ställningen

Ställningen is a Swedish noun that denotes the position, stance, or arrangement of someone or something. The definite form is ställningen. The term is used across several domains with related but distinct senses.

In everyday language, ställningen can describe a physical posture, a position in a debate, or a person’s standing within an organization or society. For example, one might say that a person has a strong ställning within a company, or ask what stance someone takes on a policy question. The word can also refer to the relative influence of a party, institution, or idea.

In chess, ställning denotes the arrangement of the pieces on the board at a given moment; a favorable ställning means a position with strategic prospects.

In construction and industry, ställning commonly means scaffolding—temporary structures used to support workers and materials during building, repair, or painting work. The more specific term byggställning is often used, but ställning is understood in many contexts to refer to a scaffolding setup.

Etymology: ställning derives from the verb stå, meaning to stand, and is related to concepts of place, position, and stance. The word forms a core part of phrases describing how something stands or is positioned in space, social life, or argument.