duktig

Swedish

Etymology

From Middle Low German duchtich, from Old Saxon *duhtig, from Proto-West Germanic *duhtīg (“strong, proficient”). Parallel borrowing with Danish dygtig, Norwegian dyktig.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /²dɵkːtɪɡ/
Audio: (file)

Adjective

duktig (comparative duktigare, superlative duktigast)

good; talented; capable (showing good ability, in a sense that includes both being good at something and being well-behaved)
vara duktig i skolan
be good at school

Hon är duktig i matte
She is good at maths
"I matte" implies math as a subject, like in school. Compare "i skolan" and "in math class." "Hon är duktig på matte," or more commonly "Hon är bra på matte," means that she is good at math more generally. This way of using in (i) also seems to appear regionally in English.

en duktig fotograf
a talented photographer

en mycket duktig ung man
a very capable young man

Han städade rummet helt själv. Vilken duktig pojke!
He cleaned the room all by himself. What a good boy!

Var en duktig flicka nu, Elsa!
Be a good girl now, Elsa!

Jag var aldrig den duktiga flickan
I was never the good girl
- 1994, “Älska mig [Love Me]”, in Sanningens morgon [The Morning of Truth]‎^[1], performed by Köttgrottorna:
  Älska mig. Jag vill inte ha konflikter. Älska mig. Jag vill vara duktig. Älska mig. Mig och mig och ingen annan. Älska mig. Ge mig kärlek.
  Love me. I don't want conflicts. Love me. I want to be good at things [a capable person]. Love me. Me and me and no one else. Love me. Give me love.

Declension

Inflection of **duktig**
Indefinite	positive	comparative	superlative¹
common singular	duktig	duktigare	duktigast
neuter singular	duktigt	duktigare	duktigast
plural	duktiga	duktigare	duktigast
masculine plural²	duktige	duktigare	duktigast

Definite	positive	comparative	superlative
masculine singular³	duktige	duktigare	duktigaste
all	duktiga	duktigare	duktigaste

¹ The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
² Dated or archaic.
³ Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

Derived terms

bror Duktig (“goody two shoes, goody-goody”)

Related terms

duktigt (has an additional, unintuitive sense of "very (much)")

References