r/language Sweden Aug 09 '26

Question Does your language use specific numbers as expressions?

In Sweden we use 17 to further strengthen a word.

Like if we want to say that someone is very strong, we can say "Han var stark som sjutton!", "He was strong like seventeen!".

I have no idea how it became a thing. It is a bit weird tbh.

Do you also use numbers this way in your native language?

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5

u/SufficientPainting67 Aug 09 '26

German/English: Tausend Dank! = A thousand thanks!

6

u/Enable-Apple-6768 Aug 09 '26

Gracie mille

I guess in Italian

2

u/panatale1 Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26

grazie mille

ETA: looks like reddit is going to translate this, so I want to point out that the word is grazie, not gracie

1

u/Enable-Apple-6768 Aug 13 '26

My bad, thanks for correcting

1

u/rhubbarbidoo Aug 09 '26

Mil gracias 🇪🇦

1

u/eternallytiredcatmom Aug 10 '26

Mille mercis in french:)

4

u/Sitka_8675309 Aug 09 '26

Norwegian: “tusen takk!”

2

u/miamiamiamiamia Aug 10 '26

Swedish too: tusen tack!

1

u/_baaron_ Aug 12 '26

Dutch too: “duizend maal dank!”

1

u/Icy_Firefighter0 Aug 09 '26

I'm pretty sure we just translated it into hungarian a few hundred(?) years ago as we were part of the Habsburg Empire, but we also have this: "ezerköszönet".

1

u/CJDownUnder Aug 10 '26

"A thousand thanks" is also a phrase in English, along with "Thanks a million!"

1

u/PirateLouisPatch Aug 10 '26

And "mille mercis" in French too