Lagom
Lagom is a Swedish word meaning or.
The word can be variously translated as,,,, and . Whereas words like sufficient and average suggest some degree of abstinence, scarcity, or failure, lagom carries the connotation of appropriateness, although not necessarily perfection. The archetypical Swedish proverb "Lagom är bäst", literally, is also translated as, or as.
Etymology
The origin of the term is an archaic dative plural form of lag, in this case referring not necessarily to judicial law but common-sense law. Literally meaning, a closer translation would be or. The earliest attestations of the word are from 17th-century texts.A common false etymology claims that it is a contraction of laget om ; according to this myth, the phrase was used in Viking times to specify how much mead one should drink from the horn as it was passed around in order for everyone to receive a fair share.
Use
Lagom is most often used as an adverb, as in the sentence "Han är lagom lång". Lagom can also be used as an adjective: "Klänningen var lagom för henne", which would be equivalent to. The adjective form is never inflected.Cultural significance
The value of "just enough" can be compared to the idiom "less is more", or contrasted to the value of "more is better". It is viewed favorably as a sustainable alternative to the hoarding extremes of consumerism: "Why do I need more than two? Det är lagom" It can also be viewed as repressive: "You're not supposed to be too good, or too rich".In a single word, lagom is said to describe the basis of the Swedish national psyche, one of consensus and equality. "My aunt used to hold out her closed fist and say, "How much can you get in this hand? It's much easier to get something in this hand".
Comparable terms in other languages
The word "lagom" also exists in Norwegian, in both Bokmål and Nynorsk. The connotations in Norwegian, however, are somewhat different from Swedish. In Norwegian the word has synonyms as. While some synonyms are somewhat similar in meaning, many present in Swedish do not exist in Norwegian and vice versa. The Norwegian words passelig and the more common passe are very similar, translating roughly as in English. Passe can be used in every context where the Swedish lagom is used, e.g. passe varm, passe stor, etc.Finnish has the word sopivasti, which carries similar connotations of.
The concept of lagom is similar to the Russian or Ukrainian expression normal'no, which indicates a sufficient and sustainable state, for example of one's livelihood. In Russian, the word is often used as an answer to the question "how are you?". Polish w sam raz means the same as lagom. Comparable terms are found in some south Slavic languages, for example Serbo-Croatian umereno or umjereno. In Slovakian, the expression tak akurát is used.
Ιn ancient Greek, there was the famous phrase of Cleobulus, metron ariston, meaning.
In Albanian, the word taman has the same meaning. It is derived from Ottoman Turkish tamam meaning, borrowed from Arabic where it means. In Albanian, it is used in essentially the same way as lagom, as in "a taman amount", "not a taman person", taman!, etc. The word taman is also used in some Slavic languages and almost perfectly translates lagom to those languages.
In Chinese philosophy, the concept of expresses the similar concept.
In Thai, the word พอเพียง expresses a similar meaning.
In Indonesia, both Indonesian and Javanese, there is a common word for it, pas, which means.
In Swiss German dialects, similar to lagom, is the word gäbig; in German, the term means something like in the case of objects, or in relation to people and conditions.