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gärna. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
gärna, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
gärna in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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Swedish
Etymology
From Old Norse gjarna, from Proto-Germanic *gernô (“willingly, gladly”), the adverbial form of *gernaz (“willing”).
Pronunciation
Adverb
gärna (comparative hellre, superlative helst)
- gladly, happily, with keenness, (when synonymous with "gladly") willingly/readily
– Vill du klappa kaninen? – Ja, gärna!- – Do you want to pet the rabbit? – Yes, please! (Yes, I would gladly pet the rabbit!)
Hon äter gärna glass- She likes to eat ice cream
Han svarar gärna på frågor- He is happy to answer questions
Ska det regna hela tiden kan man lika gärna stanna hemma- If it's going to rain all the time, you might as well stay home (then you are as happy to stay home)
Köp gärna lite mjölk när du är på affären- It would be great if you could buy some milk when you're at the store (note that the gärna here refers to the attitude of the speaker rather than the addressee)
2007, Laser Inc (lyrics and music), “Det var en gång en fågel [Once upon a time, there was a bird]”:Det var en gång en liten fågel. Ja, en fågel. Han bodde på landet, och Roger hette han. Han ville gärna leka med sina vänner, med sina vänner, men det fick inte han. Men denna historia slutar sorgligt, för Roger blev skjuten, skjuten i magen av gamle jägar'n [jägaren] Pär. Han ville hem och äta, äta en fågel med lite potäter, men Roger hann iväg.- Once upon a time, there was a little bird. Yes, a bird. He lived in the countryside, and Roger was his name. He wanted to play with his friends , with his friends, but he didn't get to. But this story ends sadly, because Roger was shot, shot in the stomach by old hunter Pär . He wanted to go home and eat, eat a bird with some potatoes, but Roger got away .
- often, easily (likely figurative from something "gladly" happening)
Hans fester spårar gärna ur- His parties tend to get out of hand
Försöker man balansera en penna på spetsen så ser man att den gärna faller omkull- If one tries to balance a pencil on its tip one sees that it easily falls over
Usage notes
In imperatives, gärna usually refers to the attitude of the speaker. Since telling someone to be/become willing and happy to do something is rare, this doesn't lead to ambiguity in practice.
See also
References
Anagrams