Swedish edit

Etymology edit

From Old Swedish sorgheliker, equivalent to sorg +‎ -lig. Cognate of German sorglich, Danish sørgelig.

Adjective edit

sorglig (comparative sorgligare, superlative sorgligast)

  1. sad (evoking sadness)
    en sorglig film
    a sad movie
    • 2007, Laser Inc (lyrics and music), “Det var en gång en fågel [Once upon a time, there was a bird]”:
      Det var en gång en liten fågel. Ja, en fågel. Han bodde på landet, och Roger hette han. Han ville gärna leka med sina vänner, med sina vänner, men det fick inte han. Men denna historia slutar sorgligt, för Roger blev skjuten, skjuten i magen av gamle jägar'n [jägaren] Pär. Han ville hem och äta, äta en fågel med lite potäter, men Roger hann iväg.
      Once upon a time, there was a little bird. Yes, a bird. He lived in the countryside, and Roger was his name. He wanted to play with his friends ["He wanted gladly to play with his friends," in the sense of, "He wanted, with keenness, to play with his friends" – the translation skips the gärna as it doesn't make much difference to the meaning], with his friends, but [that – to play with his friends] he didn't get to. But this story ends sadly, because Roger was shot, shot in the stomach by old hunter Pär ["den gamle jägaren Pär" matches "the old hunter Pär" – skipping "den" makes "jägaren Pär" sound lexicalized]. He wanted to go home and eat, eat a bird with some potatoes, but Roger got away [in time].
  2. sad (pitiful, pitiable)
    Han är bara sorglig
    He's just sad
    sorgliga små varelser
    sad little creatures
    De bor under rätt sorgliga förhållanden
    They live in pretty sad conditions

Usage notes edit

Of a situation, story, book, movie, or the like in (sense 1). For a person, "sorglig" means "sad" as in "pitiful/pathetic." For someone feeling sad, sorgsen is used.

Declension edit

Inflection of sorglig
Indefinite Positive Comparative Superlative2
Common singular sorglig sorgligare sorgligast
Neuter singular sorgligt sorgligare sorgligast
Plural sorgliga sorgligare sorgligast
Masculine plural3 sorglige sorgligare sorgligast
Definite Positive Comparative Superlative
Masculine singular1 sorglige sorgligare sorgligaste
All sorgliga sorgligare sorgligaste
1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.
2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
3) Dated or archaic

Derived terms edit

Related terms edit

See also edit

References edit