Spatial origin (varifrån)

Asking "From Where" with Varifrån

In Swedish, the question word varifrån (literally "where from") combines "where" and "from" into a single word.

In direct questions, place varifrån at the beginning of the sentence, followed immediately by the verb to maintain V2 (verb-second) word order.

Where does this cargo come from?
Varifrån kommer den här lasten?
Where did the man try to smuggle the gold from?
Varifrån försökte mannen smuggla guldet?

Indirect Questions

You can also use varifrån in the middle of a sentence to introduce an indirect question or describe an origin. In these subordinate clauses, the subject comes right after varifrån, followed by the verb.

I do not know where the car comes from.
Jag vet inte varifrån bilen kommer.
The customs officer asked where I came from.
Tulltjänstemannen frågade varifrån jag kom.

At the Customs Desk

To practice tracking origins, this lesson features vocabulary related to border control (tullen) and suspicious imports.

Was the cargo stopped in customs?
Blev lasten stoppad i tullen?
Do I have to declare this watch at customs?
Måste jag deklarera den här klockan i tullen?
Customs will confiscate the counterfeit art.
Tullen kommer att beslagta den förfalskade konsten.