What are the most common Swedish verbs?

Near the top of our list are att göra (to do, to make), att ge (to give), att få (to get), att gå (to go), att vilja (to want), att vara (to be), att kunna (to be able to), att se (to see), att säga (to say) and att veta (to know). Together with att ha (to have) and att komma (to come), they turn up in a large share of everyday sentences.

Why do Swedish verbs have att in front?

Att is the infinitive marker, like to in English: att läsa means to read. Dictionaries and word lists show verbs in the infinitive, so we write them with att. In a sentence after a modal verb such as vill or kan, the att is dropped: Jag vill läsa (I want to read).

Do Swedish verbs change for person?

No. Swedish verbs have one form for all persons in a tense: jag läser, du läser, hon läser, vi läser. That makes Swedish verbs easier than in many other languages, as you only need to learn the tense forms.

How many verbs are on the full list?

The full LearnSwedishFast word list has 243 verbs. This page shows 45 of them; the rest are in the searchable word list, filterable by part of speech.

Swedish verbs

The 45 Most Common Swedish Verbs

English meanings and an example sentence for each, free to learn in your browser.

Verbs carry a sentence. Once you know a few dozen common ones you can say what you want, what you have and where you are going, and the nouns you learn later slot straight into them. The good news: Swedish verbs do not change for person, so jag, du and vi all use the same form.

These are 45 of the 243 verbs in our list. Each one comes with an example sentence. See also the most common Swedish words overall, the most common Swedish adjectives and the most common Swedish nouns.

The top 45 Swedish verbs

The 45 most common Swedish verbs with English meaning and an example sentence
#	Swedish	English	Example
1	att göra	to do, to make	Vad vill du göra idag? (What do you want to do today?)
2	att ge	to give	Jag ger dig ett kort råd. (I give you a short piece of advice.)
3	att använda	to use	Jag vill använda datorn. (I want to use the computer.)
4	att få	to get; to be allowed to	Jag får en bil. (I get a car.)
5	att gå	to go; to walk	Vi går åt samma håll. (We are going in the same direction.)
6	att vilja	to want	Ingen vill ha krig. (Nobody wants war.)
7	att känna	to feel; to know (a person)	Jag känner min granne bra. (I know my neighbor well.)
8	att vara	to be	Ditt hjärta är viktigt. (Your heart is important.)
9	att kunna	to be able to	Du kan bli min vän. (You can become my friend.)
10	att se	to see	Mina ögon ser dig. (My eyes see you.)
11	att säga	to say	Kan du säga det igen? (Can you say that again?)
12	att skriva	to write	Hon skriver en ny bok. (She is writing a new book.)
13	att veta	to know	Jag vet var han bor. (I know where he lives.)
14	att läsa	to read	Vi läser en bok tillsammans. (We read a book together.)
15	att tänka	to think	Jag tänker på dig. (I am thinking of you.)
16	att höra	to hear	Jag vill höra din historia. (I want to hear your story.)
17	att leva	to live (be alive)	Jag vill leva länge. (I want to live long.)
18	att flytta	to move	Vi ska flytta till Göteborg. (We are going to move to Gothenburg.)
19	att hända	to happen	Vad hände i staden igår? (What happened in the city yesterday?)
20	att bo	to live (reside)	Jag bor i ett hus. (I live in a house.)
21	att röra	to touch	Rör inte stolen! (Don't touch the chair!)
22	att dö	to die	Han dog en kväll i mars. (He died one evening in March.)
23	måste	must, have to	En polis måste hjälpa oss. (A police officer must help us.)
24	böra	ought to, should	Du bör äta mer grönsaker. (You should eat more vegetables.)
25	att sluta	to stop	Han vill sluta röka. (He wants to stop smoking.)
26	att hjälpa	to help	Kan du hjälpa mig? (Can you help me?)
27	att ha	to have
28	att ta	to take	Ta en kopp kaffe! (Have a cup of coffee!)
29	att äga	to own	De äger ett litet hus. (They own a small house.)
30	att börja	to begin	Dagen börjar nu. (The day begins now.)
31	att komma	to come	Kommer du i kväll? (Are you coming tonight?)
32	att stå	to stand	Vi står och väntar på bussen. (We are standing and waiting for the bus.)
33	att vända	to turn	Vänd dig om! (Turn around!)
34	att tycka	to like	Jag tycker om musik. (I like music.)
35	att behöva	to need	Jag behöver hjälp. (I need help.)
36	att äta	to eat
37	att handla	to shop	Vi handlar mat på lördag. (We shop for food on Saturday.)
38	att bära	to wear
39	att köpa	to buy	Jag vill köpa en ny jacka. (I want to buy a new jacket.)
40	att lämna	to leave	Glöm inte att lämna nyckeln. (Don't forget to leave the key.)
41	att sitta	to sit	Får jag sitta här? (May I sit here?)
42	att bruka	to usually do, to use
43	att arbeta	to work	Eva arbetar i riksdagen. (Eva works in the parliament.)
44	att bli	to become	Du kan bli min vän. (You can become my friend.)
45	att betyda	to mean	Vad betyder det? (What does that mean?)

Want the rest? Browse all 243 verbs in the searchable word list.

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Questions about Swedish verbs

What are the most common Swedish verbs?: Near the top of our list are att göra (to do, to make), att ge (to give), att få (to get), att gå (to go), att vilja (to want), att vara (to be), att kunna (to be able to), att se (to see), att säga (to say) and att veta (to know). Together with att ha (to have) and att komma (to come), they turn up in a large share of everyday sentences.
Why do Swedish verbs have att in front?: Att is the infinitive marker, like to in English: att läsa means to read. Dictionaries and word lists show verbs in the infinitive, so we write them with att. In a sentence after a modal verb such as vill or kan, the att is dropped: Jag vill läsa (I want to read).
Do Swedish verbs change for person?: No. Swedish verbs have one form for all persons in a tense: jag läser, du läser, hon läser, vi läser. That makes Swedish verbs easier than in many other languages, as you only need to learn the tense forms.
How many verbs are on the full list?: The full LearnSwedishFast word list has 243 verbs. This page shows 45 of them; the rest are in the searchable word list, filterable by part of speech.