Chinese (Mandarin)

Spanish

English

Hindi

Arabic (Modern Standard)

Portuguese

Bengali

Russian

Japanese

Punjabi

German

Javanese

Malay

Telugu

Vietnamese

Korean

French

Marathi

Tamil

Urdu

Turkish

Italian

Chinese, Yue / Cantonese

Thai

Gujarati

Chinese, Jin

Chinese, Min Nan

Dari

Farsi

Polish

Pashto

Kannada

Chinese, Xiang

Malayalam

Sundanese

Hausa

Odia

Burmese

Chinese, Hakka

Ukrainian

Bihari, Bhojpuri

Tagalog

Yoruba

Bihari, Maithili

Uzbek

Sindhi

Amharic

Fula

Romanian

Oromo

Igbo

Azerbaijani

Chinese, Gan

Dutch

Kurdish, Central

Kurdish, Northern

Kurdish, Southern

Malagasy

Lahnda, Saraiki

Nepali

Sinhalese

Chittagonian

Zhuang

Khmer

Turkmen

Assamese

Madurese

Somali

Marwari

Bihari, Magahi

Haryanvi

Hungarian

Chhattisgarhi

Greek

Chewa

Dakhini

Akan, Twi

Akan, Fante

Kazakh

Chinese, Min Bei

Sylheti

Zulu

Czech

Kinyarwanda

Marwari, Dhundhari

Haitian Creole

Chinese, Min Dong

Ilocano

Quechua

Kirundi

Swedish

Hmong

Shona

Uyghur

Hiligaynon

Mossi

Xhosa

Belarusian

Balochi

### The Optative Mood and "Leve"

Modern Swedish does not actively use the subjunctive or optative moods, but you will hear them in fixed, formulaic expressions like wishes, cheers, and toasts. These old verb forms typically end in *-e*.

At a formal event like a wedding, the most common optative verb you will hear is *leve* (may [they] live), derived from *leva* (to live). It is usually paired with *länge* (long).

{{item:927091}}

{{item:927094}}

### "Vare" (May it be)

The optative form of the verb *vara* (to be) is *vare*. This form survives today in highly traditional or religious expressions, often to offer blessings (*välsignad*) or give thanks to God (*Gud*).

{{item:927098}}

{{item:927100}}

### Formal Toasts and Cheers

When raising a toast at a formal Swedish banquet, you will often hear calls for *ett fyrfaldigt hurra* (a fourfold hooray). While everyday birthdays often get three cheers, four cheers are traditionally reserved for formal occasions, weddings, and royalty. It is common to toast to the bridal couple's *välgång* (prosperity).

{{item:927104}}

{{item:927106}}

### "Varde" (Let there become)

The archaic verb *varda* means "to become." Its optative form, *varde*, is famously used in the biblical phrase for "let there be" (literally: "may there become"). While old-fashioned, you may hear it used poetically in speeches to bestow a grand wish upon the couple.

{{item:927110}}

{{item:927111}}

Fixed optative expressions (leve, vare)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The definite ending (barnet, hunden)

Indefinite articles and -ar verbs (en, ett)

Basic word order

Singular adjectives (stor, stort)

Plural adjectives (-a)

Sentence negation (inte)

Yes/No questions

Basic question words (vad, vem, var)

Regular Group 2 verbs (-er)

Short verbs and irregulars (har, gör)

The infinitive marker (att)

Modal verbs (kan, vill, måste, får)

Future intention (ska)

Time adverbs (imorgon, igår)

Word order inversion

Adverbs of frequency (ibland, aldrig)

Everyday things (dörren, stolen, tåget)

Definite suffix spelling changes

Plural nouns Group 1 and 2 (-or, -ar)

Plural nouns Group 3 (-er, -r)

Neuter indefinite plurals

Definite plural suffixes (-na, -a, -en)

Object pronouns (mig, dig, oss)

Reflexive pronouns (sig)

Expanded question words (när, varför)

