somliga

Somliga is a Swedish determiner and pronoun meaning "some" or "certain," used to indicate a subset of a larger group. It is typically placed before a plural noun, as in somliga människor or somliga dagar, and can also appear in phrases like i somliga fall. As a pronoun, it can stand on its own in statements such as Somliga av oss minns vad som hände, or in generalizations like Somliga tror att världen blir bättre med tiden.

In modern usage, somliga carries a somewhat formal or literary tone. It is more common in written Swedish and in careful speech; in everyday conversation, speakers often replace it with several other words such as några or vissa, depending on the nuance intended. Somliga emphasizes that only a portion of a group is being referenced, rather than all of them.

Forms and usage notes: the primary form in contemporary Swedish is somliga, used for plural nouns. There is also somlig, an adjective form meaning “some,” but it is rare in modern usage and appears mainly in older texts or in a literary register. The word can contrast with vissa (certain/specific) and några (a few) in feel and precision.

Etymology: somliga is of native Nordic origin and has cognates in related Scandinavian languages. It belongs to a class of words that indicate indefiniteness about quantity within a larger set.

See also: någonting, några, vissa, variation in Swedish numerals and pronouns.