väninna

Swedish

Etymology

vän +‎ -inna.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

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Noun

väninna c

1. a female friend (usually of a female, and usually of adult and fairly close-knit friendship)

   Kajsas väninna Karin

   Kajsa's [female] friend Karin

   Hon hade en väninna på besök

   She had a [female] friend visiting

   Kajsa är på vinprovning med väninnorna

   Kajsa is at a wine tasting with the girls [her female friend group]

2. (now rare) a mistress (of a man)

   Synonym: älskarinna

Usage notes

Having a väninna sounds feminine. A female friend of a male would usually just be called a "(kvinnlig) vän" ((female) friend). Though rare in contemporary Swedish and likely to be misunderstood, a väninna of a man can also mean a mistress.

Declension

Declension of väninna

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	väninna	väninnas
	definite	väninnan	väninnans
plural	indefinite	väninnor	väninnors
	definite	väninnorna	väninnornas

See also

• tjejkompis

References

• “väninna”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “väninna”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “väninna”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)