fornuftiga

Förnuftiga is a Swedish adjective meaning sensible, prudent, or reasonable. It describes people, actions, or decisions that are guided by reason or rational thinking. The related noun is förnuft, which means reason or rationality. The form förnuftiga is used before plural nouns (and before feminine plural as well), for example: förnuftiga beslut, förnuftiga människor.

Usage and nuance: Förnuftiga often conveys a balanced, moderate judgment. It is commonly used in everyday language as well as in policy or professional contexts to praise decisions that are thoughtful and well considered. It is closely related to sunt förnuft (common sense). In contrast to phrases like klok eller rationell, förnuftiga emphasizes prudence and avoidance of harm or waste, rather than mere technical correctness.

Grammatical note: The base adjective is förnuftig. In plural form it becomes förnuftiga (as in förnuftiga beslut, förnuftiga idéer). In singular, it is förnuftig when describing a single, non-neuter noun (en förnuftig person) and ett förnuftigt beslut for neuter nouns.

Etymology and usage: The word is derived from förnuft, meaning reason. In Swedish, diacritics are part of the standard spelling (förnuftig, förnuftiga), though you may encounter non-diactritized forms like fornuftiga in contexts that omit the umlaut. The term remains a neutral, descriptive descriptor in most registers, from everyday speech to formal writing.