Breakdown of Varsågod! Här är boken.
vara
to be
här
here
boken
the book
varsågod
you're welcome; here you are
Questions & Answers about Varsågod! Här är boken.
What exactly does varsågod mean here?
In this sentence, varsågod means 'Here you go' or 'Here you are' because the speaker is handing a book to someone. It is a very common Swedish word that can also mean 'You're welcome' after someone says thank you, or 'Please' when offering a seat.
Where does the word varsågod come from?
It literally means 'be so good' (var så god). You can think of it as a shortened, polite way of saying 'be so good as to take this' when handing something over to another person.
How does the word boken mean 'the book'?
In Swedish, 'the' is not a separate word that goes before the noun. Instead, you take the word for a book (en bok) and attach the -en to the end of it to make boken (the book).
Why does är come right after här?
Swedish is a 'verb-second' language, meaning the verb usually takes the second spot in a sentence. Since the location word här (here) is in the first spot, the verb är (is) must come immediately next to keep its second position.