kunna

See also: kunnâ and kúnna

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse kunna, from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkʰʊnːa/
• Rhymes: -ʊnːa

Verb

kunna (third person singular past indicative kundi, third person plural past indicative kundu, supine kunnað)

1. can, to be able to
2. to know

Conjugation

Conjugation of kunna (irregular)
infinitive	kunna
supine	kunnað
participle	—	—
	present	past
first singular	kann	kundi
second singular	kanst	kundi
third singular	kann	kundi
plural	kunnu/kunna	kundu
	imperative
singular	—!
plural	—!

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse kunna, from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkʰʏnːa/
• Rhymes: -ʏnːa

Verb

kunna (preterite-present verb, third-person singular present indicative kann, third-person singular past indicative kunni, supine kunnað)

1. to know (by heart), know a skill

   Hún kann enga þýsku.

   She doesn't know any German.

   Ég kunni þetta kvæði einu sinni utanað.

   I used to know this poem by heart.

2. can: to know how to

   Um hvað ertu að tala? Auðvitað kann ég að synda.

   What are you talking about? Of course I can swim.

   Enginn er maður með mönnum nema hann kunni að skjóta.

   A man's not a man unless he knows how to shoot.

3. may, might (denoting possibility)

   Þetta kann að vera of seint.

   It may already be too late.

   Viðbrögð hans kunna að virðast undarleg.

   His reaction might seem strange.

Conjugation

kunna — active voice (germynd)

infinitive (nafnháttur)		að kunna
supine (sagnbót)		kunnað
present participle (lýsingarháttur nútíðar)		kunnandi
	indicative (framsöguháttur)			subjunctive (viðtengingarháttur)
present (nútíð)	ég kann	við kunnum	present (nútíð)	ég kunni	við kunnum
	þú kannt	þið kunnið		þú kunnir	þið kunnið
	hann, hún, það kann	þeir, þær, þau kunna		hann, hún, það kunni	þeir, þær, þau kunni
past (þátíð)	ég kunni	við kunnum	past (þátíð)	ég kynni	við kynnum
	þú kunnir	þið kunnuð		þú kynnir	þið kynnuð
	hann, hún, það kunni	þeir, þær, þau kunnu		hann, hún, það kynni	þeir, þær, þau kynnu
imperative (boðháttur)	-	-
	Forms with appended personal pronoun
	-	-
* Spoken form, usually not written; in writing, the unappended plural form (optionally followed by the full pronoun) is preferred.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• kunna á
• kunna á bíl
• kunna að gera
• kunna sér ekki hóf
• kunna sér ekki læti
• kunna sér hóf
• kunna sig vel
• kunna skil á
• kunna utan að
• kunna vel
• kunna við
• kunna þakkir
• kunna þakkir fyrir

Related terms

• kunnur

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• kunne
• koinn, koinnj (Trøndelag eye dialect spelling)

Etymology

Inherited from Old Norse kunna, from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃-. Akin to English can.

Verb

kunna (present tense kan, past tense kunne, past participle kunna)

1. can, could

   Eg kan sjå deg.

   I can see you.

2. might

   Eg kan komma, om eg får tid.

   I might come, if I can find the time.

3. can (be able to)

   Eg kan spela fele.

   I can play the fiddle.

4. to know

   Eg kan denne songen.

   I know this song.

References

• “kunna” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old Frisian

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *kunnan.

Verb

kunna

1. to be able (to), can

Descendants

• North Frisian:

  Föhr-Amrum: kön

  Hallig: kune

  Helgoland: kan

  Mooring: koone

  Sylt: ken

• Saterland Frisian: konne
• West Frisian: kinne

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *kunnaną. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know”).

Verb

kunna

1. to know, understand, be able to
2. to know (by memory)
3. to know, be familiar with (a person)

Conjugation

Conjugation of kunna (preterite-present)

infinitive	kunna
present participle	kunnandi
past participle	kunnaðr
indicative	present	past
1st-person singular	kann	kunna
2nd-person singular	kannt	kunnir
3rd-person singular	kann	kunni
1st-person plural	kunnum	kunnum
2nd-person plural	kunnuð	kunnuð
3rd-person plural	kunnu	kunnu
subjunctive	present	past
1st-person singular	kunna	kunna
2nd-person singular	kunnir	kunnir
3rd-person singular	kunni	kunni
1st-person plural	kunnim	kunnim
2nd-person plural	kunnið	kunnið
3rd-person plural	kunni	kunni
imperative	present
2nd-person singular	kunn
1st-person plural	kunnum
2nd-person plural	kunnuð

Related terms

• kenna
• kná
• kœnn

Descendants

• Icelandic: kunna
• Faroese: kunna
• Norwegian Nynorsk: kunna, kunne
• Norwegian Bokmål: kunne
• Elfdalian: kunna
• Old Swedish: kunna
  • Swedish: kunna
• Danish: kunne
• Gutnish: kunne

References

• “kunna”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Old Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse kunna, from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną.

