Swedish edit

Etymology edit

för- +‎ minska (decrease)

Verb edit

förminska (present förminskar, preterite förminskade, supine förminskat, imperative förminska)

  1. to shrink, to diminish, to reduce (make smaller or less in number)
    Han förminskade texten
    He reduced the size of the text
    Befolkningen förminskades
    The population was reduced
  2. to diminish (more abstractly)
    Det förminskar inte din skönhet
    It does not diminish your beauty
  3. to diminish, to belittle (someone)
    Han kände att de förminskade honom
    He felt they were diminishing him

Usage notes edit

Compared to minska, förminska is active in the sense that "Befolkningen minskade" means "The population decreased" while "Befolkningen förminskade" means "The population made something smaller" (which would usually be nonsensical). "Befolkningen förminskade texten" means "The population reduced the size of the text," as a comparison.

Conjugation edit

See also edit

References edit