väl

German Low German

Adjective

väl

1. Alternative spelling of vęl

Plautdietsch

Adjective

väl

1. many, much, a lot of

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse vel, from Proto-Germanic *wela, from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁-. Common Germanic word. Cognate with Danish vel, Dutch wel, English well, Faroese væl, German wohl, Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐌻𐌰 (waila), Icelandic vel, Norwegian Bokmål vel, Norwegian Nynorsk vel.

Pronunciation 1

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɛːl/

• audio

  (file)

Adverb

väl (not comparable)

1. well

   Han spelar piano väl

   He plays piano well

   väl fungerande infrastruktur

   well-functioning infrastructure

   Jag känner honom väl

   I know him well

   Skaka väl

   Shake well

   1. too (overly – from "well" as in "to a significant degree" (like in "well known"), with an implication of excessiveness)

      Han spelar lite väl mycket piano

      He plays a bit too much piano (or, in tone, "He goes a little hard on the piano" / "He could cut down on the piano playing a bit")

      (literally, “He plays a little well much piano”)

      Chilisåsen är lite väl stark

      The chili sauce is a bit too hot (or, in tone, "The chili sauce is a wee bit hot" / "We went a little heavy on the heat" / "It wouldn't hurt if the chili sauce was a bit milder")

      (literally, “The chili sauce is a little well strong (idiomatic for hot spiciness)”)

2. once (after something has happened)

   Väl framme upptäckte vi att butiken var stängd

   Once there, we discovered that the shop was closed

   Han är lite lat, men när han väl kommer igång så får han mycket gjort

   He's a bit lazy, but once he gets going, he gets a lot done

3. on the other hand, however

   Synonym: (more common) däremot

   Filmen är inte välproducerad, men väl mycket underhållande

   The movie is not well produced, but very entertaining on the other hand

Derived terms

Noun

väl n

1. well-being, weal (positive state of being)

   Jag vill dig väl (idiomatic)

   Antonym of "I want to harm you": I want to help you / It's for you own good / "I want you well" (like "I wish you well," but usually actively)

   Min önskan för ditt väl skall följa dina spår

   My wish for your well-being shall follow your tracks

Derived terms

• väl och ve

Pronunciation 2

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɛlː/

Adverb

väl (not comparable)

2. (in questions) Used to ask for confirmation or agreement (in a somewhat stern or pleading way).

   Du har väl städat rummet?

   You've cleaned your room, right?

   Du har städat rummet, väl?

   You've cleaned your room, right? (a different, uncommon way to phrase it that might provide intuition – see the usage notes)

   Du kommer väl på festen?

   You're coming to the party, right?

   Du älskar mig väl?

   You do love me, don't you?

   Men det är väl mig du älskar?

   But it is me you love (as opposed to someone else), isn't it?

   Så dålig var väl inte filmen?

   The movie wasn't tha(aa)t bad, was it?

4. (outside questions) Expresses reservation: "I guess," "probably," etc.

   Jaja, den var väl okej

   Yeah yeah, it was alright, I guess

   "Väl"? Den var ju jättebra!

   "I guess"? It was super good! (with ju expressing that this is "fact" and should be common understanding)

   Han har inte kommit än, men han har väl kört vilse som vanligt

   He hasn't arrived yet, but he's probably gotten ("driven") lost as usual

   1. surely

      Det här kan väl ändå inte vara rätt väg

      Surely this can't be the right way (to somewhere)

      (literally, “This can väl yet not be the right way”)

Usage notes

• Besides the "väl," the grammar is the same as for a statement in (sense 1), similar to English when the "right?", etc., is removed. At the most basic level, "väl" can be thought of simply as expressing reservation (like "well" sometimes does in other contexts in English), which carries over into (sense 2), though the questions are interpreted as questions just as much as in English. Though usually not how sentences are structured, imagining a "Well?" at the end of each question instead might provide intuition as well as give a feeling for why the questions have a somewhat stern or pleading tone. Grammatically, the reservation often applies to a verb instead. The "Well?" analogy can be taken too far, as the translations of the examples above are a match for tone, unlike a literal "Well?"
• As expected from the above, it is sometimes possible to interpret a spoken sentence with väl as either a question or a statement. Note that this is also true in English for the "surely" example above. Though not always a good match for tone, replacing other instances of "väl" with "surely" might be another way to gain intuition.
• Emphasis can change the meaning. "Du älskar väl MIG?" means "It is me you love, isn't it?", while "Du ÄLSKAR väl mig?" means "You do love me, don't you?" (Without context, the most intuitive reading of "Du älskar väl mig?" is "Du älskar väl MIG?")
• Note that this adverb is pronounced differently from the other adverb and the noun, which are pronounced as expected from the spelling. "Väll" would reflect the pronunciation of this adverb, and is a common misspelling.

Synonyms

• la (western Sweden)

References

• väl in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• väl in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• väl in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams

• älv