o-

Un-/in-

Level 3

Learn established o-words such as osäker (uncertain) and otur (bad luck). The prefix often adds negative meaning, but cannot mechanically create the opposite of every word.

How It Works

The prefix o- is a powerful tool for expanding your vocabulary by learning opposites. It's primarily used to negate adjectives, but can also be used with some nouns.

Usage with Adjectives:
This is the most common use. The new word is an adjective and must follow all the normal rules for adjective agreement.

  • vanlig (common/usual) → ovanlig (uncommon/unusual)
  • säker (sure/certain) → osäker (unsure/uncertain)
  • trevlig (pleasant) → otrevlig (unpleasant)
  • ärlig (honest) → oärlig (dishonest)

Usage with Nouns:
While less common than with adjectives, o- can negate some nouns, often abstract ones.

  • tur (luck) → otur (bad luck)
  • ordning (order) → oordning (disorder/mess)
  • gräs (grass) → ogräs (weed)

Important Note:
You cannot add o- to every adjective. Its use is lexical, not a ban on all physical descriptions: ojämn (uneven) can describe a surface. For ordinary not red, use inte röd rather than assuming a new o-word is established. For many words, a completely different word is used for the opposite (e.g., stor (big) vs. liten (small), not 'o-stor'). Established formations can acquire their own meanings; ogräs is not simply everything that is not grass. Ordinary prefixed words are written together without a hyphen.

Examples (6)

  1. Det är omöjligt att sluta på en timme.

    It's impossible to finish in an hour.

    Word by Word: It is impossible to finish in one hour.

  2. Han gav mig en otrevlig blick.

    He gave me an unpleasant look.

    Word by Word: He gave me an unpleasant look.

  3. Vilken otur! Jag missade bussen igen.

    What bad luck! I missed the bus again.

    Word by Word: What bad-luck! I missed the bus again.

  4. Barnets rum var i fullständig oordning.

    The child's room was in complete disorder.

    Word by Word: The-child's room was in complete disorder.

  5. Jag känner mig osäker på mitt svar.

    I feel uncertain about my answer.

    Word by Word: I feel me uncertain on my answer.

  6. Det var en ovanligt kall vinter.

    It was an unusually cold winter.

    Word by Word: It was an unusually cold winter.

    Here, ovanligt is the adverb form of the adjective ovanlig (unusual).

Common Mistakes

  • Applying 'o-' to any adjective to mean 'not'.

    Bilen är o-snabb.
    Bilen är långsam.

    Långsam is the ordinary established word for slow in this example. Do not mechanically create an o-word as a substitute for every antonym. Creative or regional formations can occur; the issue is ordinary lexical choice, not a rule forbidding physical qualities.

How It Connects

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

o-Level 3Un-/in-

Learn This First

To understand the negative prefix o-, learners should first be familiar with basic adjectives and how they are negated using 'inte'. Since o- is frequently attached to adjectives ending in the suffix -lig, recognizing that suffix helps in identifying the root word being negated.

Words in This Pattern

o-