# Swedish: lap



## jancho

Hello.

How would you say "lap" in Swedish?

Here is a wiki definition:



> A lap is a surface created between the knee and hips of a bipedal being when it is in a seated position. A lap only exists in this seated form, and not when a being is standing erect or when it is lying down.



context: Jane was sitting on Jan's lap, while Jan was telling us how was his studies at university like.

suggestion: lap

Thank you.


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## Plopp

jancho said:


> Hello.
> 
> How would you say "lap" in Swedish?
> 
> Here is a wiki definition:
> 
> 
> 
> context: Jane was sitting on Jan's lap, while Jan was telling us how was his studies at university like.
> 
> suggestion: lap
> 
> Thank you.


Here we are perhaps not quite logical in Swedish... 'knee' is 'knä' but 'lap is also translated 'knä'!
Jane satt *i Jans knä*, medan han berättade för oss om sina universitetsstudier.


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## jonquiliser

You can also say "famn": Jane satt i Jans famn.


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## ArnaudC

jonquiliser said:


> You can also say "famn": Jane satt i Jans famn.


Isn't "famn" more like "in his arms"?


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## Plopp

Yes. 'i hans famn' = 'in his arms' and 'i hans knä' = 'on his lap'.


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## dinji

Plopp said:


> Yes. 'i hans famn' = 'in his arms' and 'i hans knä' = 'on his lap'.


We must have found a new finlandism here. We could never sit "*i *ngns* knä*" in Helsinki. It is anatomically impossible. A child could sit "*på *ngns* knä*" and listen to a fairy tale, but then not too close to the hips.

Sitting closer to the hips, or if the sitter is an adult woman, it would inevitable trigger the use of the word *famn*: "*sitta i *ngns* famn*". I was never so far made aware that this wouldn't be idiomatic in Sweden too, interesting


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## jonquiliser

And just for the sake of information, for _famn_ it's common to say famppu .

I wouldn't have reacted on the preposition of _knä_ though, perhaps because of exposure to Swedish from Sweden; for me either _i _or _på_ would have passed unnoticed.


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## solregn

I would say *att sitta i någons knä*, but I think *att sitta i någons famn* sound much cosier!


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## dinji

jonquiliser said:


> I wouldn't have reacted on the preposition of _knä_ though, perhaps because of exposure to Swedish from Sweden; for me either _i _or _på_ would have passed unnoticed.


My informant from outside Helsinki also just said _i ... knä_ (in parallel with _i ... famn_). So this issue with the preposition might just as well be my faulty ear.


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