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befinna. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
befinna, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
befinna in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
befinna you have here. The definition of the word
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Swedish
Etymology
From Middle Low German bevinden, from Old Saxon bifindan. Equivalent to be- + finna. Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål befinne, Danish befinde, German befinden, Dutch bevinden (“to find”), English befind and Saterland Frisian befiende (“to be located”).
Verb
befinna (present befinner, preterite befann, supine befunnit, imperative befinn)
- (reflexive, somewhat formal) to be located (at); to be (positioned) at
Vi befinner oss nu på den plats där Martin Luther King höll sitt berömda tal.- We find ourselves now at the precise spot where Martin Luther King held his famous speech.
- (reflexive) to be in a specific (non-permanent) state or condition
Ett objekt som befinner sig i rörelse kommer att förbli i rörelse försåvitt det inte verkas på av en yttre obalanserad kraft.- An object which is in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an external and unbalanced force
Antag att vi har en atom som befinner sig i sitt grundtillstånd.- Suppose that we have an atom in its ground state.
Usage notes
One can, in both senses, replace it with a form of vara (“to be”), however this may give an impression of informality or even outright sloppiness, in particular in the second sense.
Conjugation
Conjugation of befinna (class 3 strong)
Further reading