"Hyggelig"
Harm Tuenter
In my country, the Netherlands, the term "gezellig" is used to express the
atmosphere which evolves when people meet - that is, when the atmosphere is
in a way positive. This positiveness might be represented in English with
"cosy". But we tend to think that this does not really represent the feeling
behind that.
Now I'm wondering if such a thing is also the case with Danish/Norwegian
"hyggelig". Is it also that abundant, being used frequently every day, but
only to be understood when one has undergone your respective social cultures
for a longer period?
Harm Tuenter
http://www1.tip.nl/~t100878/altname.htm
Bubbles
Harm Tuenter wrote in message <8srrdl$on0$1...@nereid.worldonline.nl>...
"Cozy" is different. "Hyggelig" means more "nice, friendly, lovely", which I
suspect your "gezellig" also means. "Hyggelig can mean slightly different
things depending on context too. You can have a "hyggelig" conversation -
which is not the same as a "hyggelig" evening with friends.
Marianne
Esben
Harm Tuenter <Charm....@tip.nl> skrev i en
nyhedsmeddelelse:8srrdl$on0$1...@nereid.worldonline.nl...
> Hello,
>
> In my country, the Netherlands, the term "gezellig" is used to express the
> atmosphere which evolves when people meet - that is, when the atmosphere
is
> in a way positive. This positiveness might be represented in English with
> "cosy". But we tend to think that this does not really represent the
feeling
> behind that.
> Now I'm wondering if such a thing is also the case with Danish/Norwegian
> "hyggelig". Is it also that abundant, being used frequently every day, but
> only to be understood when one has undergone your respective social
cultures
> for a longer period?
The word 'hyggelig' is used differently in Norwegian and Danish. The
Norwegian equivalent to the Danish use of 'hyggelig' would be 'koselig',
which by the way seems to be very related to the English word 'cosy'. In
Norwegian 'hyggelig' can be used for describing a person, that would be a
bit awkward in Danish.
--
esben
Ingar Holst
Bubbles wrote:
> "Cozy" is different. "Hyggelig" means more "nice, friendly, lovely", which I
> suspect your "gezellig" also means. "Hyggelig can mean slightly different
> things depending on context too. You can have a "hyggelig" conversation -
> which is not the same as a "hyggelig" evening with friends.
"Hyggelig" is somewhere between "gezellig" and "leuk".
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ingar Holst
publisher materia sinica
www.holst.no
Bertel Lund Hansen
>which by the way seems to be very related to the English word 'cosy'. In
>Norwegian 'hyggelig' can be used for describing a person, that would be a
>bit awkward in Danish.
I'm not sure what you mean. "En hyggelig fyr/person" is used
frequently.
Bertel
--
http://lundhansen.dk/bertel/
FIDUSO: http://www.fiduso.dk/
Bertel Lund Hansen
>In my country, the Netherlands, the term "gezellig" is used to express the
>atmosphere which evolves when people meet - that is, when the atmosphere is
>in a way positive. ...
>Now I'm wondering if such a thing is also the case with Danish/Norwegian
>"hyggelig".
I think you've got it right. I don't however know enough (in fact
no) Dutch to be able to tell how to translate "hyggelig" into
Dutch.
>Is it also that abundant, being used frequently every day, but only to be
>understood when one has undergone your respective social cultures
>for a longer period?
Yes, I think so. The day after tomorrow I'll ask Mathijs who is
born a Dutchman and has lived in Denmark for three years.
Esben
Bertel Lund Hansen <nosp...@lundhansen.dk> skrev i en
nyhedsmeddelelse:3s93vs88n1tgr2qi2...@news.tele.dk...
> Esben skrev:
>
> >which by the way seems to be very related to the English word 'cosy'. In
> >Norwegian 'hyggelig' can be used for describing a person, that would be a
> >bit awkward in Danish.
>
> I'm not sure what you mean. "En hyggelig fyr/person" is used
> frequently.
Hm, maybe you're right, I don't hear it often though. Perhaps it's a
regional habit. However, the word still has a slightly different meaning in
Norway and Denmark.
--
Esben
Thomas Martin Widmann
Norwegian "hyggelig" approximately has the meaning of Danish "rar".
Danish "hyggelig" corresponds more or less to Norwegian "koselig".
/Thomas
--
Thomas M Widmann | Master's Student | Programmer | Uni-parken 8, 2. v.333
vira...@daimi.au.dk|Ling. & Comp. Sci.| Stibo DS | DK-8000 Århus C, Danio
+45 21 67 61 27 |Aarhus Universitet|t...@ccieurope.com | President/DK-TUG
<URL:http://www.daimi.au.dk/~viralbus> | +45 87 33 44 65 / T4ONF/TÅGEKAMMERET
Bertel Lund Hansen
>Norwegian "hyggelig" approximately has the meaning of Danish "rar".
>Danish "hyggelig" corresponds more or less to Norwegian "koselig".
