# Swedish: bra/god



## mimosa59

Hej!

This is a very basic question, but could anyone explain to me the difference 
between "bra" and "god" in Swedish, with examples maybe?

Tack så mycket!


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## Tjahzi

_Bra_ is used for _good_ and/or _well _in virtually every context (for you as a Swedish learner, it is additionally neat since it's indeclinable ).

That said, the usage of _god_ can be summed up by dozens of additional rules and exceptions. I will try to list some (without aspiring to be fully covering):

1. Regarding the taste of food:

_Maten är god._ - The food is nice/tastes well.

_Köttet är gott, potatisarna är goda._ - The meat is nice, the potatoes are good.

2. Regarding a person's character:  

_Han är en god människa._ - He is a good person (as opposed to evil).

3. More or less old expressions

This entry is my own invention, but I am under the impression that _god_ is frequently used in more less fixed more or less old expression. Most notably such as _Goddag, God morgon, _etc_. _Additionally, it is sometimes used with abstract nouns such as _god sikt _(viability)_, god tid_ (time (as in being "well on time")), _(ett) gott försök _(attempt)_. _It is worth stressing however, that most of these (those that are not to be considered metaphors) can be constructed with _bra _as well. _God_ sounds a bit more formal.

As a word of advice, you can always use _bra_ except for the case of well tasting food (_bra mat_ can indicate that the food is healthy, well cooked, etc, rather than the actual taste) which was why I put it first on my list. In short, don't bother to much with this issue, it's not worth the energy learning the specific circumstances and expressions in which _god_ can/should be used since _bra _will do the job and you will eventually learn the few instances which demands _god _(such as _god morgon_ etc).


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## mimosa59

Tack så mycket för din hjälp!!


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## AutumnOwl

It's not always possible to exchange "god/gott" and "bra", there are some nuances in meaning, for example "en god man" and "en bra man", the first meaning "good, kind" as opposite to "evil", the second meaning "good, decent" as opposite to "bad". An example when you have to use "bra" instead of "god" is "det är bra så" meaning "it's enough, thanks" if someone wants to give you a second serving of food and you don't want any more, as "det är gott" means "it tastes good" and you might get more food on your plate.

Sometimes it can be a good idea to try the sentence with the opposite, "god" vs. "ond" and "bra" vs. "dålig", if it's not a "fixed phrase" where you have to use "god" or "bra", as the opposites can give a better understanding of the difference between the two words.


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## Tjahzi

In case I was unclear, I would like to stress that I very much agree with AutumnOwl that _god/bra_ are usually not to be used interchangeably. However, the usage of _god_ more or less overlaps with that of _bra_, though not the other way around (imagine a Venn diagram ). Hence, I recommended learning the few instances were _god _must be used (such as in speaking of the taste of food and in certain expressions) and use bra for the rest.

Although I also agree about there being a nuanced in meaning between _en bra man_ and _en god man_, I believe this is worth ignoring since the difference is so subtle (at least to me). No offense, but really, what is the difference between a _bad man_ and a _evil man_? The evil man is more evil?


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## AutumnOwl

Tjahzi said:


> No offense, but really, what is the difference between a _bad man_ and a _evil man_? The evil man is more evil?


You may be a bad man because you smoke, drink and swear, but that doesn't make you an evil man. If someone is evil, then they has usually done more heinous acts.


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## Tjahzi

Hm, I must admit that I wouldn't necessarily call a smoker/drinker/swearer a _bad _person, neither in Swedish nor English, but this could be my language (/the language of my generation) losing this distinction.


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## Martin78

I would tend to give the same piece of advice as Tjahzi. There are differences between bra/god but as long as you're learning the language (and I guess you will have an accent that makes it obvious), Swedish speakers will have no problem understanding what you mean if you always use "bra". The most obvious exceptions are set phrases. You would of course still need to wish people "God morgon", "God dag", "God kväll" and "God natt", saying "bra" in any of these cases would sound odd,


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## Ben Jamin

Tjahzi said:


> Hm, I must admit that I wouldn't necessarily call a smoker/drinker/swearer a _bad _person, neither in Swedish nor English, but this could be my language (/the language of my generation) losing this distinction.


 'Evil' is clearly related to (very) bad morals, while 'bad man' can be simply useless or non performing. If 'bad' is used to judge the moral standard, then 'evil' is much stronger.


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## Tjahzi

Well, indeed, so an evil man is more evil.


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## Ben Jamin

Tjahzi said:


> Well, indeed, so an evil man is more evil.


 I would rather say 'more bad'.


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## Havfruen

I'd say badder.


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## Ben Jamin

Havfruen said:


> I'd say badder.


 What dialect is this?


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## CarpeNoctum

Ben Jamin said:


> What dialect is this?



It's the crappy English dialect


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