gärna

See also: garna

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse gjarna, from Proto-Germanic *gernô (“willingly, gladly”), the adverbial form of *gernaz (“willing”).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /²jɛːrna/, [²jæːɳä]
  • Audio(file)
  • Homophones: hjärna, Järna

Adverb

gärna (comparative hellre, superlative helst)

  1. gladly, happily, with keenness, (when synonymous with "gladly") willingly/readily
    – Vill du klappa kaninen? – Ja, gärna!
    – Do you want to pet the rabbit? – Yes, please! (Yes, I would gladly pet the rabbit!)
    Hon äter gärna glass
    She likes to eat ice cream
    Han svarar gärna på frågor
    He is happy to answer questions
    Ska det regna hela tiden kan man lika gärna stanna hemma
    If it's going to rain all the time, you might as well stay home (then you are as happy to stay home)
    Köp gärna lite mjölk när du är på affären
    It would be great if you could buy some milk when you're at the store (note that the gärna here refers to the attitude of the speaker rather than the addressee)
    • 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 / desire, 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. often, easily (likely figurative from something "gladly" happening)
    Hans fester spårar gärna ur
    His parties tend to get out of hand
    Försöker man balansera en penna på spetsen så ser man att den gärna faller omkull
    If one tries to balance a pencil on its tip one sees that it easily falls over

Usage notes

In imperatives, gärna usually refers to the attitude of the speaker. Since telling someone to be/become willing and happy to do something is rare, this doesn't lead to ambiguity in practice.

See also

References

Anagrams
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