Verb

kunna

1. can, to be able
2. to know

Conjugation

Conjugation of kunna (preterite-present)

	present			past
infinitive	kunna			—
participle	kunnandi			kunnit (ntr.)
active voice	indicative	subjunctive	imperative	indicative	subjunctive
iæk	kan	kunni	—	kunni	kunni
þū	kant	kunni	kunn	kunni	kunni
han	kan	kunni	—	kunni	kunni
vīr	kunnum	kunnum	kunnum	kunnum	kunnum
īr	kunnin	kunnin	kunnin	kunnin	kunnin
þēr	kunnu	kunnin	—	kunnu	kunnin
mediopassive voice	indicative	subjunctive	imperative	indicative	subjunctive
iæk	—	—	—	—	—
þū	—	—	—	—	—
han	—	—	—	—	—
vīr	—	—	—	—	—
īr	—	—	—	—	—
þēr	—	—	—	—	—

Descendants

• Swedish: kunna

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish kunna, from Old Norse kunna, from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²kɵnːa/

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

kunna (present kan, preterite kunde, supine kunnat)

1. "to can", to be able to

   att kunna göra något

   to be able to do something

   Jag kan göra det

   I can do it

   Hon kan spela dragspel

   She can play the accordion

   Hur länge har hon kunnat spela dragspel?

   How long has she been able to play the accordion?

   Jag hade också spelat dragspel om jag (hade) kunnat

   I would also have played the accordion if I had been able to

   Kan du komma imorgon?

   Can you come tomorrow?

   Jag kunde knappt vänta

   I could hardly wait

   1. to know (have proficiency in or deeper knowledge of)

      Kan du tyska?

      Do you know German?

      Jag kan karate

      I know karate

      Jag kan svaret på fråga 3

      I know the answer to question 3 (can also be expressed with veta (“know”))

      Han kan sina knep

      He knows his tricks

      Han kan sina skräckfilmer och vann frågesporten

      He knows his horror movies and won the quiz

   2. to possibly be able to, can, could, might, may

      Det kan hända vem som helst

      It can happen to anyone

      Kan han vara den skyldige?

      Could he be the culprit?

      Ja, det kan vara han som gjorde det

      Yeah, it might/could be him who did it

      att kunna vara skyldig

      to possibly ("to be able to") be guilty (somewhat awkward, but to illustrate the idea)

      Kan det vara Nisse som står där borta?

      Could that be Nisse standing over there?

      Det här kan vara det godaste jag ätit

      This may be the most delicious thing I've ever eaten

   3. to be given permission to, "to can", "to may"

      Ni kan komma in nu

      You can/may come in now

      Du kan gå nu

      You may leave now (sounds more like an order in this example, like in English)

Usage notes

The English verb know has several different translations in Swedish, and the correct choice is not always obvious:

• veta – This is used mainly about theoretical knowledge (to know individual facts), while kunna also assumes ability, or even proficiency in the use of the knowledge.
• veta om – To be aware of.
• känna – To know about a person or their intentions (also: to recognize someone, to know someone's name).
• känna till – About knowing a (small) specific piece of fact; be (loosely) aware of. May indicate that the facts are a bit distant or less important to the person.

Conjugation

Conjugation of kunna (irregular)

	Active		Passive
Infinitive	kunna		—
Supine	kunnat		—
Imperative	—		—
Imper. plural1	—		—
	Present	Past	Present	Past
Indicative	kan	kunde	—	—
Ind. plural1	kunna	kunde	—	—
Subjunctive2	kunne	kunde	—	—
	Participles
Present participle	kunnande
Past participle	—
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

See also

• skulle (often appears together with kunna, especially in polite phrases)

References

• kunna in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• kunna in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• kunna in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams

• unkna