vänstra

Vänstra is a Swedish adjective meaning left, used to describe the left-hand side or leftward orientation. It is the inflected form of vänster and is typically placed before a noun to indicate the left one, for example: vänstra handen (the left hand), vänstra sidan av huset (the left side of the house). With definite nouns the phrase forms as den vänstra handen or det vänstra huset, in line with standard Swedish adjective agreement.

Etymology: Vänstra derives from the Old Norse vinstr, meaning left, and is cognate with Danish venstre and Norwegian venstre. The base form vänster is widely used as the simple adjective or in compounds to denote left-hand or left side.

In everyday Swedish, vänstra is primarily a descriptive term for position. It is not normally used as a standalone noun. In political discourse, the left is usually described with vänster as a noun or adjective; expressions like vänstra blocket or vänstra sidan appear in journalism, though vänster is the standard word for the left-wing.

The word illustrates the typical Swedish pattern of adjective agreement across gender and definiteness, and it stands in contrast to the related term höger, which means right. Used correctly, vänstra conveys orientation clearly in both spoken and written Swedish.