used the same way. On the other hand, i don't quite understand the use of "Alltså" for ALMOST every phrase. It works as an automatic connector but i don't seem to find the correct exact translation to it. I hear people saying "alltså this" alltså that all the time.... Any further development on this would be much appreciated!
According to wiktionary, "alltså" (often "asså" in speech or very colloquial writing) is used to express disbelief or exasperation to the following statement.
As a native speaker, I would translate "alltså" to "i.e.". Although, when overused to almost every sentence, I would say it has become "I mean".
alltså can mean "i.e.", but only rarely. It doesn't work for most uses of it.
It's the same with its direct cognate in German, "also." For its part, American English similarly overuses "so" in analogous contexts.
"Tänka fritt är stort, men tanka rätt är större". Thomas Thorild (Thinking freely is a lot, but thinking right is better)
In English it's actually "I think therefore I am". I get that the meaning is one of existing though, and that that is what the Swedish text actually says, but an English speaker would never say "I think therefore I exist".
Can someone help me straighten out all the ways 'tänker', 'tycker', and 'känner' are used? I know 'tänker' is used for more abstract thoughts like, "I am planning on" ("Jag tänker på") and that 'tycker' whilst a cognate with 'think' is mostly used to denote liking or appreciating something, the gist being that you think of it often.
And 'känner', even though it is a cognate with 'know', is used mainly in the sense of 'to feel' or 'to find', which are both interestingly enough ways of expressing your thought as well, i.e. "I feel that is the case", or "I find that unlikely". This isn't too tough to wrap one's head around because although it's poetic and borderline archaic, in English you can describe feeling an emotion or state of being as 'knowing' it as well, i.e. "I knew only sorrow", or "She knows hatred well".
But I digress, is there anything I missed? Or are there any other insights anyone can offer me about how and when to use the numerous verbs that all revolve around different states of knowing, thinking, and feeling?
Tänker - to think about or imagine, in the abstract sense of thinking. eg. Jag tänker på dig - I am thinking about you. Vad tänker du på? - What are you thinking about? As you say, it can also be used to state your intention to do something. Jag tänker måla huset - I intend to paint the house. etc.
Tycker - to have an opinion about something. Jag tycker att röd är en fin färg - I think that red is a nice colour (You could probably use tror here too). Jag tycker att du är snäll - I think that you are nice.
Tycker om - to like something. Tycker om is a particle verb and is essentially synonymous with gillar. eg. Jag tycker om glass - I like ice cream.
Tror - to believe or hold opinion on. eg Jag tror på tomten - I believe in Santa. Jag tror att du kommer att vinna - I think that you will win. Some overlap with tycker in its usage - perhaps a native speaker can better explain the difference here.
Känner - to know in the sense of being familiar with someone. eg Jag känner honom - I know him. Or to touch/feel something eg. Jag känner väggen - I feel the wall. (Terrible example sorry!)
Känner sig - to feel (eg emotion) eg. Jag känner mig glad - I feel happy. Jag känner mig lite sjuk - I feel a little sick.
Känner (för) - used to express something that you feel like doing. eg Jag känner för att dansa - I feel like dancing. Jag känner för (att äta) mat - I feel like (eating) food. nb More commonly/formally used with a verb but can be used to express what you want casually in a similar way to English eg I feel like icecream.
Känner igen - to recognise. eg Jag känner igen honom - I recognise him.
Vet - to know in the sense of understanding/knowledge. Vet du när bussen kommer? - Do you know when the bus is coming?
I threw this together in a hurry so I hope that a mod can point out my mistakes and/or add to it as necessary! I still misuse tror/tycker fairly frequently!!
Bonus verbs:
Anser - to consider, have a formal opinion on. Used more formally than tycker.
Antar - to assume.
This is an amazing summary, thank you so much for it, it's going to be really useful. Have here 5 lingots for your help :D
Descartes died in Sweden (in 1649), so he may have repeated his well known maxim (Cogito, ergo sum) in Swedish several times down the line to the curious. He was buried in Paris, where his memorial may still be seen.
I'd like to think that as well, but Queen Christina was educated in both French and Latin, so it's unfortunately unlikely. :)
They're not interchangeable, but you can say jag tänker, så jag finns.
