Breakdown of Kvinnan stod med händerna i midjan och ögonbrynet uppe.
och
and
kvinnan
the woman
i
in
med
with
handen
the hand
stå
to stand
uppe
up (location)
midjan
the waist
ögonbrynet
the eyebrow
Questions & Answers about Kvinnan stod med händerna i midjan och ögonbrynet uppe.
Why does the sentence use händerna and ögonbrynet instead of hennes händer and hennes ögonbryn?
In these descriptive med constructions, Swedish prefers the definite form (the hands, the eyebrow) for body parts when it is obvious they belong to the subject. Using a possessive pronoun like hennes here would sound unnatural.
Why do we use the preposition i for i midjan when the English translation says on her waist?
Prepositions often do not translate word-for-word. In Swedish, the standard locative expression for putting your hands on your hips or waist is to put them in the waist (i midjan).
Why is the word uppe used here instead of just upp?
Swedish makes a strict distinction between motion towards a destination and being in a stationary position. Because her eyebrow is already raised and held in place while she stands there, we use the positional adverb uppe (being up) rather than the directional upp (going up).
Why is ögonbrynet in the singular?
Just like in English, raising a single eyebrow is a common facial expression to show skepticism or surprise. The singular ögonbrynet captures this specific look. If both were raised, it would be the plural ögonbrynen.
Learn Kvinnan stod med händerna i midjan och ögonbrynet uppe and more in Swedish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free