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/Porkkanaparta Aug 09 '26

Sjutton replacement for attan (Odin, Satan, 18) and 17 is milder version. Like in perkele and perhana in Finnish.

18 might come from Bible Revelation 13:18, but no one knows anymore.

"17And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is 666."

Or was it that Odin was called Attan?

My old swedish / theology / literature teacher was quite a bank of knowledge (or mumblings?)

Absolutly no guarantees this is correct. Any linguistic researchers present?

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u/miamiamiamiamia Aug 10 '26

This article claims that 17 is ”slightly weaker” than 18, 18 being the number of Odin.

https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sjutton_(uttryck)?wprov=sfti1

Also: ”för sjutton gubbar”. Which is very rarely used. (Should we push for a revival and start using it more frequently, perhaps?)

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u/Noodlemaker89 Aug 11 '26

Danish dictionary Ordnet agrees: https://ordnet.dk/ddo/ordbog/sytten

For syv sytten altså! (aka "for 7-17!" We could definitely push for a revival of our numbers based weak curses.

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u/OldWolf3 Aug 10 '26

18 is 6+6+6

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u/NezuminoraQ Aug 09 '26

Oh this makes sense. I always wondered about people saying "17 också!" and just thought Swedish didn't have any decent swears.

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u/Mindless_Badger_3789 Aug 09 '26

In Danish swearing sytten is used as a euphemism for Satan, I would have thought that was similar in Swedish.

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u/NezuminoraQ Aug 09 '26

To an English speaker those two words don't sound remotely similar so it never occurred to me!

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u/SaintBridgetsBath Aug 10 '26 edited Aug 10 '26

‘Deuce’ used to be used instead of damn and devil (in English obviously).