Breakdown of Chilisåsen är fullkomligt skållhet.
vara
to be
chilisåsen
the chili sauce
fullkomligt
absolutely
skållhet
scalding hot
Questions & Answers about Chilisåsen är fullkomligt skållhet.
Why use fullkomligt here instead of a common word like mycket or väldigt?
Because skållhet (scalding hot) is a non-gradable adjective. It describes an extreme, absolute state, so saying it is 'very scalding' does not make logical sense. Instead, Swedish uses absolute modifiers like fullkomligt (absolutely/completely) or helt (completely) with these types of extreme adjectives.
Why does fullkomligt end in -t in this sentence?
Here, it functions as an adverb describing the adjective skållhet. When you turn an adjective like fullkomlig (perfect/absolute) into an adverb to modify another adjective, you must add the -t ending, which looks identical to the neuter form.
How is the extreme adjective skållhet formed?
It is a compound word made from the verb root skåll- from att skålla (to scald or blanch) and the base adjective het (hot). Swedish frequently builds extreme, non-gradable adjectives this way, just like iskall (ice-cold) or stendöd (stone dead).
Would skållhet change if we were talking about an ett-word like vattnet (the water)?