Okay. Then "en hyggelig fyr" is two slightly different things in
Norwegian and Danish. I think "hyggelig" used in this way in
Danish is a little more positive than "rar" (= nice).
Carsten Riggelsen
"Harm Tuenter" <Charm....@tip.nl> wrote :
>
> In my country, the Netherlands, the term "gezellig" is used to express the
> atmosphere which evolves when people meet - that is, when the atmosphere
is
> "cosy". But we tend to think that this does not really represent the
feeling
> behind that.
I always translate "gezellig" with the Danish words "hyggelig", "rar" or
"dejlig" depending on the situation.
"Gezellig/leuk meisje " would be "rar/dejlig pige".
"Gezellig" in the context of a certain atmosphere would be "hyggelig".
"Gezellig" is used more frequently than "hyggelig" in Denmark.
--
C. Riggelsen - Fac. Wijsbegeerte (Cog-AI) - Uni. Utrecht - NL
Hans Georg Schaathun
<cars...@M.phil.uu.nl> wrote:
: I always translate "gezellig" with the Danish words "hyggelig", "rar" or
: "dejlig" depending on the situation.
:
: "Gezellig/leuk meisje " would be "rar/dejlig pige".
And here is it worth noting that in Norwegian, it is `hyggelig',
and not `rar', which means something else.
: "Gezellig" in the context of a certain atmosphere would be "hyggelig".
While this is parallel No/Dan.
: "Gezellig" is used more frequently than "hyggelig" in Denmark.
But just because `hyggelig' is only used about atmosphaere, not?
So in Norwegian it would be more parallel?
(No, I don't know any more dutch than what I have learned from this
thread.)
--
:-- Hans Georg --- student of 'Life, the Universe and Everything'
<ge...@ii.uib.no> (stud.oecon. stud.scient.) http://www.ii.uib.no/~georg/
`Det er beint fram ureinsleg, ikkje å skifta meining frå tid til anna.'
Ole Nielsby
> "Gezellig/leuk meisje " would be "rar/dejlig pige" [in
> danish].
I find "rar pige" and "dejlig pige" rather different. "Rar" has
focus on the girl's friendly and trustworthy attitude and has
a sort of teddy bear friendly comfort to it. "Rar" is often used
by children about adults whom they find trustworthy.
"Dejlig pige" is a general assessment of both mind and body,
implying a sparkle in the eye and some degree of attractiveness.
For a flirt, "dejlig pige" would probably be a better opening
line than "rar pige". (Though if she is very beautiful, she would
be bored of hearing it, and "rar" might signal that you are aware
of her other qualities, not being blinded by her beauty or hunting
for a trophy.)
(The phrase "dejlig pige" is also used by owners of female
animals to which they are attached, or proud of - dogs, mares,
cows, possibly even snakes etc.)
ON
Carsten Riggelsen
"Hans Georg Schaathun" <ge...@ii.uib.no> wrote:
> On Sat, 21 Oct 2000 17:45:03 GMT, Carsten Riggelsen wrote:
> >
> >"Gezellig/leuk meisje " would be "rar/dejlig pige".
>
> And here is it worth noting that in Norwegian, it is `hyggelig',
> and not `rar', which means something else.
I have never heard the construction ``hyggelig pige'' in Danish. I'm
quite sure that people will understand the meaning of it, but it
sounds a bit "strange" to me.
> >"Gezellig" is used more frequently than "hyggelig" in Denmark.
>
> But just because `hyggelig' is only used about atmosphaere, not?
Partly because of that; but there is still a tendency to ``abuse'' the
word in spoken Dutch. Often it's used where another word would have
been more appropriate (this is also the case with the Dutch word
"leuk").
Esben
> > regional habit. However, the word still has a slightly different meaning
in
> > Norway and Denmark.
>
> Danish "hyggelig" corresponds more or less to Norwegian "koselig".
Thank you - that's what I was trying to say.
Whereas 'rar' in Norwegian has a totally different meaning from 'rar' in
Danish.
--
Esben
Hans Georg Schaathun
<cars...@Mphil.uu.nl> wrote:
: I have never heard the construction ``hyggelig pige'' in Danish. I'm
: quite sure that people will understand the meaning of it, but it
: sounds a bit "strange" to me.
I know. The words rar and hyggelig are often used as examples to
prove blatant differences between Danish and Norwegian . . .
Furthermore, in Norwegian one would often say `koselig' in place
of `hyggelig' about places and their atmospaere.
Vi hadde en hyggelig aften i en koselig hytte med mange hyggelige
mennesker.
(Wonder how that translates into Danish :-)
A `koselig aften' is probably more like a `cozy' in English.
Using `hyggelig' about a place sounds a bit odd.
Harm Tuenter
Carsten Riggelsen <cars...@Mphil.uu.nl> schreef in berichtnieuws
FpoI5.46488$zf5.4...@zwoll1.home.nl...
