tänka
Swedish
Etymology
From Old Swedish þænkia, from Middle Low German denken (“to perceive, think”). Doublet of þækkia (“to seem, think”).
Pronunciation
audio: (file)
Verb
tänka (present tänker, preterite tänkte, supine tänkt, imperative tänk)
- think; to ponder, to communicate to oneself in one's mind
- Vad tänker du på?
- What are you thinking about?
- (with "på") keep in mind; be aware of
- Tänk på att du aldrig får lämna ett tänt ljus.
- Keep in mind that you should never leave a lit candle.
- intend; to plan on; to mean
- Jag tänker åka utomlands på semestern
- I mean to go abroad during the vacation
- (reflexive) have on one's mind; have as a (preconceived) plan
- Vilken färg har ni tänkt er på huset?
- Which color do you have in mind for the house?
- (reflexive) consider as viable
- Jag skulle aldrig någonsin kunna tänka mig att måla huset i en sådan knallrosa färg!
- I could never consider painting the house in such a sharp pink color!
Usage notes
Regarding the sense of to intend or to mean, tänka is the main option signifying a setup plan, while mena (somewhat more colloquial) signifies what are the immediate consequences. For example: I didn't mean to knock your teeth out = Jag menade inte att slå ut dina tänder. Here, a translation with "tänka" (Jag tänkte inte...) may give the impression of I didn't plan to knock out your teeth.
Conjugation
Conjugation of tänka (weak)
Active | Passive | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Infinitive | tänka | tänkas | ||
Supine | tänkt | tänkts | ||
Imperative | tänk | — | ||
Imper. plural1 | tänken | — | ||
Present | Past | Present | Past | |
Indicative | tänker | tänkte | tänks, tänkes | tänktes |
Ind. plural1 | tänka | tänkte | tänkas | tänktes |
Subjunctive2 | tänke | tänkte | tänkes | tänktes |
Participles | ||||
Present participle | tänkande | |||
Past participle | tänkt | |||
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs. |
Synonyms
Derived terms
- (think) tänka efter, tänka om, tänka ut, tänkare, tänkarpanna, tänkebok, tänkespråk, tänkesätt, tänkvärd, tänkvärdhet
- (intend) tänkbar, tänkbarhet
Related terms
Further reading
- tänka in Svensk ordbok.
Categories:
- Swedish terms derived from Old Saxon
- Swedish terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Swedish terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Swedish terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Swedish terms inherited from Old Swedish
- Swedish terms derived from Old Swedish
- Swedish terms derived from Middle Low German
- Swedish doublets
- Swedish terms with audio links
- Swedish lemmas
- Swedish verbs
- Swedish terms with usage examples
- Swedish reflexive verbs
- Swedish weak verbs