Which and what (vilken, vilket, vilka)

Coordinating conjunctions (men, eller, för)

Prepositions of place (i, på, till, från)

Quantifiers (mycket, många)

Indefinite pronouns (någon, något, några)

First and second person possessives (min, din, vår, er)

Third person possessives (hans, hennes, dess, deras)

Reflexive possessives (sin, sitt, sina)

The genitive (-s)

Adjectives before singular nouns

Adjectives before plural nouns (-a)

Double definiteness (den, det, de)

Demonstratives (den här, det här, de här)

The imperative mood

Past tense of vara and ha (var, hade)

Possessives for names (-s)

Definite plural adjectives (de ... -a)

Genitive case for names (-s)

Numbers 1 to 10 (en, två, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (elva till tjugo)

Counting by tens to 100 (trettio, fyrtio...)

Days of the week (måndag, tisdag...)

Months of the year (januari, februari...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (första, andra...)

Greetings and politeness (hej, tack, förlåt)

Particle verbs of direction (gå ut, komma in)

Simple past: Group 1 (-ade)

Simple past: Group 2a (-de)

Simple past: Group 2b (-te)

Simple past: Group 3 (-dde)

Simple past: Group 4

Present perfect: Groups 1 and 2 (har)

Present perfect: Groups 3 and 4

Past perfect (hade)

Future predictions (kommer att)

Future with present tense

The adjective small (liten, litet, små)

Demonstratives of distance (den där, det där, de där)

Negative pronouns (ingen, inget, inga)

Universal pronouns (all, allt, alla)

The generic pronoun (man, en)

Possessive generic pronoun (ens)

Reciprocal pronoun (varandra)

Qualitative pronouns (sådan, sådant, sådana)

Habitual time expressions (på)

Specific past time expressions (i)

Past time expressions (för ... sedan)

Future time expressions (om)

Location and motion adverbs (här/hit, där/dit)

Consequences (så)

Correlative conjunctions (både ... och)

Either and neither (antingen ... eller, varken ... eller)

Verbs of opinion and belief (tycker, tror, tänker)

Subordinate clauses (att, om)

Time clauses (när, innan, medan)

Clauses of cause (eftersom, därför att)

Negation in subordinate clauses (inte)

V2 word order inversion

Relative clauses as subjects (som)

Relative clauses as objects (som)

Relative clauses for places (där)

Adverbs from adjectives (-t)

Adjective comparative and superlative (-are, -ast)

Question	Answer
the bridal couple	brudparet
Long live the bridal couple!	Länge leve brudparet!
the bride	bruden
the bridegroom	brudgummen
Long live the bride and the bridegroom!	Länge leve bruden och brudgummen!
the tribute	hyllningen
A tribute to the bride! Long live love!	En hyllning till bruden! Länge leve kärleken!
blessed	välsignad
Blessed be the love that comes from within.	Välsignad vare kärleken som kommer inifrån.
God	Gud
Thanks be to God for this wonderful day.	Gud vare tack för den här underbara dagen.
Blessed be the bridegroom, who now gets married.	Välsignad vare brudgummen, som nu blir gift.
fourfold	fyrfaldig
hooray	hurra
A fourfold hooray for the bridal couple!	Ett fyrfaldigt hurra för brudparet!
the prosperity	välgången
A fourfold hooray for the prosperity of the bride and the bridegroom!	Ett fyrfaldigt hurra för brudens och brudgummens välgång!
We want to be part of wishing the bridal couple prosperity.	Vi vill vara med och önska brudparet välgång.
Let us be part of celebrating love!	Låt oss vara med och fira kärleken!
to become (archaic)	varda
Let there be light, and thanks be to God.	Varde ljus, och Gud vare tack.
Let there be light in the bride's and the bridegroom's home!	Varde ljus i brudens och brudgummens hem!
Thanks for the tribute, and long live the bridal couple!	Tack för hyllningen, och leve brudparet!