Vanligt

Vanligt is a Swedish adjective meaning common, usual, ordinary, or frequent. It is used to describe something that occurs often or is typical, and it can modify nouns or appear in set phrases. The word has different inflectional forms depending on number, gender, and definiteness.

Morphology and inflection: The basic form for en-words in indefinite singular is vanlig (for example, en vanlig dag). For ett-words in indefinite singular the form is vanligt (ett vanligt problem). In plural and in definite contexts, the forms are vanliga (indefinite plural or definite forms) and vanliga days/vanliga problems in the definite singular like det vanliga problemet or den vanliga dagen, de vanliga dagarna. These inflections reflect Swedish adjective agreement with nouns.

Usage notes: Vanligt is commonly used to state that something is typical or widespread, as in Det är vanligt att folk dricker kaffe på morgonen (It is common for people to drink coffee in the morning). The phrase vanligt förekommande (commonly occurring) is frequent in descriptive writing. For a stronger emphasis on usualness, Swedish often uses adverbial forms such as vanligtvis (usually) rather than vanlig. The compound adjectives and phrases, such as vanligt förekommande, are common in both spoken and written Swedish.

Etymology and related forms: Vanligt derives from the older Swedish vanlig, with cognates in other Scandinavian languages. The word is closely related to terms in Norwegian and Danish, reflecting a shared Germanic heritage that denotes normality or typicality.

See also: Related concepts include ordinary, normal, and daily usage expressions like vardaglig, vanlighet (the idea of normality or commonness), and phrases that describe frequency or commonness in Swedish.