handskriven

Hands skriven is a Swedish adjective meaning written by hand, as opposed to typed or printed. It is used to describe text, documents, letters, or notes that have been produced without the aid of a mechanical or digital writing process. The term highlights the original, manual origin of the writing.

Etymology and forms: the word is a compound of hand and skriven, the past participle of skriva (to write). In contemporary Swedish, hands skriven is typically written as one word: hands skriven. The related form händskriven is incorrect in Swedish, while closely related languages like Danish or Norwegian use håndskrevet or håndskreven.

Usage and context: hands skriven is common in archival descriptions, historical studies, and discussions of authenticity or personal touch. It contrasts with maskinskriven (typewritten) or tryckt (printed). In modern everyday usage, hands skriven remains most relevant when referring to older manuscripts, handwritten letters, or calligraphic works, where the manual origin is notable. Plural and gender inflections follow standard Swedish adjective rules: ett handskrivet dokument, en handskriven anteckning, handskrivna dokument och handskrivna anteckningar.

Examples: ett hands skrivet brev is more commonly written as ett handskrivet brev; hands skriven text is handskriven text; handskrivna anteckningar.

See also: handwritten, maskinskriven, tryckt, handikappad (unrelated but similar compound formation in other contexts).

In summary, hands skriven denotes writing produced by hand, with relevance mainly in historical, archival, or aesthetic contexts, emphasizing manual craftsmanship and authenticity.