Böjande

Böjande is a term used in linguistics, particularly in Swedish grammar, to describe the property or process of inflection—changing a word’s form to convey grammatical information such as number, tense, or definiteness. The word böjande comes from böja, meaning to bend; Böjning is the noun for inflection, and böjande can function as an adjective describing words that inflect.

Swedish grammar has böjning for several word classes. Nouns inflect for number and definiteness (for example, bok, böcker, boken, böckerna). Adjectives inflect to agree with the noun in number, gender and definiteness and can show degree (stor, större, störst; den stora bilen, de stora bilarna). Verbs inflect for tense and mood (att skriva: jag skriver, jag skrev, jag har skrivit). Pronouns also inflect, and some pronoun forms are used in different cases or persons.

Some words are oböjliga (inflectionless), i.e., do not change form, such as certain loanwords or proper nouns in some contexts, and adverbs generally do not inflect. The concept of böjande is central in grammar resources, dictionaries, and language teaching, helping to describe how words change across contexts and how syntax is built.