hyggelig

Danish

Etymology

hygge +‎ -lig (-ly)

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈhyɡəli/

Adjective

hyggelig

  1. nice, friendly
  2. cozy, comfortable, snug
    Synonym: fedt
  3. homey

Inflection

Inflection of hyggelig
positive comparative superlative
indefinite common singular hyggelig hyggeligere hyggeligst2
indefinite neuter singular hyggeligt hyggeligere hyggeligst2
plural hyggelige hyggeligere hyggeligst2
definite attributive1 hyggelige hyggeligere hyggeligste

1 When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite,
the corresponding "indefinite" form is used.
2 The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

Descendants

  • German: hyggelig
  • Icelandic: huggulegur

German

Etymology

Borrowed from Danish hyggelig.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈhʏɡəlɪç/, /ˈhʏɡəlɪk/
  • Audio (Germany (Berlin)):(file)
  • Audio (Germany (Berlin)):(file)

Adjective

hyggelig (strong nominative masculine singular hyggeliger, comparative hyggeliger, superlative am hyggeligsten)

  1. cozy, homey
    Synonyms: gemütlich, heimelig
    • 2025 December 10, Jurek Skrobala, “Wie macht man etwas Schönes aus dem Schrecklichen?”, in Der Spiegel[1], →ISSN:
      Hania Rani stand mal für hyggelige Kaffeehausmusik. Jetzt hat die Polin ein von den Kriegen in der Ukraine und in Gaza inspiriertes Werk geschrieben.
      Hania Rani once represented cozy coffee house music. Now, the Polish musician wrote a piece inspired by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

Declension

Further reading

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From hygge +‎ -lig.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈhʏɡl̩ɪ/

Adjective

hyggelig (neuter singular hyggelig, definite singular and plural hyggelige)

  1. nice, pleasant
  2. cosy, comfortable

Synonyms

Antonyms

Interjection

hyggelig

  1. hello (greeting)

Usage notes

The use of hyggelig as a greeting is synecdoche from its appearance in the Norwegian phrase hyggelig å hilse deg (nice to meet/see you). As such, it most frequently appears following other words of greeting, as in Hei! Hyggelig! or Hallo, hyggelig.

See also

References