bära

See also: Appendix:Variations of "bara"

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish bæra, from Old Norse bera, from Proto-Germanic *beraną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (whence also börja, bår and barn). Cognate with Danish bære, Norwegian bære, and English bear.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

bära (present bär, preterite bar, supine burit, imperative bär)

1. to carry; to lift and transport anywhere else
   • 1914, Dan Andersson, “Utrivning”, in Kolarhistorier, page 34:

     Isen var så tjock och där var så djupt till vattnet att man fick ställa sig på knä i snön för att ösa upp vatten i hinken.
     Två sådana fans, vi buro upp dem fulla och ställde dem ett stycke från milan.

     The ice there was so thick and it was so deep to the water that one had to get down on ones knees in the snow, to scoop up water into the bucket.
     There were two of those, and we carried them filled and put them down a bit away from the charcoal pile.

2. to wear; e.g. a piece of clothing or jewelry
3. (often with a particle like upp) to support, to bear

   Taket bärs upp av pelare

   The roof is supported by columns

   Jag hoppas isen bär

   I hope the ice will carry us (be able to support us)

4. (often impersonal) to head (compare "head" sense of English "bear")

   Imorgon bär det av (till Säffle)!

   Tomorrow we're (setting) off (to Säffle)! ("Tomorrow it heads off (to Säffle)!") / Tomorrow it's off to Säffle!

   En bit fram bär vägen utför

   A little further on, the road goes downhill ("A bit forth the road heads downhill")

   Vem vet var det bär hän?

   Who knows where it will lead? ("Who knows where it heads away (to)?)

   Vi får se var det bär hän

   We will see where it goes / what happens

Usage notes

"Bära hän" can be considered an (often somewhat jocularly old-fashioned) idiom.

Conjugation

Conjugation of bära (class 4 strong)

	Active		Passive
Infinitive	bära		bäras
Supine	burit		burits
Imperative	bär		—
Imper. plural1	bären		—
	Present	Past	Present	Past
Indicative	bär	bar	bärs, bäres	bars
Ind. plural1	bära	buro	bäras	buros
Subjunctive2	bäre	bure	bäres	bures
	Participles
Present participle	bärande
Past participle	buren
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Synonyms

• (lead to): leda (till)

Derived terms

• bortbära
• innebära
• uppbära
• bärverk
• alla vägar bär till Rom
• bära marskalkstaven i ränseln

References

• bära in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• bära in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• bära in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

• bära in Reverso Context (Swedish-English)