>
> "Hans Georg Schaathun" <ge...@ii.uib.no> wrote:
> > On Sat, 21 Oct 2000 17:45:03 GMT, Carsten Riggelsen wrote:
> > >
> > >"Gezellig/leuk meisje " would be "rar/dejlig pige".
> >
> > And here is it worth noting that in Norwegian, it is `hyggelig',
> > and not `rar', which means something else.
>
> quite sure that people will understand the meaning of it, but it
> sounds a bit "strange" to me.
>
> >
> > But just because `hyggelig' is only used about atmosphaere, not?
>
> Partly because of that; but there is still a tendency to ``abuse'' the
> word in spoken Dutch. Often it's used where another word would have
> been more appropriate (this is also the case with the Dutch word
> "leuk").
I think you'r referring to situations where those words are used ironically.
For instance, one might say: "I just made a scratch on your car", and get
the reply (by a not too heated person): "Nou, leuk [is dat]!" (Well, nice
[is that]!). In this way, the opposite is meant. Indeed, the same thing can
happen to "gezellig". "Leuk" is not generally used to describe an
atmosphere. It's used often for persons, stories, clothes, etcetera. On the
other hand, persons might me labelled "gezellig". That is the case when they
can create a "gezellig" atmosphere.
Harm Tuenter
Carsten Riggelsen
"Harm Tuenter" <Charm....@tip.nl> wrote:
> Carsten Riggelsen <cars...@Mphil.uu.nl> schreef in berichtnieuws
> >
the
> > word in spoken Dutch. Often it's used where another word would
have
> > been more appropriate (this is also the case with the Dutch word
> > "leuk").
>
> I think you'r referring to situations where those words are used
ironically.
> For instance, one might say: "I just made a scratch on your car",
and get
> the reply (by a not too heated person): "Nou, leuk [is dat]!" (Well,
nice
> [is that]!). In this way, the opposite is meant. Indeed, the same
thing can
> happen to "gezellig". "Leuk" is not generally used to describe an
> atmosphere. It's used often for persons, stories, clothes, etcetera.
On the
> other hand, persons might me labelled "gezellig". That is the case
when they
> can create a "gezellig" atmosphere.
>
Yesterday I overheard a man and a woman in the train
(Deventer-Utrecht) talking about his trip to Berlin. He told her (in
great detail) how he had gotten there by train, where he had to
change, what he had seen during his trip etc. When he had finished a
sentence, the woman would reply "leuk!" or "gezellig zeg!". This
continued for about 20 minutes. I'm pretty sure that the woman was not
actually finding every piece of information "funny" or "cosy" or was
trying to be ironic in any way. She was just trying to be "very
positive" about what he was telling her. In Denmark a respons like
"hyggelig." with not further explanation would sound rather strange.
The words "leuk" and "gezellig" seem to be the carrier of great
"positiveness" (?!?), but apart from that it's difficult to actually
pinpoint their actual meaning.
(I'm not sure what the correct translation of "leuk" would be because
it very much depends on the situation in which it is used.)
Bertel Lund Hansen
>Yes, I think so. The day after tomorrow I'll ask Mathijs who is
>born a Dutchman and has lived in Denmark for three years.
He says that "hyggelig" and "gezellig" mean exactly the same
thing. Furthermore he says that the whole concept of hygge is
identical in Holland and Denmark - a fact that surprises a Dane.
We usually think that we are the only ones with that concept.
Thomas Martin Widmann
> On Sat, 21 Oct 2000 22:04:21 GMT, Carsten Riggelsen
> <cars...@Mphil.uu.nl> wrote:
> : I have never heard the construction ``hyggelig pige'' in Danish. I'm
> : quite sure that people will understand the meaning of it, but it
> : sounds a bit "strange" to me.
>
> I know. The words rar and hyggelig are often used as examples to
> prove blatant differences between Danish and Norwegian . . .
>
> Furthermore, in Norwegian one would often say `koselig' in place
> of `hyggelig' about places and their atmospaere.
>
> Vi hadde en hyggelig aften i en koselig hytte med mange hyggelige
> mennesker.
>
> (Wonder how that translates into Danish :-)
"Vi havde en rar/hyggelig aften i en hyggelig hytte med mange rare
mennesker."
Søren Thuesen
> Danish.
Hello Esben
Just curious, what is this different meaning (seriously!)
Mvh
--
Søren Thuesen
Kaspar Daugaard
- Kaspar
"Søren Thuesen" <thu...@billeshave.dk> wrote in message
news:3A06915C...@billeshave.dk...
Jens Brix Christiansen
>
> > Whereas 'rar' in Norwegian has a totally different meaning from 'rar' in
> > Danish.
>
> Hello Esben
> Just curious, what is this different meaning (seriously!)
Norsk "rar" svarer til dansk "mærkelig".
Bertel Lund Hansen
>Norsk "rar" svarer til dansk "mærkelig".
Det var da rart.
Bertel
--
http://lundhansen.dk/bertel/
FIDUSO: http://fiduso.dk/