# Swedish: slippa



## ThomasK

Could you tell me how you use the verb 'slippa' ? Is it correct that it can mean something like 'not to have', or is that an old meaning? I think it now means something like escape, get rid of, but especially that other meaning seemed quite interesting. 

it would be great if I got the verb in sentences (I do not know Swedish, but as I am a Dutch native speaker, I can decipher a lot, I think).


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## Lars H

Hej

We use "slippa" very often in everyday conversations. A few examples

"Du slipper äta upp soppan" (You don't have to finish the soup)
"Jag vill gärna slippa gå på festen" (I would rather not go to the party)
"Tjuven flyr men han kommer inte att slippa undan" (The thief escapes but he will not get away with it) 

The use is normally used figuratively. To translate "he slipped away" we would use "gled undan (glided away), "smet undan" (snuck away) or something else, but never "slapp" (imperfect of "slippa")


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## Wilma_Sweden

This is where forum rules would normally require you to give your own examples or context, but since the verb is a bit special, we'll make allowances.

A quick rough guide:

1) Meaning escape, get away: here it's a phrasal verb, slippa undan.
Ex: _Polisen jagade rånarna, men de slapp undan._ (The police chased the robbers, but they got away.)
There are also other prepositions/adverbs forming phrasal verbs with slippa, with varying meanings of escape:
slippa fram, ~ förbi, ~ ifrån, ~ igenom, ~ in, ~ lös, ~ ur, ~ ut

2) Meaning be rid of: It's not the action of getting rid of something, but the result of no longer having something you dislike:
_Nu är det äntligen vår. Skönt att slippa all snön!_ (Spring is finally here. It's great to be rid of all the snow!)
_Magister Tjeder har blivit pensionerad, och vi är glada att slippa honom._ (Professor Tjeder has retired, and we're happy to be rid of him.
The English could probably use the phrase Good riddance! in these contexts.

3) Meaning not having to do something: (slippa, tensed + verb phrase *or* + att + complex verb phrase or non-finite clause) N.B. The verb following slippa is always in  the infinitive form, and the infinitive marker, att,  is usually needed if complex verb phrases or non-finite clauses follow slippa.

_Du slipper diska om du tvättar golvet istället._ (You won't have to do the dishes if you mop the floor instead.)
_Barnen slapp gå i skolan på grund av snöstormen._ (The children didn't have to go to school because of the blizzard.)
_Napoleon återvände till Frankrike och slapp att frysa ihjäl på Vilnius gator._ (Napoleon returned to France and escaped freezing to death on the streets of Vilnius).

End of lecture.


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## Wilma_Sweden

Additional comment:



Lars H said:


> "Tjuven flyr men han kommer inte att slippa undan" (The thief escapes but he will not get away with it)
> 
> The use is normally used figuratively. To translate "he slipped away" we would use "gled undan (glided away), "smet undan" (snuck away) or something else, but never "slapp" (imperfect of "slippa")


I'd say this is true for most of the phrasal verbs, see 1) above.

The other meanings, 2) and 3), I find pretty concrete, particularly not having to do the dishes!


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## ThomasK

Waaaw, this is great information. Thanks, both of you. --- BTW: if I did not give contextual information, it is simply because I took the word from a tour guide. I just thought it was a very special kind of verb that we do not have in Dutch or English. 

I suddenly thought of 'skip' while reading meaning #3: 'you can skip doing the ... ', but of course that would only work in the first example. The main problem seems to be that it is not an active verb, so to speak: skipping would be based on one's own decision, whereas this is not the case in #3. Could either of you find a parallel in West Germanic languages? I suppose it is basically a metaphor though, but it would be clearer if we knew about the origin. Not so important though... 

The parallel there seemed to be between 1b and 3c ('ecape') is probably inexistent, not 'felt' in Swedish, I suppose, mainly due to syntactical requirements, related with the meaning as well, I guess...

(Thanks !)


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## Alxmrphi

> Could either of you find a parallel in West Germanic languages?


 
*Icelandic:* *að sleppa*

It's divided into two conjugational patterns, one as a strong verb with the meaning of* get away* / *escape*.
It also has a weak form that indicates a different meaning of *let go* / *release*, as well as *to skip* (in the sense of *miss out* on an itinerary, or, not do something)

_Glæpurmaðurinn slapp_ - The criminal escaped.
_Glæpurmenn slepptu peningunum_ - Criminals dropped the cash.


