vara synd om

Swedish
Det är synd om flickan

Etymology

vara (“be”) +‎ synd (literally "sin" – can be thought of as pity/sorriness here (in the sense of feeling sorry for someone)) +‎ om (“about”)

Verb

vara synd om (present är synd om, preterite var synd om, supine varit synd om, imperative var synd om)

  1. (impersonal) to be a person or animal people (should) feel sorry for, to be pity-evoking
    Det är synd om kaninen som fått en sticka i kassen
    Literal meaning: One feels sorry for the rabbit that has gotten a splinter in its paw / More idiomatic translations: I feel sorry for ... / It's a shame about ... / Poor rabbit that ...
    Det är synd om kvinnorna som försökte göra gott och straffades för det
    One feels sorry for the women who tried to do good and were punished for it
    Det är inte synd om mig
    No need to feel sorry for me ("I am not someone one should feel sorry for")

Usage notes

"Be a shame about ..." in the sense of "One feels sorry for ..." Thought of as a property of the pity-evoking person or animal, so that "Det är inte synd om ..." means disagreeing with that people in general should feel sorry for the person or animal (and that one personally does not feel sorry).

See also

References
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.