hävda

See also: hávda

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse hefða.

Pronunciation

Audio: (file)

Verb

hävda (present hävdar, preterite hävdade, supine hävdat, imperative hävda)

to claim (with assurance, especially something that might be up for debate)
Near-synonym: (claim, more generally) påstå

Den åtalade hävdar att han handlade i nödvärn
The defendant claims he acted in self-defense

Bill Clinton hävdade att han aldrig haft sexuellt samröre med Monica Lewinsky
Bill Clinton claimed that he never had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky

Hur kan man hävda något sådant?
How can you make such a claim?
1. to argue, to maintain, to assert, to contend, etc.
  Vi hävdar att det är fel metod i detta fall
  We argue that it's the wrong method in this case
  
  Jag hävdar att han ljuger
  I maintain that he's lying
  
  Min klient hävdar bestämt att han är oskyldig
  My client is adamant [firmly asserts] that he is innocent
to assert ((firmly) maintain and defend)
hävda sin rätt
assert one's rights
1. to maintain, to enforce, etc.
  hävda sin oskuld
  maintain one's innocence
  
  De tvekar inför att hävda sina rättigheter
  They are reluctant to enforce their rights
(reflexive) to assert oneself
att våga hävda sig
to dare to assert oneself

Nisse hävdade sig i tävlingen
Nisse asserted himself in the competition

hävda sig i en tuff bransch
hold one's own in a tough field

Han ska alltid hålla på och hävda sig
He's always going around trying to one-up people [asserting himself]
"Hävda sig" can have a tone of showing off or picking fights or the like unless context makes it clear that it's in a positive sense.
to (cultivate or otherwise utilize and) maintain (a property)

Usage notes

(sense 1) only implies that others might disagree with the claim. This might sometimes but not always imply that it is questionable.

Conjugation

Conjugation of *hävda* (weak)
	active		passive
infinitive	hävda		hävdas
supine	hävdat		hävdats
imperative	hävda		—
imper. plural¹	hävden		—
	present	past	present	past
indicative	hävdar	hävdade	hävdas	hävdades
ind. plural¹	hävda	hävdade	hävdas	hävdades
subjunctive²	hävde	hävdade	hävdes	hävdades

present participle		hävdande
past participle		hävdad

¹ Archaic. ² Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Related terms

References