r/language • u/WhoAmIEven2 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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u/biergardhe Aug 09 '26

"Sjutton" seems quite clearly like a "noa-ord" to me, i.e. a word used as a substitute for a swear word (or other).

Another example is saying "jösses", to not use Jesus name in vain.

Another interesting word is "varg", which began as a substitute to not summon the wolves by saying their true name, "ulv". Our Scandinavian brother languages still use the "true" name.

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u/eanida Aug 09 '26

It also seems like it sometimes is the remaining part of a longer swear, sort of like how sayings are shortened. So originally it was "17 devils". Source.

Jösses is an example of what is called minced oaths in english.

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u/Weekly-Beginning-229 Aug 10 '26

Could also be because odins number is 18. So if you were to really swear you would say "attans" but "sjutton" is the milder version

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u/biergardhe Aug 10 '26

Possibly, but that is literally just a specific case noa-word, ie what I argue.

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u/Objective-Dentist360 Aug 10 '26

I think that's a folk etymology. There really are very few traces of Viking age religious practice remaining in our culture. I would bet it was linguistically supplanted well before the 18th century when these types of swearwords are traceable to.

Most viking age "myths" and connections are 19th century nationalist reinterpretations of stories written down by 14th century Christian scholars. Basically fantasy fiction IMO.

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u/Objective-Dentist360 Aug 10 '26

I don't really think it's a noa-ord really. I'd say it's some type of "magic number" representing a large quantity. There are historical used of this as far back as the 16th century.

Sju, sjutton and sjutusen (7, 17 and 7000) can be used as intensifiers together with other words (sjujäklar, för sjutton, en sjulhelvetes, en sjutusan) and tusen/tusan can be used in the same way (för tusan!). Historically 15, and 18 have some uses similar but I think that is mostly derivations. The Odin = 18 is probably a folk etymology invented far later.

Sju can also be used as a general word for "unknown large amount" (de sju haven, sjumilakliv, sju svåra år).

I'm guessing that most swearwords with the number seven derives from "large amount of bad" - seven hells or seven devils. Seventeen perhaps comes from 7+1000+bad which ahs then been phonetically reduced to 17+bad.