lätt

See also: latt, lått, and lætt

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish lǣtter, from Old Norse léttr, from Proto-Germanic *linhtaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lengʷʰ-.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /lɛt/
  • audio(file)

Adjective

lätt (comparative lättare, superlative lättast)

  1. light; of low weight
    Antonym: tung
  2. (of food, only in lättmjölk) light; containing only small amounts of fat
  3. (of alcoholic drinks, only in lättöl) containing only small amounts of alcohol; containing less alcohol than customary
    Antonym: stark
  4. easy; not difficult
    Synonyms: enkel, simpel
    Antonym: svår

Usage notes

The construction easy to /verb/ or easily /past participle/ in English, often corresponds to lätt-/past participle/ in compounds, for example:

Den här rätten är lättlagad.
This dish is easy to cook.
Han är väldigt lättlurad.
He is very easily fooled.
Den här hästen var lättskolad.
This horse was easy to break in.

When referring to the fat or alcohol content in drinks it may also be used as a prefix in compounds, for example lättöl (“alcohol-weak beer”) and lättmjölk (“low-fat milk”). It is however rarely used with drinks different than these ones.

Declension
Inflection of lätt
Indefinite Positive Comparative Superlative2
Common singular lätt lättare lättast
Neuter singular lätt lättare lättast
Plural lätta lättare lättast
Definite Positive Comparative Superlative
Masculine singular1 lätte lättare lättaste
All lätta lättare lättaste
1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.
2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.

Derived terms

(easy): lättlurad

Adverb

lätt (comparative lättare, superlative lättast)

  1. easily
  2. lightly; with lack of force or effort
    Jag förberedde mig lätt inför tävlingen.
    I prepared lightly before the contest.
    Vi klädde oss lätt, då det var varmt.
    We dressed lightly, since it was hot

Usage notes

The construction lightly /past participle/ in English, often corresponds to lätt-/past participle/ in compounds, for example:

Strippan gick lättklädd upp på scen.
The stripper walked lightly dressed up on stage.
Då vi endast fick ha handbaggage fick vi åka lättpackade.
Since we only were allowed to bring carry-ons, we had to travel lightly packed.
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