lägga

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See also: lagga and lággá

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish læggia, from Old Norse leggja, from Proto-Germanic *lagjaną. Causative of *ligjaną (see ligga).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /²lɛɡa/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -²ɛɡa

Verb

lägga (present lägger, preterite lade, la, supine lagt, imperative lägg)

  1. to place lying (to lay) somewhere, to place/put in a lying position (not in a standing position); in particular used like the English put for things that either lie down flat or where the eventual orientation does not matter, such as in a heap
    Lägg jeansen på sängen!Put the jeans on the bed!
    Lägg boken på bordet!Put the book on the table! (Assumed to mean lying down in English.)
    Ställ boken på bordet!Put the book upright on the table!
    Lägg boken i högen!Put the book in the heap!
    Lägg korten på bordet!Put your cards on the table!
  2. to put (into a bag, in a pocket, or in a box of some kind)
    Synonyms: lägga ner, stoppa, stoppa ner
    Jag är säker på att jag lade nyckeln i fickan
    I'm positive I put the key in my pocket
  3. (reflexive, sometimes with ner) to lie down; to assume a reclining position
    Sara mådde illa och fick lägga sig (ner) en stund
    Sara felt sick and had to lie down for a while
  4. (transitive) to put to bed
    Synonyms: (about small children) stoppa om (tuck in), (about small children) natta
    När brukar ni lägga barnen?
    At what time do you usually put the kids to bed?
  5. (reflexive) to go to bed; to go to sleep
    Synonyms: gå och lägga sig, gå till sängs, hoppa i säng, knyta sig, krypa till kojs, törna in
    Jag tänker lägga mig tidigt ikväll
    I intend to go to bed early tonight
  6. (usually with ) to expend (some resource, like money or time or energy, towards some goal)
    Synonyms: lägga ner, (mostly about money) spendera
    Jag har lagt tusentals timmar på projektet
    I have spent thousands of hours on the project
  7. (reflexive, about snow) to accumulate on the ground without melting
    Snön hade inte lagt sig än
    The snow hadn't settled yet
  8. (reflexive, about bodies of water) to freeze
    Vättern lägger sig inte varje år.
    Vättern doesn't freeze every year.
  9. to lay; to install for example flooring or a roof
    Vi har lagt nytt tak
    We've put on a new roof
  10. to lay (an egg)
    Fågeln har bara lagt ett ägg
    The bird has only laid one egg
  11. (card games) to play (a card)
    Synonym: spela ut
    Mormor lade ruter sju
    Grandma played the seven of diamonds
  12. (card games, reflexive) to fold; to cease to take further part in a certain deal; to withdraw from further betting
    Mormor vann när alla lade sig
    Grandma won when everybody folded
  13. (reflexive, with a preposition) to position oneself, with respect to someone else who is moving in the same direction
    När det var ett varv kvar lade han sig precis bakom ledaren
    When there was one lap to go, he placed himself right behind the leader
  14. to fold into a shape suitable for storage (about large pieces of fabric, e.g. sheets or larger table cloths)
    Synonym: (also about clothing in general) vika ihop

Usage notes

See the usage notes for ställa for comparisons between these verbs.

Conjugation

See also

References