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- "Jag orkar inte höra honom sk…
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Is this in a negative context? If so, can orkar be used for other similar things like -Jag orkar inte se henne-
Yes, exactly. And more recently, we've started using just "orka" to mean basically "oh, come ON".
As in Sweden. Started as youth slang and still is to some degree, but it's gaining acceptance.
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Whe I moved to Sweden, the verb orka had me bamboozled. I went to SFI for 7 months (Svenska för Invandrare) to learn Swedish. It worked well but because it was all carried out in Swedish (no other languages used), I felt I lacked understanding of some words - even when I asked friends or checked things in dictionaries, online etc.
I understood the physical side of orka - having energy/stamina but I also heard lots of people using it in the psychological sense. Jag orkar inte med livet. Jag orkar inte längre etc. I figured it also had the sense of coping. I also realised that when my daughter said "jag orkar inte städa mitt rum", it meant "I can't be bothered".
When I was at a church meeting (of all places haha), an old lady said "jag orkar inte med hans ansikte". She was referring to a particularly grumpy looking man, a real curmudgeon. So I added the defintion "can't stand" to my own internal list.
More recently, I have once again been baffled by the word. My daughter has friends who are in a punk band. They always seem to want me to be around when they have gigs. I think it's probably because I know a lot about 1970s/80s British punk. I feel that I stick out like a sore thumb - untrendy and certainly not cool. Anyway, they use the words "orkar" and "pallar" as single words as a response when someone asks them if they want to do something. I keep asking them what it means. There various defintions are: "Var inte löjligt" "Vem vill orka med det?" and some too rude to mention. "Oh come ON" does capture it. Thankfully, this is still in the realm of youth slang.
Contextually, I suppose. You'd probably pick up the meaning from speech fairly easily through clues in demeanor, prosody, etc.
I think if we suppose the best meaning of ...orkar...having the capability it automatically covers both meanings
Not quite - having the capability has some overlap with having energy but they're far from the same thing.
1 ) Jag kan inte höra honom skratta :- I can't hear him laughing
2 ) jag tål inte att höra honom skratta :- I can't stand hearing him laughing
Är min översättning korrekt ?
"laugh" is better than "laughing" in both cases, but you've understood the meaning.
