gärna

From Old Norse gjarna, from Proto-Germanic *gernô (“willingly, gladly”), the adverbial form of *gernaz (“willing”).

• IPA^(key): /²jɛːrna/, [²jæːɳä]

• Audio

  (file)

• Homophones: hjärna, Järna

gärna (comparative hellre, superlative helst)

1. gladly, happily, (when synonymous with "gladly") willingly/readily

   – Vill du klappa kaninen? – Ja, gärna!

   – Do you want to pet the rabbit? – Yes, please! (Yes, I would gladly pet the rabbit!)

   Hon äter gärna glass

   She likes to eat ice cream

   Han svarar gärna på frågor

   He is happy to answer questions

   Ska det regna hela tiden kan man lika gärna stanna hemma

   If it's going to rain all the time, you might as well stay home (then you are as happy to stay home)

   Köp gärna lite mjölk när du är på affären

   It would be great if you could buy some milk when you're at the store (note that the gärna here refers to the attitude of the speaker rather than the addressee)

2. often, easily (likely figurative from something "gladly" happening)

   Hans fester spårar gärna ur

   His parties tend to get out of hand

   Försöker man balansera en penna på spetsen så ser man att den gärna faller omkull

   If one tries to balance a pencil on its tip one sees that it easily falls over

In imperatives, gärna usually refers to the attitude of the speaker. Since telling someone to be/become willing and happy to do something is rare, this doesn't lead to ambiguity in practice.

• gärning

• gärna in Svensk ordbok.

• ägnar, ängar