varifrån/varthän

Where From/to

Level 2

Use 'varifrån' to ask 'from where?' and 'varthän' to ask 'to where?'. They are specific question words for origin and destination.

How It Works

In Swedish, asking about location and direction involves a few key words. While var/vart are the most common, 'varifrån' and 'varthän' distinguish origin from destination explicitly.

Varifrån (From where)
Use varifrån to ask about the origin or starting point of a person, object, or action. It directly translates to 'from where'.

  • Varifrån kommer du? (Where do you come from?)
  • Varifrån blåser vinden? (From where is the wind blowing?)

Varthän (To where / Whither)
Use varthän to ask about the destination or the direction something is heading. It's a bit more formal or literary than its common counterpart, 'vart'. Vart is the more neutral everyday alternative; varthän and its split form also occur regionally.

  • Varthän leder denna väg? (Where does this road lead to?)
  • Varthän är du på väg? (Where are you heading?) - More common: Vart är du på väg?

Comparison:

  • Var? - Asks about a static location. (Var är boken? - Where is the book?)
  • Vart? - Asks about direction/destination (common). (Vart ska du? - Where are you going?)
  • Varifrån? - Asks about origin. (Varifrån kom brevet? - Where did the letter come from?)
  • Varthän? - Asks about direction/destination (formal). (Varthän reser de? - To where are they traveling?)

This distinction is an important part of using question words correctly in Swedish.

The split form Var kommer du ifrån? is ordinary in speech and informal writing. Varthän is often literary; regional southern speech also has split Var(t) ska du hän?.

Examples (5)

  1. Varifrån kommer du?

    Where do you come from?

    Word by Word: Where-from come you?

  2. Jag undrar varifrån han fick den idén.

    I wonder where he got that idea from.

    Word by Word: I wonder where-from he got that idea.

  3. Varifrån har du köpt den tröjan?

    Where did you buy that sweater from?

    Word by Word: Where-from have you bought that sweater?

  4. Varthän leder den här stigen?

    Where does this path lead to?

    Word by Word: To-where leads this here path?

    'Varthän' is used here to ask about the final destination of the path. It has a slightly formal or literary tone.

  5. Varthän ska vi resa nästa gång?

    To where shall we travel next time?

    This is a grammatically correct but somewhat formal way of asking. In everyday speech, 'Vart ska vi resa?' is much more common.

Common Mistakes

  • Asking about the destination when the intended question is about the starting point.

    (Asking where the train set off from.) Vart går tåget?
    Varifrån kommer tåget?

    Vart asks where the train is going; varifrån asks its origin. Var kommer tåget? can ask where the train appears or arrives, so it is not inherently ungrammatical.

  • Using main-clause inversion inside an indirect question.

    Jag undrar varifrån kommer tåget.
    Jag undrar varifrån tåget kommer.

    In the ordinary indirect-question pattern, the subject precedes the finite verb. The direct question is Varifrån kommer tåget? Varthän itself is grammatical in conversation, even if it sounds literary in many regions.

How It Connects

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

varifrån/varthänLevel 2Where From/to

Learn This First

To understand 'varifrån' and 'varthän', you first need to be familiar with the basic question word for location 'var' and the preposition 'från'. It is also important to understand how Swedish distinguishes between static location and movement/direction.

Words in This Pattern

varifrån