pronoun

varsin

each

En till varje person i en grupp.

Definition & meaning

The word varsin is a distributive pronoun in Swedish that is used to indicate that each member of a group has or receives one of something. It is most commonly translated to English as "each" or "one each."

It is used when distributing items or traits among individuals. For example, if three people are given one apple each, you would say "de fick varsin apple." It emphasizes individual possession or allocation within a collective context.

It can also be used with numbers other than one, such as "de fick varsina två äpplen" (they got two apples each), although in modern Swedish, it is most frequently used for single items.

Grammar & Word origin

Grammatically, varsin functions as an adjective or pronoun and must agree with the grammatical gender of the noun it refers to:

Varsin is used with common gender nouns (en-words), such as "varsin stol" (each a chair).
Varsitt is used with neuter gender nouns (ett-words), such as "varsitt hus" (each a house).

The word is a contraction of the phrase "var sin," which literally translates to "each his/her/its own." Over time, these two words merged into a single unit. It is unique because "sin" is a reflexive possessive pronoun, but in the form varsin, it has become fixed and does not change based on the subject's person (it remains varsin whether the subject is "we," "you," or "they").