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## ThomasK

I suppose it could be linked with gliding etymologically, and slipping (_slippery_, ...)


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## Lars H

Wilma_Sweden said:


> ...The other meanings, 2) and 3), I find pretty concrete, particularly not having to do the dishes!



I could rephrase myself: If it's "slip" in English, its not "slippa" in Swedish


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## Wilma_Sweden

ThomasK said:


> I suppose it could be linked with gliding etymologically, and slipping (_slippery_, ...)


English slip has a whole host of old forgotten meanings, such as sliding and also letting go of something. The related Old Norse verb was sleppa.

Swedish has developed at least four related verbs from there:

slippa, as discussed above
släppa = to let go
slipa = to make a surface smooth, e.g. sanding
släpa = to pull (something heavy that's sliding on the ground)

/Wilma


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## ThomasK

I got an interesting note from someone via a PM. 

That person informed me that a possible colloquial English equivalent in these sentences is "get away without VERB-ing": "I got away without washing the dishes"; "The children got away without going to school"; "He got away without freezing to death".

Interesting note: altho "get away" normally implies physical motion, that is not the case with the idiom "get away without VERB-ing". If you're standing at the sink preparing to do the dishes but then are told that it's not necessary, you have "gotten away without doing the dishes" even tho you are still standing at the sink. (This idiom is common in Amer Eng; I'm not sure about Brit Eng.)


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## Lars H

Hej!



ThomasK said:


> ...a possible colloquial English equivalent in these sentences is "get away without VERB-ing"



Interesting, but I think there are also a few noun related uses in English as well: "If we go now we will avoid the rush hour" / "Om vi åker nu slipper vi rusningstrafiken". "The soldier got relieved from guard duty" / "Soldaten slapp vatttjänsten". "I'll stay here to avoid the rain" / "Jag stannar här för att slippa regnet".
Perhaps these examples originally have been expressed in VERB-ing form, but if so, the are not any longer.


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## Yared

Some definitions (off the top of my head): 
Someone is put in a situation where they no longer have to do something they would have previously been forced to do.
Someone has physically avoided someone.


"Jag slapp göra min hemläxa eftersom att läraren dog."
"I didn't have to do my homework because the teacher died."

Also, I would like to add the word "slappa" to Wilma's list:

"Vi slappade hela dagen."
"We chilled/lazed the whole day."

Basically doing nothing; just lazing around.


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## JohanIII

For "skip" I really wouldn't use "slippa"; instead "hoppa över" is a good, as well as literal translation, especially in "you can skip doing the".


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## ThomasK

But then: what is the precise difference, if I may ask? That skipping is an act of will, and getting away just happens 'to' us ? 

What is the relation between _slippa_ and _slappa_ ? Is _slippa_ a causative of _slappa_, or is it the opposite?


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## Yared

Skippa sounds more like you're choosing not to do it, like: "Jag tänker skippa skolan idag." "I'm going to skip school today."


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## Lars H

Hej


ThomasK said:


> But then: what is the precise difference, if I may ask? That skipping is an act of will, and getting away just happens 'to' us ?



Yes, pretty much so
"Jag tänkte flyga till Paris, men jag skippar idén - I had an idea of going to Paris, but I'll skip it"
"Jag är flygrädd, och tack vare vulkanaskmolnet slipper jag flyga till Paris - I have a fear of flying, and thanks to the volcano dustcloud I don't have to fly to Paris"



ThomasK said:


> What is the relation between _slippa_ and _slappa_ ? Is _slippa_ a causative of _slappa_, or is it the opposite?



"Jag slapp gå i skolan idag, så jag kunde slappa hela dagen" (I didn't have to go to school today so I could chill all day)

The words probably have a common root, see what Wilma wrote earlier. 
"Slapp" is, I believe, "slap" in Dutch. "Slipper" should be "hoef niet" but isn't there a verb "glippen" still in use? Or is it obsolete?

But beware of the false friend hidden here! 
The adjective: "Han är slapp" (he is limp/hij is slap) sounds and spells identically with the verb in imperferfect "Jag slapp flyga" (I didn't have to fly)


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