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Siffran i boken är svår att förstå.

Siffran i boken är svår att förstå.
The number in the book is hard to understand.

Breakdown of Siffran i boken är svår att förstå.

vara
to be
i
in
boken
the book
förstå
to understand
att
to
siffran
the digit
svår
hard
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Questions & Answers about Siffran i boken är svår att förstå.

Why is it siffran and not siffra?

Siffra is the indefinite form (like a digit / a figure).
Siffran is the definite form (like the digit / the figure).

In Swedish, definiteness is usually shown with an ending, not a separate word:

  • en siffra = a digit
  • siffran = the digit

So Siffran i boken means “The digit in the book”, not “A digit in the book.”

Why isn’t there a separate word for “the” in siffran?

Swedish normally puts “the” at the end of the noun as a suffix.

For en-words (common gender):

  • en bok = a book → boken = the book
  • en siffra = a digit → siffran = the digit

For ett-words (neuter):

  • ett hus = a house → huset = the house

So siffran already means “the digit”; you don’t add another word for “the” in front of it.

What’s the difference between siffra, nummer, and tal?

They overlap, but they’re not identical:

  • siffra = a digit / numeral symbol (0–9, or sometimes a single written figure)
    • ex: Siffran 7 är fel. = The digit 7 is wrong.
  • nummer = a number used as a label (phone number, house number, player number, etc.)
    • ex: Vilket är ditt telefonnummer?
  • tal = a number as a quantity (mathematical value) or speech (depending on context)
    • ex (number): Ett stort tal = a large number
    • ex (speech): Hon höll ett tal. = She gave a speech.

In Siffran i boken är svår att förstå, siffran suggests a particular written figure or numeric expression that is difficult to interpret.

Why is it i boken and not something like på boken?

i generally means “in” (inside something), while på means “on” (on the surface of something).

  • i boken = in the book (inside its contents, on the pages)
  • på boken = on the book (on the cover, physically on top of the book)

Here we’re talking about a digit that appears in the content of the book, so i boken is correct.

Why is it boken and not just bok?

Same definiteness rule as with siffran:

  • en bok = a book (indefinite)
  • boken = the book (definite)

The English sentence is “The digit in the book is hard to understand.”
Since English uses “the”, Swedish also needs the definite form: boken, not bok.

Why is it är svår att förstå and not something like är svårt att förstås?

The pattern adjective + att + infinitive is very common in Swedish:

  • är svår att förstå = is hard to understand
  • literally: is difficult to understand

Here:

  • svår = difficult / hard
  • att förstå = to understand

Att marks the infinitive (like “to” in “to understand”), and förstå stays in its base form.
You don’t need a passive -s ending (förstås) here; that would change the meaning to something like “is understood” (passive voice), which is not intended.

What does att mean in att förstå? Is it “to” or “that”?

Here, att is the infinitive marker, equivalent to “to” before a verb in English:

  • att förstå = to understand
  • att läsa = to read
  • att skriva = to write

It is not the same att as “that” in sentences like “I think that…”.
That att introduces a clause (and is often omitted in spoken Swedish), while this att simply forms the infinitive.

Why is it svår and not svårt?

Adjectives in Swedish agree with the gender and number of the noun they describe.

  • siffra is an en-word (common gender).
  • The en-word form of the adjective is svår.
  • The ett-word form would be svårt.
  • The plural form would be svåra.

So:

  • Siffran är svår. = The digit is difficult.
  • Det här talet är svårt. = This number (ett tal) is difficult.
  • Siffrorna är svåra. = The digits are difficult.

Since siffran is an en-word, you must use svår.

Could I also say Det är svårt att förstå siffran i boken? What’s the difference?

Yes, that’s a very natural sentence:

  • Siffran i boken är svår att förstå.
    • Focus is on the digit itself: “The digit in the book is hard to understand.”
  • Det är svårt att förstå siffran i boken.
    • More general statement about the situation: “It is hard to understand the digit in the book.”

Both are correct; the nuance is similar to English:

  • The digit is hard to understand.
    vs.
  • It’s hard to understand the digit.
Why is the adjective svår placed before att förstå?

Swedish typically uses the structure:

[subject] + är + [adjective] + att + [infinitive]

So:

  • Siffran i boken (subject)
  • är (verb)
  • svår (adjective)
  • att förstå (infinitive phrase)

You don’t say *är att förstå svår; that would sound incorrect and unnatural. The adjective comes directly after the verb and before att + verb, just like in English: “is hard to understand”, not “is to understand hard”.

Is siffra an en-word or an ett-word?

Siffra is an en-word (common gender):

  • en siffra = a digit
  • siffran = the digit
  • den här siffran = this digit

That’s why you see:

  • svår (en-word form)
    and not svårt (ett-word form) in the sentence.