Learn Hardcore Swedish: Läkaren tycker att en tablett ibland räcker, men att vila är viktigare. - The doctor thinks that a pill is sometimes enough, but that rest is more important.

Using Läkaren tells us we are talking about a specific doctor that is already known in the context (for example, “the doctor you’re seeing” or “the doctor in this story”). In Swedish, the definite article is usually added as an ending to the noun (läkare → läkaren), instead of putting a separate word like the in front.

What does tycker mean here, and how is it different from tror or anser?

In this sentence, tycker means “to think / to be of the opinion”.

tycker = having an opinion, often based on experience or personal judgement.
- Läkaren tycker att … = The doctor thinks (is of the opinion) that …
tror = to believe something is true, often when you don’t know for sure.
anser = to consider, to hold the view that; it sounds more formal or official than tycker.

So Läkaren tycker att … is the natural way to say “The doctor thinks that …” in the sense of a professional opinion.

Why do we need att after tycker, and why is it repeated: tycker att … men att …?

att here introduces a subordinate clause (a “that”-clause), just like “that” in English:

Läkaren tycker att en tablett ibland räcker
= The doctor thinks *that one tablet is sometimes enough*

Then the sentence continues with a second clause:

men att vila är viktigare
= but *that rest is more important*

Swedish often repeats att before each separate subordinate clause, especially when they are parallel or contrasted (as with men “but”). You can sometimes drop the second att in informal speech, but keeping it is clear and correct.

Could you leave out att and just say Läkaren tycker en tablett ibland räcker?

In informal spoken Swedish, people do sometimes drop att after verbs like tycker:

Läkaren tycker (att) en tablett ibland räcker.

However, in standard written Swedish, you should keep att. In your sentence it also helps to keep the parallel structure with men att vila är viktigare. So for writing and for learners, use att.

Why is the word order en tablett ibland räcker and not ibland en tablett räcker or en tablett räcker ibland?

This is a subordinate clause introduced by att, and in such clauses Swedish usually has Subject – (Adverb) – Verb order:

Subject: en tablett
Adverb: ibland
Verb: räcker

So: att en tablett ibland räcker

In a main clause, typical neutral order would be Subject – Verb – Adverb:

En tablett räcker ibland.
(A tablet is enough sometimes.)

Or with the adverb first, Swedish uses verb-second:

Ibland räcker en tablett.

In subordinate clauses, the finite verb doesn’t jump to second position; it stays after the subject, and adverbs like ibland can go between subject and verb, as here.

What does räcker mean here? I thought it meant “reaches”.

räcker can indeed mean “reaches” (as in “My arm reaches the shelf”), but it also commonly means “is enough / suffices”.

In this sentence:

en tablett ibland räcker
= one tablet is sometimes enough / sometimes a single tablet suffices

So here räcker = “is enough”, not “reaches”.

Why is it en tablett and not en tablettEN or just tabletter?

en tablett = a / one tablet (pill), indefinite singular
tabletten = the tablet, definite singular
tabletter = tablets, plural

Here the doctor is talking about a quantity (one tablet is enough) in a general way, not about some specific tablet. So the indefinite singular en tablett is natural: “a tablet / one tablet (is enough)”.

Why is there a comma before men?

In Swedish, it is normal and correct to put a comma before men (“but”) when it starts a new clause that contrasts with the previous one:

… räcker, men att vila är viktigare.

This is similar to English, where we often write:
“… is enough, but rest is more important.”

Why is it vila without an article, not en vila or vilan?

Here vila is an abstract, uncountable noun meaning “rest” in general, not one specific instance of rest.

Swedish, like English, often uses no article with abstract or mass nouns when talking about them in general:

Vila är viktigare. = Rest is more important.
(compare English: you don’t say “The rest is more important” here)

en vila or vilan would sound like talking about a particular “rest” (a specific rest period), which is not the intended general meaning.

Is vila here a noun or a verb?

In vila är viktigare, vila is a noun meaning “rest”.

As a verb, att vila = “to rest”.
As a noun, vila = “rest” (the thing/activity).

You could also say Att vila är viktigare = “To rest is more important”; that uses the infinitive as a subject. Both are grammatically correct, but the given sentence chooses the noun.

What form is viktigare, and why doesn’t it change for gender or number?

viktigare is the comparative form of the adjective viktig (“important”):

viktig = important
viktigare = more important
viktigast = most important

In Swedish, comparative forms like viktigare do not change for gender or number in the predicative position:

Vila är viktigare.
Medicinen är viktigare.
De andra sakerna är viktigare.

All use viktigare. So you don’t add -t or plural endings here.

Why do we say viktigare and not mer viktig?

Swedish normally forms the comparative of short, common adjectives with -are, not with mer:

viktig → viktigare (important → more important)
snabb → snabbare (fast → faster)

mer viktig is not idiomatic; native speakers say viktigare.

mer is used mostly with longer adjectives or some adjectives that don’t take -are:

intressant → mer intressant (interesting → more interesting)

Why doesn’t Swedish use a dummy “it” like “The doctor thinks *it that …”*?

English often needs a dummy subject like “it” in certain structures, but Swedish does not in this case.

Swedish can directly use the subordinate clause as the object of tycker:

Läkaren tycker att en tablett ibland räcker.
Literally: The doctor thinks that a tablet sometimes is-enough.

No det (“it”) is needed before the clause. The att-clause itself is the thing that the doctor thinks.