å se til

English translation: by appearance

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Norwegian term or phrase:å se til
English translation:by appearance
Entered by: brigidm

13:48 Jan 9, 2009
Norwegian to English translations [PRO]
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Norwegian term or phrase: å se til
This is a quote by Maria Hamsun, writing about her husband in his final years:
"Når vi satt slik en godværsdag i haven denne sommeren, kunne han være like tilfreds å se til som hin vismann Diogenes."

My immediate interpretation of "å se til" was "to look after/tend to/take care of", but it doesn't make sense (at least not at the point of writing this) why HE would be "tilfreds". Am I missing something here? Could it be a local variation that gives a different meaning? ("...he seemed/looked/appeared as content as...."?)
brigidm
Norway
Local time: 03:30
by appearance
Explanation:
Subtle stuff, this - SE til is how something appears visually, while se TIL is to make sure or take care of as you rightly observe.
Selected response from:

Per Bergvall
Norway
Local time: 03:30
Grading comment
I didn't chose this actualy phrase, but it gives a good indication of the sense of this verb. Thanks also to Egil for the useful instruction in spoken Norwegian!
3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5by appearance
Per Bergvall
4looks satisfied
Egil Presttun


Discussion entries: 6





  

Answers


15 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
tilfreds å se til
looks satisfied


Explanation:
He looks satisfied. He looks like that when you look at him.

Example:
"Hadde jeg ikke vært så stygg å se til, så skulle jeg ha vurdert å bli Gigolo jeg også"
http://veggavisen.origo.no/-/bulletin/show/98461_litt-morro-...


Egil Presttun
Norway
Local time: 03:30
Works in field
Native speaker of: Norwegian
PRO pts in category: 8
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17 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
by appearance


Explanation:
Subtle stuff, this - SE til is how something appears visually, while se TIL is to make sure or take care of as you rightly observe.

Per Bergvall
Norway
Local time: 03:30
Native speaker of: Native in NorwegianNorwegian
PRO pts in category: 31
Grading comment
I didn't chose this actualy phrase, but it gives a good indication of the sense of this verb. Thanks also to Egil for the useful instruction in spoken Norwegian!
Notes to answerer
Asker: Aha - da er vi inne på dette vi tonemer (bønne vs. bønde), som ingen utlending jeg kjenner klarer å høre! Takk for det, Per.

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