spörja

From Old Swedish spyria, from Old Norse spyrja, from Proto-Germanic *spurjaną. Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål spørre, Norwegian Nynorsk spørje, spørja, Danish spørge, Icelandic spyrja, Faroese spyrja, Dutch speuren, German spüren, Luxembourgish spieren, English speer, speir, spere and Scots speir.

• IPA^(key): [²s̪pœ̞rːjä]

spörja (present spörjer, preterite sporde, supine sport, imperative spörj)

1. (dated, poetic) to ask

   Skall ni verkligen bli läkare? sporde hon en dag

   Are you really becoming a doctor? she asked one day

   han hade sport att påvens munskänk var död

   he had learned that the pope's cupbearer was dead

   • 1929, Evert Taube, "Balladen om briggen "Blue Bird" av Hull"

     - Hur var namnet på skutan?
     Han sporde och slog
     nio supar i spetsiga glas.
     - Briggen Blue bird.
     Det tionde glaset han tog,
     och han slog det mot golvet i kras.

     - What was the name of the ship?
     He asked and poured
     nine drinks in pointy glasses.
     "The brig Blue Bird."
     The tenth glass he took,
     and he threw it into the floor.

2. (dated, poetic) to learn, to get news (after having asked around, through rumors, or the like)

• erfara
• fråga

• spörsmål
• tillspörja

• spörja in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• spörja in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• spörja in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

• pröjsa