är

Finnish

Alternative forms

• ärrä

Etymology

Ultimately from Latin er. See äs for further details on the vowel.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈær/,
• Rhymes: -ær
• Syllabification^(key): är

Noun

är

1. The name of the Latin-script letter R.

Declension

Anagrams

• -rä

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From Old High German iuwar, from Proto-Germanic *izweraz. Cognate with German euer, English your, Icelandic yðar.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /eːʀ/,
• Rhymes: -ɛːə
• Homophone: Är

Pronoun

är

1. second-person plural possessive pronoun, nominative or accusative case, feminine or plural object; your

See also

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish ær (third-person singular indicative present of vara), from Old East Norse ᛁᛦ, ᛁᛋ (compare Old West Norse es, later er), from Proto-Norse ᛁᛊ (is), ᛁᛊᛏ (ist), from Proto-Germanic *isti, from Proto-Indo-European *es (“to be”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /æːr/ (careful/spelling pronunciation)
• Rhymes: -æːr
• IPA^(key): /eː(r)/, /ɛː(r)/ (casual pronunciation)
• Homophones: E, e, Ä, ä
• Rhymes: -eː, -ɛː

Verb

är

1. present indicative of vara; am/is/are

   Jag är hungrig

   I am hungry

   Han är nöjd

   He is satisfied

   Hon är en tiger

   She is a tiger

   De är pyttesmå

   They are tiny

   Hon är läkare

   She is a doctor (see vara for why there is no article and more examples)

Usage notes

The casual pronunciation is not in any way considered sloppy (as a point of reference, it's used in Ingmar Bergman scenes with highly stylized language). The spelling pronunciation can sound over-enunciated if used consistently.

Related terms

• äm (obsolete)
• äst (obsolete)
• ärom (obsolete)
• ären (obsolete)
• äro (obsolete)

References

• in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)
• Schulte, Michael (2006) “Oral Traces in Runic Epigraphy: Evidence from Older and Younger Inscriptions”, in Journal of Germanic Linguistics, volume 8, number 2, Cambridge University Press, →DOI, retrieved 16 June 2023, pages 139–140
• vara in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• vara in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• vara in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)