# Swedish: Människor är djur



## PABLO DE SOTO

What does it mean Människor är djur?
If I translate it literally, People are animals, there is something that says me  that it is not the real meaning.
Does it mean that we, people, are like any other animal?
If I translate it into Spanish, "las personas son/somos (unos) animales", it could mean that we are rude.


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## jonquiliser

Hi!

The meaning given to the phrase varies with context and person. Literally it translates as "Human (being)s are animals". It could be said as an insult or in desesperation just as well as it might denote kinship rather than a divide between humans and (other animals): los humanos también somos animales. Or it might be a biological notion, humans are organism in the way other animals are. Where did you see it?


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## PABLO DE SOTO

According to your explanation, it is the same in Spanish, as you know well. It can have the same different meanings, something merely biological ( we are also animals) or an insult.
The context would make it clear, but it is the title of a song, whose entire meaning I do not understand very well cos my Swedish is still too poor, and aside from this, many, many times pop song lyrics are dark, cryptic or....simply shallow.


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## eros_man_gr

Linguistically, the explanation of "jonquiliser" is perfectly satisfactory; it does indeed mean "people are animals", and I would translate into Spanish as "la gente es (también) animales". Even if "los humanos" is also a fair translation, "människor" is here used in the slightly different nuance of "people" rather than "humans".

As for its use, it is most commonly used in Swedish to comment on bestial behaviour in human beings. When you hear about some gruesome murder, or rape, or some other hot-blooded crime, someone often comments "människor är djur". However, it is also used sometimes to defend our animal needs as humans; if you believe in evolution and think our physical cravings are good, then you can use it to defend your lifestyle against more conservative, religious people who believe in self-denial. 

So it can be either positive or negative, depending on context, but it is not usually used to refer to rudeness, unless you are referring to the way somebody eats, but then you would usually say "han äter som ett djur" ("he eats like an animal").

Finally, a word about a related expression: "djur är också människor". This inverted expression is also common, and is basically a statement about how animals need to have the same basic rights as people.

Buena suerte con le sueco!


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## Wilma_Sweden

PABLO DE SOTO said:


> The context would make it clear, but it is the title of a song, whose entire meaning I do not understand very well cos my Swedish is still too poor, and aside from this, many, many times pop song lyrics are dark, cryptic or....simply shallow.


*If* the song is, as I suspect, Bo Kaspers' "Människor är djur", I can only agree with your comment about song lyrics... It's in Swedish, but that doesn't help much. Still, djur and Sp/En animal all have such wide scopes in meaning that I don't see any problem translating between them in this case. 



> Du kan inte lita på mig/Utan att veta varför/Eller hur?
> Och jag kan försöka nå dig/Försöka att bli att annorlunda djur


The lyrics seem to suggest that you can't trust anyone (emotionally) without reason, because people are animals. However, this is my personal interpretation, and I never took any poetry appreciation classes, so take it for what it's worth! 

/Wilma


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## eros_man_gr

I never would have figured out which song it was, so thanks alot, Wilma! The meaning of the expression is still basically the same as I indicated above, and I stand by my translation.

I don't think there is any profound sense to these lyrics; you hardly need "poetry appreciation classes" to interpret a basic, cheesy love song from a everyday pop band -- sorry, Wilma, if you are a fan (smile)! It seems to just be about how we are all basically animals, but we can aspire to be more, or as he puts it: "try to be a different animal", i.o.w. a more evolved animal.

Me, I prefer to use it in a more positive sense, because I embrace my animal side (grin)...


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## Wilma_Sweden

eros_man_gr said:


> I never would have figured out which song it was, so thanks alot, Wilma! The meaning of the expression is still basically the same as I indicated above, and I stand by my translation.


I just picked the most frequent hit from Google, and Pablo has in the past confessed to listening to Bo Kaspers... 1 + 1  usually equals 2...



> I don't think there is any profound sense to these lyrics; you hardly need "poetry appreciation classes" to interpret a basic, cheesy love song from a everyday pop band -- sorry, Wilma, if you are a fan (smile)! It seems to just be about how we are all basically animals, but we can aspire to be more, or as he puts it: "try to be a different animal", i.o.w. a more evolved animal.


No, I'm not a BK fan, I just put a big disclaimer on my interpretation as being highly personal, and was feeling a bit sarky D ). I'm not a big fan of poetry in any form, and most of the time I don't get it even when the literary critics rave about the greatness of this or that poet...



> Me, I prefer to use it in a more positive sense, because I embrace my animal side (grin)...


Most men do, in my opinion, by personal (female) expericence... 

/Wilma


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## jonquiliser

The funny thing is that "animal" (djur) is often used in a metaphorical way drawing on notions of animals that have little to do with animals themselves. When people make claims of men abeing animal-like, the image invoked is not typically that of a bunny. (This quite apart from any analysis of what those kind of statements _do_; they're not precisely statements of fact.)


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## PABLO DE SOTO

Thank you for your explanations, opinions and sense of humor.


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