-lig

-ly (Adjective Suffix)

Level 3

-lig forms adjectives: fara → farlig, danger → dangerous. It is not a general way to translate English adverbial -ly.

How It Works

The suffix -lig is one of the most common ways to form adjectives from nouns in Swedish. It describes a quality, characteristic, or relation to the base noun. Think of it as being similar to English suffixes like -ly (friendly), -al (personal), or -like (childlike).

Formation:
Noun + -lig → Adjective

  • vän (friend) → vänlig (friendly)
  • fara (danger) → farlig (dangerous)
  • person (person) → personlig (personal)
  • man (man) → manlig (manly)

Adjective Agreement:
These -lig adjectives show ordinary adjective agreement. This is a crucial rule to remember.

  • En-words: The base form is used.
    en vänlig granne (a friendly neighbor)
  • Ett-words: Add a -t.
    ett vänligt leende (a friendly smile)
  • Plural/Definite: Add an -a.
    vänliga grannar (friendly neighbors)
    den vänliga grannen (the friendly neighbor)

The suffix also occurs with verb bases, like förståelig (understandable) from förstå (to understand).

It's important not to confuse -lig with other adjective suffixes like -ig or -bar, which have different meanings and uses.

The base can change before the suffix: fara → farlig loses the final a, and förstå → förståelig has a linking e. Swedish -lig creates adjectives; do not use it mechanically to translate English adverbial -ly. Compare vänlig (friendly) with Hon svarade vänligt (She replied kindly).

Examples (5)

  1. En vänlig granne hjälpte mig med väskorna.

    A friendly neighbor helped me with the bags.

    Word by Word: A friendly neighbor helped me with the-bags.

  2. Det var ett personligt brev, så jag läste det inte.

    It was a personal letter, so I didn't read it.

    Word by Word: It was a personal letter, so I read it not.

    Here, 'personlig' becomes 'personligt' to agree with the ett-word 'brev' (letter).

  3. Barnen är alltid så glada och trevliga.

    The children are always so happy and pleasant.

    Word by Word: The-children are always so happy and pleasant.

    'Trevlig' takes the plural '-a' ending ('trevliga') because it describes 'barnen' (the children).

  4. Situationen blev plötsligt farlig.

    The situation suddenly became dangerous.

    Word by Word: The-situation became suddenly dangerous.

  5. Han har en manlig röst.

    He has a manly voice.

    Word by Word: He has a manly voice.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting adjective agreement, especially with ett-words.

    Det är ett farlig djur.
    Det är ett farligt djur.

    Adjectives describing ett-words like 'djur' must end in -t. 'Farlig' must become 'farligt'.

  • Assuming that a derived adjective has the same meaning as a compound noun.

    Vilken boklig hylla!
    Vilken fin bokhylla!

    Boklig is a standard word: boklig bildning means learning gained from books. It does not ordinarily mean a shelf for books. For that object use the compound bokhylla. Learn the established meaning of each derived adjective rather than treating -lig as a universal “for this noun” suffix.

How It Connects

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

-ligLevel 3-ly (Adjective Suffix)

Learn This First

The suffix -lig is a derivational tool used to turn nouns or other roots into adjectives. To use these new words correctly in a sentence, you must already understand how Swedish adjectives agree with the nouns they describe in terms of gender and number.

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Patterns that build on this one.