Olof is working, Petra is sleeping, Tage is watching TV, Lydia is playing at a friend’s house, and me … how am I making use of this unexpected bit of free time? Not at all well, I’m afraid. I could be reading or writing or cooking or cleaning or performing any number of worthwhile tasks, but alas, jag bara orkar inte.

The Swedish verb att orka is one of those that doesn’t translate well at all to English. I could say, “I don’t feel like it,” or “I don’t have the energy,” or simply, “I can’t,” but none of those really captures the meaning of “jag orkar inte.” The lack of a good translation is really a shame.

Och mer än så orkar jag inte förklara.

*And I don’t orka to explain it in any more detail.