Matsvinnet och matavfallet måste minskas.

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Breakdown of Matsvinnet och matavfallet måste minskas.

• måste: must
• minska: to reduce
• matsvinnet: the food waste

Questions & Answers about Matsvinnet och matavfallet måste minskas.

What is the difference between matsvinnet and matavfallet?

They are related, but not exactly the same.

matsvinn usually means food that could have been eaten but gets thrown away anyway, so it emphasizes avoidable waste.

matavfall is broader and usually means food waste as refuse, including things like peels, bones, eggshells, or coffee grounds.

So in many real-life contexts:

• matsvinn = unnecessary wasted food
• matavfall = food waste in general, especially what ends up as waste to be collected or sorted

Why do matsvinnet and matavfallet end in -et?

Because both nouns are in the definite singular form.

In Swedish, definite nouns usually add the definite ending to the noun itself instead of using a separate word like English the.

Here:

• ett matsvinn → matsvinnet
• ett matavfall → matavfallet

Both are ett-words, so their definite singular ending is -et.

Are matsvinnet and matavfallet compound words?