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.^[1]

Pronunciation

Audio: (file)

Verb

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

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.
to wear; e.g. a piece of clothing or jewelry
(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 (will be able to support us)
(bära frukt) [for a plant] to bear fruit or berries (but also figuratively speaking)
Äppelträdet bär mycket mer än i fjol
The apple tree has produced / is bearing / yields much more [fruit] than last year

Ansträngningarna bar frukt
The efforts proved fruitful (bore fruit)
(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 vart det bär hän?
Who knows where it will lead? ("Who knows where it heads away (to)?)

Vi får se vart 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

present participle		bärande
past participle		buren

¹ Archaic. ² Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Synonyms

(lead to): leda (till)

Derived terms

References

^ bära in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)

[1] ära in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)

[1]