# Swedish: picking someone up



## Språkliga Möten

I would like to express "picking someone up" at the airport.

I have searched for the meaning, but to no avail...

How would you say it?

"Jag ska pigga dig upp"?


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## ArnaudC

You would say "jag hämtar dig vid flygplatsen" or "jag kommer och hämtar dig vid flyplatsen".
"Hämta" means fetch in its broadest sense (not only the dog fetching its ball).

"pigga upp någon" means "make someone happy".
Which is not obvious since the adjective "pigg" means "healthy".


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## solregn

ArnaudC said:


> You would say "jag hämtar dig vid flygplatsen" or "jag kommer och hämtar dig vid flyplatsen".
> "Hämta" means fetch in its broadest sense (not only the dog fetching its ball).



I would say *på* flygplatsen but I agree with the use of the verb "hämta". Another fairly common and informal way of saying the same thing (although a quite "swenglish" direct translation of "to pick sb up"!) is Jag *plockar upp* dig på flygplatsen.



> "pigga upp någon" means "make someone happy".
> Which is not obvious since the adjective "pigg" means "healthy".


Pigg is even more commonly used as the opposite of tired ("Du verkar jättepigg, även fast du bara sovit fyra timmar!"). Considering that meaning of the word, the expression "pigga upp någon" makes a bit more sense - I think!


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## Wilma_Sweden

solregn said:


> I would say *på* flygplatsen but I agree with the use of the verb "hämta".


I agree. Vid can mean 'in the vicinity of the airport' as well as on the airport itself.



> Another fairly common and informal way of saying the same thing (although a quite "swenglish" direct translation of "to pick sb up"!) is Jag *plockar upp* dig på flygplatsen.


I don't see it as terribly 'swenglish', possibly because the verb itself is so common, and it's Swedish. However, it's possible that the idea of picking up humans rather than just inanimate objects has been imported from English.



> Pigg is even more commonly used as the opposite of tired ("Du verkar jättepigg, även fast du bara sovit fyra timmar!"). Considering that meaning of the word, the expression "pigga upp någon" makes a bit more sense - I think!


Pigg and its related words also have a wide range of meanings. The verb, pigga, (transitive) can only be used in the context of the phrasal verb pigga upp (='adding physical or mental energy to someone'). 

/Wilma


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## ArnaudC

solregn said:


> I would say *på* flygplatsen


I must have repeated the sentence 10 times, comparing "på" and "vid", and couldn't make up my mind which one sounded correct...


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## vestfoldlilja

I’m not certain if this is the case in Swedish, maybe someone else can voice their opinion on that later, but in Norwegian at least I would use ved (vid) if I meant to pick up someone outside of the airport, and I would use på if I intended to meet ,and greet them inside.


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## USB-anslutning

vestfoldlilja said:


> I’m not certain if this is the case in Swedish, maybe someone else can voice their opinion on that later, but in Norwegian at least I would use ved (vid) if I meant to pick up someone outside of the airport, and I would use på if I intended to meet ,and greet them inside.



This is pretty much how it would be for me.


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## sanddanceer

And you would use 'ved' or 'i' or 'undenfor' in Danish.


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## ArnaudC

"Ved", whether danish or norwegian or else, is only good for fire-places, especially right now... ;-)


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## Wilma_Sweden

ArnaudC said:


> "Ved", whether danish or norwegian or else, is only good for fire-places, especially right now... ;-)


Yup, we're freezing our butts off here!  

I don't think it matters that much whether you say på or vid, hämta or plocka upp, because the practical details, such as when and exactly where, would need to be clarified to the parties involved, but it's not really of major concern to anyone else.

/Wilma


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## hanne

sanddanceer said:


> And you would use 'ved' or 'i' or 'undenfor' in Danish.


Well, "flyvepladsen" would typically be "lufthavnen" in Danish, unless it's a very small place, and then it's "i lufthavnen", but else it's "på flyvepladsen".
"ved" or "udenfor" are both ok, but indicate that it's outside.


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## jonquiliser

Maybe I'm splitting hairs, here, but when I use "plocka upp" for picking someone up, it's generally because getting the person is only part of the journey - "jag är på väg in till stan så jag kan plocka upp dig på vägen". Otherwise I use (I think) _hämta_. As for the preposition, any of _vid_, _på_ or _från_ sounds natural to me.


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## Wilma_Sweden

jonquiliser said:


> Maybe I'm splitting hairs, here, but when I use "plocka upp" for picking someone up, it's generally because getting the person is only part of the journey - "jag är på väg in till stan så jag kan plocka upp dig på vägen". Otherwise I use (I think) _hämta_. As for the preposition, any of _vid_, _på_ or _från_ sounds natural to me.


Having given this some more thought, I agree partially with your use of plocka upp vs. hämta. In my view, plocka upp has a more narrow meaning, it simply means that you let someone into your car, while hämta involves you going to the location, picking up your passenger and transporting them somewhere. I often use both in the same conversation: 

Jag hämtar dig *på* Sturup. Ställ dig *vid* huvudingången så plockar jag upp dig där.

This is when I'm too lazy to park my car and go into the building, so I'll tell my daughter to stand outside the main entrance to the terminal building where I can pick her up with a minimum of hassle!  

The point is also that *vid* basically means next to, and you need to be next to a rather specific, localized object or place that is easy to pinpoint. Consequently, *vid *busshållplatsen, bankomaten, bagageutlämningen, entrén, etc. would be fine, but *vid* flygplatsen, centralstationen, lasarettet doesn't work as a meeting point because the places are too large in themselves. På flygplatsen can mean anywhere within the airport area, so it's OK for general information, but not specific enough as a meeting point.

/Wilma


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## sanddanceer

I think that I agree with jonquilise; if getting is only part then it is imprecise with regard to location (as 'ved', 'i' or 'på' are equally imprecise) unless it is a very small airport with one terminal and one entrance/exit.  The next question would obviously be 'where precisely?', in any language.  There is very little precision, in any language, with regard to gegraphical positions of any size.


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