väl

See also: Appendix:Variations of "val"

German Low German

Adjective

väl

Alternative spelling of vęl

Plautdietsch

Adjective

väl

many, much, a lot of

Swedish

Alternative forms

waͤl (archaic)

Etymology

From Old Norse vel, from Proto-Germanic *wela, from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁-. Common Germanic word. Cognate with Danish vel, Dutch wel, English well, Faroese væl, German wohl, Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐌻𐌰 (waila), Icelandic vel, Norwegian Bokmål vel, Norwegian Nynorsk vel.

Pronunciation 1

IPA^(key): /vɛːl/
Audio (Gotland): (file)
Rhymes: -ɛːl

Adverb

väl (not comparable)

well
Han spelar piano väl
He plays piano well

väl fungerande infrastruktur
well-functioning infrastructure

Jag känner honom väl
I know him well

Skaka väl
Shake well
1. too (overly – from "well" as in "to a significant degree" (like in "well known"), with an implication of excessiveness)
  Han spelar lite väl mycket piano
  He plays a bit too much piano (or, in tone, "He goes a little hard on the piano" / "He could cut down on the piano playing a bit")
  (literally, “He plays a little well much piano”)
  
  Chilisåsen är lite väl stark
  The chili sauce is a bit too hot (or, in tone, "The chili sauce is a wee bit hot" / "We went a little heavy on the heat" / "It wouldn't hurt if the chili sauce was a bit milder")
  (literally, “The chili sauce is a little well strong (idiomatic for hot spiciness)”)
once (after something has happened)
Väl framme upptäckte vi att butiken var stängd
Once there, we discovered that the shop was closed

Han är lite lat, men när han väl kommer igång så får han mycket gjort
He's a bit lazy, but once he gets going, he gets a lot done
on the other hand, however
Synonym: (more common) däremot

Filmen är inte välproducerad, men väl mycket underhållande
The movie is not well produced, but very entertaining on the other hand

Derived terms

Noun

väl n

well-being, weal (positive state of being)
Jag vill dig väl (idiomatic)
Antonym of "I want to harm you": I want to help you / It's for you own good / "I want you well" (like "I wish you well," but usually actively)

Min önskan för ditt väl skall följa dina spår
My wish for your well-being shall follow your tracks

Derived terms

väl och ve

Pronunciation 2

IPA^(key): /vɛlː/
Homophone: väll
Rhymes: -ɛl

Adverb

väl (not comparable)

(in questions) Used to ask for confirmation or agreement (in a somewhat stern or pleading way).
Du har väl städat rummet?
You've cleaned your room, right?

Du har städat rummet, väl?
You've cleaned your room, right? (a different, uncommon way to phrase it that might provide intuition – see the usage notes)

Du kommer väl på festen?
You're coming to the party, right?

Du älskar mig väl?
You do love me, don't you?

Men det är väl mig du älskar?
But it is me you love (as opposed to someone else), isn't it?

Så dålig var väl inte filmen?
The movie wasn't tha(aa)t bad, was it?
(outside questions) Expresses reservation: "I guess," "probably," etc.
Jaja, den var väl okej
Yeah yeah, it was alright, I guess

"Väl"? Den var ju jättebra!
"I guess"? It was super good! (with ju expressing that this is "fact" and should be common understanding)

Han har inte kommit än, men han har väl kört vilse som vanligt
He hasn't arrived yet, but he's probably gotten ("driven") lost as usual
1. surely
  Det här kan väl ändå inte vara rätt väg
  Surely this can't be the right way (to somewhere) [Works as a translation since "This can't be the right way" is still a more definite statement, and is a pretty good match for tone as well]
  (literally, “This can väl yet not be the right way”)

Usage notes

Besides the "väl," the grammar is the same as for a statement in (sense 1), similar to English when the "right?", etc., is removed. At the most basic level, "väl" can be thought of simply as expressing reservation (like "well" sometimes does in other contexts in English), which carries over into (sense 2), though the questions are interpreted as questions just as much as in English. Though usually not how sentences are structured, imagining a "Well?" at the end of each question instead might provide intuition as well as give a feeling for why the questions have a somewhat stern or pleading tone. Grammatically, the reservation often applies to a verb instead. The "Well?" analogy can be taken too far, as the translations of the examples above are a match for tone, unlike a literal "Well?"
As expected from the above, it is sometimes possible to interpret a spoken sentence with väl as either a question or a statement. Note that this is also true in English for the "surely" example above. Though not always a good match for tone, replacing other instances of "väl" with "surely" might be another way to gain intuition.
Emphasis can change the meaning. "Du älskar väl MIG?" means "It is me you love, isn't it?", while "Du ÄLSKAR väl mig?" means "You do love me, don't you?" (Without context, the most intuitive reading of "Du älskar väl mig?" is "Du älskar väl MIG?")
This adverb is pronounced differently from the other adverb and the noun, which are pronounced as expected from the spelling. Väll would reflect the pronunciation of this adverb, and is a common misspelling.

Synonyms

la (western Sweden)

References

Anagrams

älv