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på in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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Danish
Etymology
Rebracketing of older oppå, from Old Norse upp + á, compare English 'pon from upon. The preposition å (“on”) is still used in some Jutlandic dialects in the same sense.
Pronunciation
Preposition
på
- on
- Synonym: (Jutlandic) å
Adverb
på
- on
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
Rebracketing of Old Norse upp á, compare English upon.
Pronunciation
Preposition
på
- on
- Boken er på bordet ― The book is on the table
- on, against, touching; hanging from or being attached to (a vertical surface)
- Eplet henger på den grenen. ― The apple is hanging on that branch.
- Skiltet på veggen. ― The sign on the wall.
- on (a certain day)
- På julaften. ― On Christmas eve.
- at (some abstract concepts)
- Jeg er på jobb. ― I am at work.
- at (concerning time)
- På den tiden... ― At that time...
- in (a language or dialect)
- Si det på norsk. ― Say it in Norwegian.
Adverb
på
- (of machines, etc) turned on; functioning
Derived terms
References
- “på” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
- paa (the old spelling)
- pao (some western dialects)
Etymology
Rebracketing of Old Norse upp á, compare English upon.
Pronunciation
Preposition
på
- on (touching from above or touching, hanging from)
- Boka ligg på bordet
- The book is on the table
- on, against, touching; hanging from or being attached to (a vertical surface)
- Eplet som heng på den greina
- The apple hanging on that branch
- Skiltet på veggen
- The sign on the wall
- on (a certain day)
- på julaftan
- on Christmas Eve
- at (some abstract concepts)
- på jobben
- at work
- at (concerning time)
- på den tida
- at that time
- in (islands and many towns that are not on the coast)
- på Island
- in Iceland
- på Hamar
- in Hamar
- in (a language)
- på nynorsk
- in Nynorsk
- in (part of the day, time of day)
- på ettermiddagen
- in the afternoon
Adverb
på
- (of machines, etc) turned on; functioning
- Fjernsynet står på
- The television is on
Derived terms
References
- “på” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Russenorsk
Etymology
From Norwegian Nynorsk på and Russian по (po).
Pronunciation
Preposition
på
- on
- in
- to (direction)
- Davai på skip kom
- Come on, come to the ship
- at
- of (belonging)
References
- Ingvild Broch, Ernst H. Jahr (1984) Russenorsk: Et pidginspråk i Norge [Russenorsk: A pidgin language in Norway], 2 edition, Oslo: Novus Forlag
Swedish
Etymology
Rebracketing of uppå,[1] from Old Norse upp á. Compare English 'pon, formed in a similar way from upon.
Pronunciation
Preposition
på
- on, on top of; touching from above
Boken ligger på bordet.- The book lies on the table.
- on, against, touching; hanging from or being attached to (a vertical surface)
Äpplet som hänger på den grenen- The apple hanging on that branch
Skylten på väggen- The sign on the wall
- on (a certain day)
- på julafton ― on Christmas Eve
- at (some abstract concepts, and locations associated more with their purpose than architecture)
- på jobbet ― at work
- på begravning ― at a funeral
- på festen ― at the party
- på hockey ― at a hockey game
- på sjukhuset ― at the hospital
- på stationen ― at the train station
- på marknaden ― at the market
- på toaletten ― on the toilet
- på dass ― in the outhouse
- in (a language)
- på svenska ― in Swedish
- in (part of the day, time of day)
- på eftermiddagen ― in the afternoon
- of (part of an object)
Ögat på nålen- The eye of the needle
Slå huvudet på spiken- Hit the head of the nail
Usage notes
På only means at when it cannot mean on top, usually when talking about abstract concepts (which extends to clubs, hospitals, and other places where the focus is normally not on the building itself) rather than physical objects that one may be on top of. For at in a truly spatial sense, use vid. See also the usage notes for inuti.
In the time sense, it is only used for speaking of days when describing them in some sense: på julafton, på min födelsedag, på måndag; when giving a date this preposition is excluded: Han köpte bilen den tredje maj = He bought the car on the third of May.
The sense of can also be expressed using the genitive. For example, the phrase ögat på nålen above is interchangeable with nålens öga.
Synonyms
- uppå (somewhat solemn or dialectal)
- å (obsolete except in certain fixed expressions and compounds)
Adjective
på (not comparable)
- (predicative, of machines, etc) turned on; functioning
Radion är inte på.- The radio isn't turned on.
Declension
Invariable, only used predicatively.
Derived terms
References
- ^ Lindström, Fredrik (2010) “Svårt att gissa arslets grundform [Hard to guess the lemma of arslet]”, in Språktidningen (in Swedish), number 5, retrieved 20 August 2020