Livsfarlige

Livsfarlige is an adjective used in several Scandinavian languages, including Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish, to describe something that poses a risk to life. The core meaning is “life-threatening” or “dangerous to life.” The word is formed from liv, meaning life, and farlig, meaning dangerous. In use, livsfarlige describes hazards, conditions, or substances that can cause serious injury or death and is commonly found in safety warnings, medical advisories, and news reporting.

In Danish and Norwegian, forms derived from the same root appear with inflection depending on number and gender; the form equivalent to livsfarlige is commonly used before plural nouns. In Swedish, the corresponding adjectives are livsfarlig (singular) and livsfarliga (plural), with the exact form varying to match grammar. The term is typically used in risk assessments and labels to communicate urgency and severity without requiring medical precision, such as when discussing dangerous chemicals, hazardous environments, or severe medical conditions.

Etymology traces the combination of liv (life) with farlig (dangerous), a pattern seen in many Germanic languages. The term is widely understood in Scandinavia and is often translated as “life-threatening” in English-language reporting and guidance.