befinna

From Middle Low German bevinden, from Old Saxon bifindan. Equivalent to be- +‎ finna. Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål befinne, Danish befinde, German befinden, Dutch bevinden (“to find”), English befind and Saterland Frisian befiende (“to be located”).

befinna

1. (reflexive, somewhat formal) to be located (at); to be (positioned) at

   Vi befinner oss nu på den plats där Martin Luther King höll sitt berömda tal.

   We are now at the precise spot where Martin Luther King held his famous speech.

2. (reflexive) to be in a specific state or condition

   Ett objekt som befinner sig i rörelse kommer att förbli i rörelse försåvitt det inte verkas på av en yttre obalanserad kraft.

   An object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an external and unbalanced force

   Antag att vi har en atom som befinner sig i sitt grundtillstånd.

   Suppose we have an atom in its ground state.

One can, in both senses, replace it with a form of vara (to be), however this may give an impression of informality or even outright sloppiness, in particular in the second sense.