sem sagt

In Other Words (Sem Sagt)

Level 5

Þú kemur sem sagt ekki? (So you are not coming?)

How It Works

Three common uses.

  • Checking: Þú kemur sem sagt ekki? (So you are not coming?)
  • Rephrasing: Við förum á föstudaginn, sem sagt eftir tvo daga. (We are leaving on Friday, in other words in two days.)
  • Summing up: Sem sagt, allt í lagi. (So, everything is fine.)

Where it goes. Inside a sentence it comes after the verb, before ekki: Þú kemur sem sagt ekki. Við verðum sem sagt að fara á morgun. At the start of a sentence it is set off with a comma, and the rest of the sentence keeps its normal order: Sem sagt, við förum á morgun.

Register. sem sagt belongs mainly to speech and informal writing. In speech, jæja also wraps things up. In formal writing, það er að segja (that is to say, abbreviated þ.e.) introduces a rephrasing.

Spelling. Write sem sagt as two words, not semsagt.

Examples (5)

  1. Þú kemur sem sagt ekki?

    So you are not coming?

    Word by Word: You come as said not?

    sem sagt comes after the verb, before ekki.

  2. Sem sagt, allt í lagi.

    So, everything is fine.

    Word by Word: As said, all in order.

  3. Við förum á föstudaginn, sem sagt eftir tvo daga.

    We are leaving on Friday, in other words in two days.

    Word by Word: We go on the-Friday, as said after two days.

  4. Búðin er lokuð á sunnudögum. Við verðum sem sagt að fara á morgun.

    The shop is closed on Sundays. So we will have to go tomorrow.

    Word by Word: The-shop is closed on Sundays. We must as said to go tomorrow.

  5. Hann sagði upp í gær. Hann er sem sagt atvinnulaus núna.

    He quit yesterday. So he is unemployed now.

    Word by Word: He said up yesterday. He is as said jobless now.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing sem sagt as one word.

    Þú kemur semsagt ekki?
    Þú kemur sem sagt ekki?

    The standard spelling is two words: sem sagt.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

sem sagtLevel 5In Other Words (Sem Sagt)

Learn This First

sem sagt builds on softening words.

Words in This Pattern

semsagt