Defective adjectives (rädd, lat)

Babysitting fussy toddlers requires patience and a good grasp of Swedish adjectives to describe their moods.

The Missing Neuter Form

In Swedish, adjectives normally take a -t ending when describing an ett word. However, a few common adjectives are "defective" and completely lack a neuter singular form. The most common examples are lat (lazy), rädd (afraid), and gravid (pregnant).

You cannot say "ett latt barn" or "ett räddt barn"—those forms simply do not exist! These adjectives work perfectly fine with en words, however:

Workaround 1: Use a Synonym

So, how do you say that a child (an ett word) is lazy or afraid? The most common workaround is to use a synonym that does have a neuter form.

Instead of lat, use slö (neuter: slött, meaning lethargic or sluggish).

Likewise, rädd and compound words like mörkrädd (afraid of the dark) work flawlessly with en words:

But to describe ett barn, you must switch to the synonym skrämd (neuter: skrämt, meaning frightened or scared):

Workaround 2: Change the Noun

Another simple syntactic workaround is to swap the ett noun for an en noun. Instead of describing ett barn (a child), you can talk about en pojke (a boy), en flicka (a girl), or en unge (a kid).

This allows you to sidestep the neuter form entirely, whether you are dealing with a defective adjective or simply trying to soothe a defiant toddler.