Meaning of svešums | Babel Free

Definitions

1. foreign land, country (a land or country other than one's homeland)
   declension-1, masculine
2. strangeness, foreignness, distance (the quality of that which is strange, foreign, distant)
   declension-1, masculine

Examples

“man gribējas pastāstīt par krievu meiteni, kuru liktenis ilgu klejojumu gados aizvedis svešumā”

I wanted to tell (you) about a Russian girl whose fate took her to foreign lands for long years of wandering

“ceļot ir labi... arī tādēļ, ka, no svešuma kalna raugoties, dzimtā mala ir daudz mīļāka”

to travel is good... also because, looking from the hill(s) of a foreign land, the native country is (= looks) much sweeter

“bēgļi iet nesteigdamies, jo dzimteni zaudējušiem, tāpat kā mirušiem, nav kur steigties: vienus gaida svešums, otrus kapu smiltis”

refugees go without hurrying, because, having lost their homeland, they, like dead people, have nowhere to hurry: foreign lands await some (of them), the sands of a grave (await) others

“apkaimes svešums”

the foreignness of a neighborhood

“visur bažīgi pretī raudzījās sveši cilvēki, saņēma nelaipni, izskatījās paši savu rūpju nomākti... zēna piedzīvojumu kāre bija ātri izsīkusi, redzot, ka svešums visur apmēram vienāds”

everywhere strangers looked anxiously around, were unkind, looked worried about their own problems... the boy's thirst for (new) experiences had quickly been exhausted, seeing (= when he saw) that the foreignness was everywhere about the same

“viņu savstarpējās attiecībās beidzamajā laikā bija ieviesusies kaut kāda neuzticība, svešums”

lately, in their mutual relations, a certain distrust, (a) strangeness (= distance) had crept in

“tā svešums strap laulātajiem ar katru dienu auga lielāks... Valentīna bija kļuvusi pavisam apātiska”

so, the foreignness (= distance) between the married couple grew every day bigger... Valentīna had become completely apathetic

CEFR level