hemma

Hemma is a Swedish adverb meaning at home or in one’s own home. It is used to express location, as in Jag är hemma, and in phrases with a preposition to indicate where someone is or where an event takes place, such as Vi ses hemma hos mig.

The term also occurs in compounds and fixed expressions that convey related notions of belonging or familiarity. In sports, for example, hemmaplan refers to the home field or court, and hemmapubliken describes the audience cheering for the home team. Beyond concrete places, hemma can express a sense of ease or belonging, as in det känns hemma, meaning that something feels comfortable or familiar.

In everyday language, hemma can appear with different grammatical functions. It can stand alone as the predicate adverb (I am at home), or appear in constructions with a preposition to locate actions and events (at someone’s place, at my place). The phrase hemma hos is common for indicating someone’s residence, as in träffas hemma hos Anna.

Etymology traces hemma to the Swedish word hem (home), with the form functioning as an adverb indicating location. The concept is shared with related Nordic languages, and the word is well established in Swedish usage since medieval times.

See also: hem, home, and common Swedish locative expressions built with the word hem.