English used to have three words for where: where (location), whither (motion towards), and whence (motion from). Now we rely on context: Where are you going? clearly denotes motion towards, for example.
Swedish retains this three-way distinction for adverbs of motion, so that:
var = where (place)
vart = where (motion towards)
varifrån = where (motion from)
There’s a group of adverbs of motion that this applies to, here’s a partial list:
| English | location | motion towards | motion from |
| where | var | vart | varifrån |
| here | här | hit | härifrån |
| up | uppe | upp | uppifrån |
| home | hemma | hem | hemifrån |
There are several more, you can look them up, but I’ll have some fun in showing you how they are used.
As you enter Uppsala, you are greeted by the saying
Välkommen hit; Välkommen hem:
So now you know this means
Welcome to here; Welcome to home.
The rest of the sign is also lovely:
Besök Fyrishov / Sveriges 4:e största besöksmål
Visit Fyrishov / Sweden’s 4th most popular place to visit
I’m sure my translation is rather loose, but here’s a good trivia question for you: what are the top 3?
I really like the Iranian-Swedish singer Laleh. Bjurö Klubb is a wonderful song, and if you understand the lyrics, the following video makes sense also. She’s having a conversation with a Blue Whale (blåval). The whale says:
Varje kväll du tänker högt och viftar armar
Every evening you’re thinking aloud and waving your arms
The cameraman zooms in on her hand to make sure we get the point?!? But what’s not to like about the way she pronounces viftar armar.
And then:
jag kan ta dig härifrån
I can take you away from here
Here’s the video:
Here’s an interesting way to learn some Swedish. This is Veronica Maggio singing Välkommen in. The line I’m interested in is:
Jag bor fyra trappor upp
I live four floors up
That makes sense now, I hope: this is definitely an example of motion towards.
Välkommen in!