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[QANDA] [ARCHIVE] "god" vs "bra"

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Fnirk1
Sweden

[QANDA] [ARCHIVE] "god" vs "bra"

Post by Fnirk1 »

Originally comment by: Lundgren8 På Duolingo Arkiverat här


I thought I'd take the opportunity to explain some differences between god and bra.

God is obviously related to the English word "good" whereas bra is a later word borrowed into Swedish, related to the English word "brave", this has now become the standard word for "good", but god is still used in some contexts.

I am going to give you some examples when god is used, and then usually bra is used in the other senses that are not mentioned here. God is declined god gott goda whereas bra doesn't change. Bra also means 'well', as in the adverb (he did it well), which can also be 'väl'.

Also, the -d in god is often silent, especially when another word comes after, as in this example.

GOD

Sense 1

God is used when you describe something tasty, as in this example.

  • Pastan var väldigt god. (The pasta was very tasty/good.)

In this case, the comparative and superlative (better, best) is usually godare, godast.

  • Pastan var god, men potatisen var godast. (The pasta was tasty, but the potatoes were the tastiest.)

Sense 2

God is also used to mean 'good' as opposed to 'evil', i.e. good-hearted or morally good.

  • Hon är en god människa. (She is a good person.)
  • Vilka vinner? De goda eller de onda? (Who will win? The good or the evil?)

In this case, the comparative and superlative are bättre bäst.

  • Jag ska försöka bli en bättre människa. (I am going to try to be a better person.)

Sense 3

God also means 'having the necessary requirements to work well, skilled' (about a person) or 'of good quality' about a thing.

This is a bit more abstract and the sort of 'core meaning' of god. Usually bra can replace this sense, but often in some of these examples, god is preferred because they are almost semi-fixed expressions. The comparative and superlative are bättre bäst.

  • Han är verkligen en god (bra) simmare! (He is a really good swimmer!)
  • Jag har ett gott (bra) minne. (I have a good memory.)
  • Har du något gott (bra) råd? (Do you have any good advice?)
  • Var en god förlorare och acceptera nederlaget! (Be a good sport and accept your defeat!)
  • Din idé var god (bra), men min är bättre! (Your idea was good, but mine is better!)

This sense is used in the fixed phrases for greetings etc. as well.

  • God jul! (Merry Christmas!)
  • God natt! (Good night!)
  • Varsågod! (You're welcome!)

Sense 4

Finally, god also means 'big, quite a bit', typically in some expressions. This sense is not used in the comparative or superlative. This sense can also sometimes be replaced by 'bra'

  • Han vann med god marginal. (lit.'He won with a big margin', i.e. no one was even close behind.)
  • Jag ska göra det i god tid. (I'm going to do it in time., lit. 'in good time')
  • Vi väntade en god (bra) stund! (We waited for quite a bit!, lit. 'We waited for a good time', i.e.'a long time'.)
  • Du måste gå en god (bra) bit längre. (You have to walk quite a bit further.)

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