sällan
Seldom/rarely
sällan = seldom, rarely
How It Works
'Sällan' is an adverb that tells you how often something happens. It means 'seldom' or 'rarely'.
In the basic subject-first pattern below, sällan follows the finite verb. This is a useful starting pattern, not a rule that it must be immediately adjacent in every clause.
Subject + Verb + sällan
- Jag reser sällan utomlands. (I seldom travel abroad.)
- Hon dricker sällan kaffe. (She rarely drinks coffee.)
If you want to emphasize 'sällan', you can place it at the beginning of the sentence. When you do this, you must switch the subject and the verb. This is called the verb-second rule.
Sällan + Verb + Subject
- Sällan reser jag utomlands. (Seldom do I travel abroad.)
In ordinary subordinate order, place sällan before the finite verb: eftersom jag sällan reser. It can also appear later, especially as a modified frequency expression: Vi går på bio ganska sällan (We go to the cinema rather rarely). Sällan is not equivalent to aldrig: something rare still occurs occasionally.
Examples (4)
- Vi ser sällan den filmen.
We rarely see that movie.
Word by Word: We see seldom that movie.
- Han är sällan hemma på helgerna.
He is seldom home on the weekends.
Word by Word: He is seldom home on the weekends.
- Det snöar sällan här på sommaren.
It rarely snows here in the summer.
Word by Word: It snows seldom here in the summer.
- Sällan har jag sett något så vackert.
Seldom have I seen something so beautiful.
Word by Word: Seldom have I seen something so beautiful.
Here, 'sällan' is at the beginning for emphasis, which causes the verb ('har') to come before the subject ('jag'). This is an example of V2 inversion.
Common Mistakes
Keeping subject-first order after initial sällan.
Sällan jag går på bio.Sällan går jag på bio.In an ordinary declarative main clause beginning with sällan, the finite verb precedes the subject. Sentence-final placement is not automatically wrong: Tågen går ganska sällan is normal.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To use 'sällan' (seldom/rarely) correctly, you need to understand basic Swedish sentence structure, specifically where adverbs are placed in relation to the verb. You should also be familiar with basic verb conjugation to create the sentences that 'sällan' modifies.
- Word order basics
Understanding where to place adverbs of frequency like 'sällan' in a sentence requires knowledge of basic Swedish word order.
Foundations - Basic verb conjugation
Adverbs of frequency are typically used to modify verbs, so understanding how to conjugate basic verbs is necessary to form complete sentences.
Foundations
Related Patterns
- oftaOften
'Ofta' (often) is the opposite of 'sällan'. Both are frequency adverbs and follow the same word order rules.
Level 1 - alltidAlways
Alltid expresses always, while sällan expresses low frequency. Both can appear in the clause’s middle field; their position is not simply always immediately after the first verb.
Level 1 - aldrigNever
'Aldrig' (never) is another frequency adverb. It follows the same placement rules as 'sällan'.
Level 1 - Verb-second rule
When you start a sentence with 'sällan' for emphasis, you must use the V2 inversion rule, placing the verb in the second position.
Level 3
Words in This Pattern
Practice sällan in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Swedish lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
