åka

See also: Appendix:Variations of "aka"

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish aka, from Old Norse aka, from Proto-Germanic *akaną. Cognate with Danish age. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-. Doublet of agera, which was borrowed from Latin agō, from the same ultimate Proto-Indo-European source.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈoːka/

Verb

åka (present åker, preterite åkte, supine åkt, imperative åk)

1. to go by using something more/else than the human or animal body, for example a vehicle, skis, or skates; to go, to ride, etc.

   att åka skateboard

   to ride a skateboard

   att åka skidor

   to ski

   (literally, “to ride skis”)

   att åka skridskor

   to ice skate

   (literally, “to ride ice skates”)

   att åka buss till affären

   to ride a bus to the store

   att åka hiss

   to ride an elevator

   – Hur kom ni hit? – Vi åkte bil.

   – How did you get here? – We went by car [rode a car (or cars)].

   Dags att åka hem

   Time to go [ride] home [with a vehicle, skis, skates, etc.]

   Dags att gå hem

   Time to go [walk] home [for comparison]

   1. to ride (an amusement ride or the like)

      att åka bergochdalbana

      to ride a roller coaster

2. to go (by sliding), to slide

   Synonym: (places more emphasis on the sliding as opposed to the going) glida

   Jag åkte nerför backen på ändan

   I went down the hill on my butt

   Hjälmen åkte ner framför ögonen

   My helmet slipped down over [in front of] my eyes

3. to go (by traveling in some more or less abstract sense)

   Rullgardinen åkte upp

   The roller blind went up

   Varje gång vi är hos Nisse åker dragspelet fram

   Every time we're at Nisse's, the accordion comes [goes] out

4. (intransitive) to leave, to depart

   Vi åker nu

   We are leaving [riding] now [with a vehicle, skis, skates, etc. – could also literally mean "we are riding now"]

   Vi går nu

   We are leaving [walking] now [for comparison – could also literally mean "we are walking now"]

Usage notes

• To ride a horse or other mount is to rida. Saying "åka häst" makes a horse sound like a vehicle, or like something you strap to your feet or the like.
• Riding a bike is to cykla.
• Sometimes somewhat interchangeable with köra (“drive”), like in English.

Conjugation

Conjugation of åka (weak)

	Active		Passive
Infinitive	åka		—
Supine	åkt		—
Imperative	åk		—
Imper. plural1	åken		—
	Present	Past	Present	Past
Indicative	åker	åkte	—	—
Ind. plural1	åka	åkte	—	—
Subjunctive2	åke	åkte	—	—
	Participles
Present participle	åkande
Past participle	—
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Related terms

• bli åka av
• åk
• åka på
• åka på en propp
• åkare
• åkeri
• åkpåse

See also

• köra (“drive”)

References

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