fóga

Föga is a Swedish adverb meaning to a small extent, not much, scarcely, or hardly. It is relatively formal or literary in tone and is less common in everyday speech, where speakers more often say inte mycket or lite. Föga typically modifies adjectives or clauses to signal a low degree, as in det är föga troligt (that is unlikely) or föga nytta gör det (it offers little use).

Common uses include phrases that express low probability, limited usefulness, or scant extent. For example: Det är föga troligt att han kommer. Föga nytta gör det. Föga förvånad blev hon när nyheten kom. In older or stylistically elevated Swedish, föga can appear at the start of a clause with inverted word order, such as Föga förvånad var han.

Etymology and status: föga is of Germanic origin and has cognates in other Scandinavian languages, where related terms convey a similar sense of smallness or scarcity. In modern Swedish, the word preserves a formal or archaic flavor and is often reserved for literary, journalistic, or ceremonial contexts. For everyday language, synonyms such as lite, inte mycket, or knappare are more common, depending on nuance and register.

See also: synonyms and related expressions for degree or quantity in Swedish, such as lite, inte mycket, knappast.