tjockast

Tjockast is the superlative form of the Swedish adjective tjock, meaning thick, dense, or, in the context of people, heavy. It is used to denote the greatest degree of thickness or density within a group of objects or individuals. The form is created with the standard Swedish superlative suffix -ast, producing tjockast. In noun phrases the definite form is used, for example den tjockaste boken, det tjockaste brädet, or tjockaste böckerna.

Etymology and usage notes: The adjective tjock is of Germanic origin and has cognates in related Nordic languages. The superlative construction with -ast is a common pattern for forming the strongest degree of many Swedish adjectives. Tjockast can describe physical thickness, such as a book’s spine, a plank’s width, or the density of a material, as well as metaphorical thickness, like the density of a fog or soup. When comparing more than two items, tjockast marks the top degree in the group.

Pronunciation: The initial tj is pronounced as a voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative, similar to a soft “sh” sound, followed by a hard k. An approximate pronunciation is [ˈɕɔkːast].

Examples: Den tjockaste boken på hyllan är nästan som en tegelsten. Det här brädet är det tjockaste i hela konstruktionen. Hon var den tjockaste i klassen när de mätte utrymmena.