# Swedish: helg



## ThomasK

I do not know any Swedish, but I 'accidentally' found out that 'helg' means or can mean 'weekend', but originally probably means : 'festival'. I guess 'helg' has the same root as 'heilig' in German and Dutch/ 'holy' in English. So : it is something similar then as the 'holiday'/ 'Holy day' in English ? 

Or am I mistaken ?

janG


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## Wilma_Sweden

ThomasK said:


> I do not know any Swedish, but I 'accidentally' found out that 'helg' means or can mean 'weekend', but originally probably means : 'festival'. I guess 'helg' has the same root as 'heilig' in German and Dutch/ 'holy' in English. So : it is something similar then as the 'holiday'/ 'Holy day' in English ?


Yes, it's similar and comes from ON hälghe, and is certainly derived from the same Germanic stem as heilig, holy, hallow,  etc. I don't recogise the meaning of festival, though. The original meaning seems to be 'day of religious observance/sacred day', i.e. every Sunday and any official church holidays occurring on other weekdays, and it usually includes the evening before such days, thus contrasted against ordinary weekdays/working days. This meaning prevails, although we have extended it to non-religious holidays such as May 1 and June 6.

/Wilma


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## ThomasK

Thanks, Wilma. I found 'festival' at woxikon.com. There is only one remaining question: it is your only word for weekends or only to Sundays ?


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## Wilma_Sweden

ThomasK said:


> Thanks, Wilma. I found 'festival' at woxikon.com. There is only one remaining question: it is your only word for weekends or only to Sundays ?


We have helg, veckoslut, weekend in Swedish, all meaning 'weekend' as in Saturday and Sunday. Helg is the most common of them.

/Wilma


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## ThomasK

Aha, also _veckoslut_, probably something like conclusion (_sluiten_ in Dutch is conclude or lock) of the week (same word in Dutch as in English)... 

Thanks, I have learnt something.


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## hanne

slut = end, so veckoslut is a direct translation of weekend


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## jonquiliser

Wilma_Sweden said:


> We have helg, veckoslut, weekend in Swedish, all meaning 'weekend' as in Saturday and Sunday. Helg is the most common of them.



I think which one to use depends on the context - when I wish somebody a nice weekend, I usually say "Trevlig helg" (though I occasionally use "trevligt veckoslut"), but for pretty much all other cases I more often use "veckoslut".


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## Wilma_Sweden

jonquiliser said:


> I think which one to use depends on the context - when I wish somebody a nice weekend, I usually say "Trevlig helg" (though I occasionally use "trevligt veckoslut"), but for pretty much all other cases I more often use "veckoslut".


I agree about context although I'm lazy so I would normally use helg in speech for weekend, e.g. as jonquiliser's Trevlig helg, or Vad har du gjort i helgen? (=What did you do last weekend?)  However, since the meaning of helg is ambiguous, I would find it safer to use veckoslut in text for weekend, and helg for any other holiday, religious or otherwise. 

/Wilma


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## dinji

Occasionally we also use _veckända_ here in Finland (_ända _being nearly synonymous with _slut_), but it has an ad hoc colloquial flavour, which make me believe that it is a reborrowing from English.


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