Swedish verb· top 2,000 most common

öva

practice, train

Meaning

practice; train

In Swedish: lära sig genom metodisk träning

Conjugation

Conjugation of öva (practice)
Infinitive	att öva	to practice
Present	övar	jag övar
Past	övade	jag övade
Supine	övat	used after har / hade
Perfect	har övat	jag har övat
Past perfect	hade övat	jag hade övat
Future	ska öva	or: kommer att öva
Conditional	skulle öva	jag skulle öva
Imperative	öva!	a command
Present participle	övande	-ing, used as an adjective
Past participle	övad	used like an adjective, and agrees like one

Passive (-s form)

Passive of öva
Infinitive	övas
Present	övas
Past	övades
Supine	övats

Group 1: -ar verbs. Present -ar, past -ade, supine -at. The largest and most regular group. Swedish verbs don't change for person: jag, du, hon, vi and de all use övar. See the four verb groups explained.

Practise öva

1 / 2

Yesterday I … (öva). Which is the past tense?

öva in a sentence

du måste öva dig att skriva svenska
you must practise writing Swedish
öva på pianot
practise the piano
Jag kan inte spela gitarr än, men jag övar varje dag.
I cannot play the guitar yet, but I practice every day.
Vi övar på att spela gitarr.
We practice playing the guitar.

Questions

What does öva mean in English?

öva means “practice, train”.

What is the past tense of öva?

The past tense of öva is övade (“jag övade”). The supine is övat, used in “jag har övat”.

What is the present tense of öva?

övar, the same for every person: jag övar, du övar, vi övar.

Similar words

tränadrillaexercerarepeterarepaträning

Origin

From Middle Low German ȫven, from Old Saxon ōbian, from Proto-Germanic *ōbijaną (“to do, practice”), see also German üben (“to practice”).

Nearby common words

öva is number 1,930 in our frequency list. These words come just before and after it.

1,926koppling coupling, connection
1,927närma approach, to move closer (to), to approach
1,928platsa fit in, qualify for a position
1,929sömn sleep
1,931fartyg boat, vessel
1,932humör temper, temperament
1,933tunnel tunnel
1,934borgmästare a mayor

Start today, free

Learn öva in real Swedish, free

Words stick when you hear them used. Complete Swedish Season 1 is 49 short video lessons with a synced transcript, free on the site with no account. A free account saves words like öva to your library and quizzes you on them, plus 7 days of the AI tutor and speaking practice when you confirm your email.

Season 1 free in full: 49 lessons
Synced transcript with English translations
7-day free trial of the AI tutor and speaking practice
Members get the latest season and every new course

Watch lesson 1 free Create a free account

Sources: Folkets lexikon (CC BY-SA 2.5) and Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), edited by Lingolib. Recording: Wikimedia Commons. Browse the dictionary