himmel

From Old Danish himæn, himæl, from Old Norse himinn, from Proto-Germanic *himinaz, cognate with Norwegian, Swedish himmel, English heaven, German Himmel. The modern Scandinavian form with -l is influenced by German.

• IPA^(key): /heməl/, [ˈheml̩]

himmel c (singular definite himlen or himmelen, plural indefinite himle)

1. sky
2. (religion) heaven (a residence of supernatural, celestial beings)

• “himmel” in Den Danske Ordbog

• Audio:

  (file)

himmel

1. inflection of himmeln:
   1. first-person singular present
   2. singular imperative

From Old Norse himinn, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *himinaz (“cloud cover, sky”). Influenced by German Himmel.

himmel m (definite singular himmelen, indefinite plural himler, definite plural himlene)

1. sky (atmosphere above a point)
2. heaven (paradise)

• himmellegeme
• himmelrike
• nattehimmel
• stjernehimmel

• “himmel” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

From Old Norse himinn, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *himinaz (“cloud cover, sky”). Influenced by German Himmel.

• IPA^(key): /²hɪmːɛl/

himmel m (definite singular himmelen, indefinite plural himlar, definite plural himlane)

1. sky (atmosphere above a point)
2. heaven (paradise)

• himmellekam
• himmelrike
• nattehimmel
• stjernehimmel

• “himmel” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

From Old Swedish himil, from Old Saxon himil, from Proto-West Germanic *himil. Replaced Old Swedish himin, Old Norse himinn.^[1]

himmel c

1. sky
   • 1933, Karin Boye, Merit vaknar‎^[1], Albert Bonniers förlag, accessed at Litteraturbanken.se, courtesy of Göteborgs universitetsbibliotek, archived from the original on 9 May 2025, page 150:

     Inte en vind, inte ett ljud. Bara milt solsken, snö och blå himmel.

     Not a wind, not a sound. Just mild sunshine, snow, and blue sky.

   • 1990, Anne Linnet, translated by Björn Afzelius, “Tusen bitar”, in Tusen bitar‎^[2], performed by Björn Afzelius:

     Det sägs att ovan molnen är himlen alltid blå / Men det kan va svårt att tro när man inte ser den

     They say that above the clouds the sky is always blue / But it can be hard to believe when you can't see it

   • 1999 November 17, 1973 års bibelkommission, “Uppenbarelseboken 6:13”, in Bibel 2000‎^[3], © Svenska Bibelsällskapet, accessed at Bible.com, archived from the original on 9 May 2025:

     Och himlens stjärnor föll ner på jorden, liksom höstfikonen faller från trädet när det skakas av stormen.

     And the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as autumn figs fall from the tree when shaken by a storm.

2. heaven
   • 1905, Verner von Heidenstam, Folkungaträdet: Folke Filbyter‎^[4], Albert Bonniers förlag, accessed at Litteraturbanken.se, courtesy of Göteborgs universitetsbibliotek, archived from the original on 9 May 2025, page 194:

     När jag var fånge hos Alp Arslan, fick jag heta vantrogen, därför att jag inte trodde på de sju himlarna.

     When I was a prisoner of Alp Arslan, I was called an infidel, because I did not believe in the seven heavens.

   • 1999 November 17, 1973 års bibelkommission, “Lukasevangeliet 21:33”, in Bibel 2000‎^[5], © Svenska Bibelsällskapet, accessed at Bible.com, archived from the original on 9 May 2025:

     Himmel och jord skall förgå, men mina ord skall aldrig förgå.

     Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

   • 2005 February 23, Måns Asplund & Jason Diakité, “Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill dö”, in Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill dö‎^[6], performed by Timbuktu:

     Alla vill till himmelen men få vill ju dö / Man vill kamma in vinningen, men sår inga frön

     Everyone wants to go to heaven, but few of us want to die / We want to reap the benefits, but sow no seeds

1. Alternative spellings for the definite singular exist:

• himmelen - perhaps more often in reference to "heaven" as in "paradise"
• himmeln

Similar for the genitive.
2. The dative plural himlom (instead of himmelen) is dated, but occurs in, e.g., older religious literature.

• himmel in Svenska Akademiens ordböcker