lägga

From Old Swedish læggia, from Old Norse leggja, from Proto-Germanic *lagjaną. Causative of *ligjaną (see ligga).

• IPA^(key): /²lɛɡa/

• audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -²ɛɡa

lägga (present lägger, preterite lade, la, supine lagt, imperative lägg)

1. to place lying (to lay) somewhere, to place/put in a lying position (not in a standing position); in particular used like the English put for things that either lie down flat or where the eventual orientation does not matter, such as in a heap

   Lägg jeansen på sängen! ― Put the jeans on the bed!

   Lägg boken på bordet! ― Put the book on the table! (Assumed to mean lying down in English.)

   Ställ boken på bordet! ― Put the book upright on the table!

   Lägg boken i högen! ― Put the book in the heap!

   Lägg korten på bordet! ― Put your cards on the table!

2. to put (into a bag, in a pocket, or in a box of some kind)

   Synonyms: lägga ner, stoppa, stoppa ner

   Jag är säker på att jag lade nyckeln i fickan

   I'm positive I put the key in my pocket

3. (reflexive, sometimes with ner) to lie down; to assume a reclining position

   Sara mådde illa och fick lägga sig (ner) en stund

   Sara felt sick and had to lie down for a while

4. (transitive) to put to bed

   Synonyms: (about small children) stoppa om (“tuck in”), (about small children) natta

   När brukar ni lägga barnen?

   At what time do you usually put the kids to bed?

5. (reflexive) to go to bed; to go to sleep

   Synonyms: gå och lägga sig, gå till sängs, hoppa i säng, knyta sig, krypa till kojs, törna in

   Jag tänker lägga mig tidigt ikväll

   I intend to go to bed early tonight

6. (usually with på) to expend (some resource, like money or time or energy, towards some goal)

   Synonyms: lägga ner, (mostly about money) spendera

   Jag har lagt tusentals timmar på projektet

   I have spent thousands of hours on the project

7. (reflexive, about snow) to accumulate on the ground without melting

   Snön hade inte lagt sig än

   The snow hadn't settled yet

8. (reflexive, about bodies of water) to freeze

   Vättern lägger sig inte varje år.

   Vättern doesn't freeze every year.

9. to lay; to install for example flooring or a roof

   Vi har lagt nytt tak

   We've put on a new roof

10. to lay (an egg)

    Fågeln har bara lagt ett ägg

    The bird has only laid one egg

11. (card games) to play (a card)

    Synonym: spela ut

    Mormor lade ruter sju

    Grandma played the seven of diamonds

12. (card games, reflexive) to fold; to cease to take further part in a certain deal; to withdraw from further betting

    Mormor vann när alla lade sig

    Grandma won when everybody folded

13. (reflexive, with a preposition) to position oneself, with respect to someone else who is moving in the same direction

    När det var ett varv kvar lade han sig precis bakom ledaren

    When there was one lap to go, he placed himself right behind the leader

14. to fold into a shape suitable for storage (about large pieces of fabric, e.g. sheets or larger table cloths)

    Synonym: (also about clothing in general) vika ihop

See the usage notes for ställa for comparisons between these verbs.

• ställa
• sätta

• lägga in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• lägga in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• lägga in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
• lägga in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)