Breakdown of Kärlek ger oss glädje och lycka.
och
and
oss
us
ge
to give
kärleken
the love
glädjen
the joy
lyckan
the happiness
Questions & Answers about Kärlek ger oss glädje och lycka.
Why is it just Kärlek and not the definite form Kärleken?
Since this sentence makes a general statement about love as a broad concept, Swedish uses the noun without any article (the "zero article"). This works exactly like English ("Love gives..." rather than "The love gives..."). You would only use kärleken if you were talking about a specific love, like kärleken mellan dem (the love between them).
Does this "zero article" rule also apply to glädje and lycka?
Yes! Both glädje (joy) and lycka (happiness) are abstract nouns being talked about in a general, uncountable sense here. Because of this, they drop the articles entirely, rather than being written as glädjen and lyckan.
Is there a difference in meaning between glädje and lycka?
Glädje translates closely to "joy" or "gladness" (it is related to the adjective glad). Lycka translates to "happiness", but it is a bit broader because it can also mean "luck" or "fortune" depending on the context. Grouping them together is a common way to describe a deep sense of wellbeing.
Why does the pronoun oss come before the things being given?
Swedish word order here mirrors English perfectly. The indirect object (who receives the thing, oss) comes immediately after the verb, followed by the direct objects (the things being given, glädje och lycka). You don't need a preposition like till (to) when the words are in this order.
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