Maten är fortfarande ätbar.

Because maten is the definite form of mat.

• mat = food
• maten = the food

In Swedish, the definite article is usually added as an ending to the noun, rather than written as a separate word like English the.

So:

• mat = food
• maten = the food

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about some specific food, not food in general.

Swedish often puts definiteness at the end of the noun instead of using a separate article.

So English:

• the food

becomes Swedish:

• maten

This is very normal in Swedish. A separate definite article is only used in some other structures, especially when there is an adjective before the noun, for example:

• den kalla maten = the cold food

But in maten är fortfarande ätbar, there is no adjective directly before the noun, so maten by itself is enough.

Är is the present tense of vara, which means to be.

So:

• är = is / are / am

In this sentence, it links the subject maten with the description ätbar.

Structure:

• Maten = the food
• är = is
• ätbar = edible

So är works just like is in English.

Fortfarande means still.

So it tells you that the food was edible before, and it remains edible now.

In this sentence:

• Maten är fortfarande ätbar.
• The food is still edible.

Its position is very natural in Swedish: it comes after the verb är and before the adjective ätbar.

That pattern is common:

• Han är fortfarande trött. = He is still tired.
• Det är fortfarande kallt. = It is still cold.

Sometimes, yes, but fortfarande is the more natural choice here.

Both can relate to still, but they are not always interchangeable.

• fortfarande often means still, continuing to be
• ännu can sometimes mean yet or still, depending on context

In a sentence like this, where something continues to be true, fortfarande sounds very natural:

• Maten är fortfarande ätbar.

Using ännu here is possible in some contexts, but it can sound a bit different or less neutral. For learners, fortfarande is the safest choice for still in this kind of sentence.

Ätbar means edible.

It comes from:

• äta = to eat
• ät- = eat-
• -bar = -able

So ätbar literally means something like eat-able.

This -bar ending is useful in Swedish and works a lot like English -able:

• tänkbar = thinkable / conceivable
• läsbar = readable
• drickbar = drinkable

So ätbar is a very logical word: something that can be eaten.

Because adjectives in Swedish often agree with the noun.

Here, mat is a common-gender singular noun, so the adjective stays in its basic form:

• ätbar

Compare:

• Maten är ätbar. = The food is edible.
• Ägget är ätbart. = The egg is edible.
  (ägg is a neuter noun, so the adjective gets -t)
• Bären är ätbara. = The berries are edible.
  (plural gets -a)

So the form depends on the noun:

• common singular: ätbar
• neuter singular: ätbart
• plural: ätbara

Usually, yes. It means that something can be eaten.

But just like English edible, it can be used in a practical rather than enthusiastic way. It often suggests:

• safe enough to eat
• not spoiled
• technically okay to eat

It does not necessarily mean delicious.

So Maten är fortfarande ätbar may suggest:

• the food is old, but still okay to eat
• it has not gone bad yet

That is very similar to how edible works in English.

Because Swedish normally keeps the finite verb in the second position in main clauses. This is often called the V2 rule.

Here the sentence starts with the subject:

• Maten = position 1
• är = position 2

Then the adverb and adjective follow:

• fortfarande
• ätbar

So:

• Maten är fortfarande ätbar.

Not:

• Maten fortfarande är ätbar.

That second version sounds wrong in standard Swedish.

Yes, but then the word order changes because of the V2 rule.

You can say:

• Fortfarande är maten ätbar.

This is grammatical, but it sounds more marked or stylistic. It may put extra focus on still.

When you move fortfarande to the first position, the verb must still stay in second position:

• Fortfarande = position 1
• är = position 2
• maten follows after that

So you do not say:

• Fortfarande maten är ätbar

That is incorrect.

A careful approximation is:

MAH-ten air fohrt-FAHR-an-deh EAT-bar

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• maten: two syllables, roughly MAH-ten
• är: similar to air, though not exactly the same
• fortfarande: four syllables, roughly fohrt-FAHR-an-deh
• ätbar: roughly EAT-bar, but with a Swedish ä sound at the start

A few specific sounds:

• ä is not the same as English a; it is closer to the vowel in English air or bed, depending on the word and accent
• r in Swedish varies by dialect
• the stress is typically strongest on the first syllable of maten, on far in fortfarande, and on ät in ätbar

Yes, that is a very natural English rendering.

Even if the direct meaning of ätbar is edible, in real life the sentence often implies:

• the food has not spoiled yet
• the food is still okay to eat
• the food is still safe to eat

So depending on context, still edible and still okay to eat can both be good translations.