svagt

Svagt is a Danish adverb meaning weakly, faintly or slightly. It is used to express a low degree or minimal extent of an action, quality or state, and it can modify verbs, adjectives and participles. Examples include "Lyden var svagt hørbar" (The sound was faintly audible) and "Det var svagt tydeligt" (It was only faintly noticeable). In everyday language, svagt often conveys nuance rather than certainty or strength.

Etymology and form: svagt derives from the Danish adjective svag, meaning "weak." The adverbial form is produced by adding the suffix -t, a common pattern in Danish to create adverbs from adjectives. This formation is parallel in some other North Germanic languages, where cognate forms with similar meanings exist.

Usage notes: Svagt is versatile in descriptive writing and in speech to indicate that a degree is less than clear or strong. It can appear before adjectives, verbs or verbs in passive constructions, and is frequently paired with other modifiers to sharpen nuance, such as "svagt overrasket" (slightly surprised) or "svagt farvet" (faintly colored).

Related terms: The related adjective svag means "weak." The noun form være svaghed or svaghed is used to talk about weakness. In Scandinavian languages, related forms appear with similar meanings, though exact spellings vary by language.

See also: svag, svagt (Norwegian/Dok languages), svaghet, weak, faintly.