Breakdown of Man måste tänka på hälsan.
måste
to have to, must
på
on / at / for (wait for) / in (believe in)
tänka
to think (reflect)
man
one, you (people in general)
hälsan
the health
Questions & Answers about Man måste tänka på hälsan.
Why does the translation say "You" when the Swedish word is man?
In Swedish, man is a generic pronoun used to talk about people in general. It works just like "one" in formal English ("One must think about..."), but it is used all the time in everyday Swedish. It is usually translated as a general "you".
Why is hälsan (the health) used instead of a word for "your"?
When talking about things that naturally belong to a person, like body parts or health, Swedish often uses the definite form (adding -n or -en) instead of a possessive word. Since the subject is the general man, saying hälsan ("the health") clearly implies the person's own health.
Why do we use på here instead of a word for "about"?
Prepositions rarely match up perfectly between languages. In Swedish, the specific phrase for "to think about" is att tänka på (literally "to think on").
Could I use a possessive word like "one's" instead of the definite form hälsan?
You could, but it sounds less natural here. The possessive form of man is ens (one's). While you could grammatically say Man måste tänka på ens hälsa, Swedish speakers strongly prefer just using the definite form hälsan in this kind of sentence.
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