Totalt

Totalt is an adverb used in Swedish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Danish to express either the total sum of a quantity or an overall assessment, as well as to intensify adjectives or predicates. In quantitative contexts it marks the final tally: for example, antalet var totalt 120 personer; or totalt sett ser resultatet annorlunda ut. In informal or formal prose it can introduce an overall conclusion or summary: “Totalt var projektet lyckat.”

As an intensifier, totalt can modify adjectives or participles to mean “completely,” “utterly,” or “absolutely,” as in totalt omöjligt or totalt borgerligt. The choice between totalt and related intensifiers like helt or fullstendig often depends on tone, register, and regional preference.

Etymology and cognates: totalt derives from the adjective total, and the -t suffix forms the adverb in Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish. The word ultimately traces back to the Latin totus, meaning “the whole.” Related forms in the languages include sammanlagt in Swedish or til sammen in Norwegian, which convey a similar sense of totality or aggregation.

Usage notes: totalt is versatile and common in both spoken and written Nordic language varieties. For precise counting, it is used with numerals; for general summaries, it appears in phrases like totalt sett. While broadly understood across the Scandinavian languages, its exact nuance can vary by context and dialect.

See also: sammanlagt, totalt sett, i total, til sammen.