bo
bo as a verb
Meaning
reside; dwell; stay; live
In Swedish: ha sin bostad
Conjugation
| Infinitive | att bo | to reside |
|---|---|---|
| Present | bor | jag bor |
| Past | bodde | jag bodde |
| Supine | bott | used after har / hade |
| Perfect | har bott | jag har bott |
| Past perfect | hade bott | jag hade bott |
| Future | ska bo | or: kommer att bo |
| Conditional | skulle bo | jag skulle bo |
| Imperative | bo! | a command |
| Present participle | boende | -ing, used as an adjective |
Passive (-s form)
| Infinitive | bos |
|---|---|
| Present | bos |
| Past | boddes |
| Supine | botts |
Group 3: short verbs. The infinitive does not end in -a; present -r, past -dde, supine -tt. Swedish verbs don't change for person: jag, du, hon, vi and de all use bor. See the four verb groups explained.
bo as a noun(ett bo)
Meaning
hole; lair; den; nest; property; estate
In Swedish: bostad för djur (rede, ide etc)
Forms
| Singular, indefinite | ett bo |
|---|---|
| Singular, definite | boet |
| Plural, indefinite | bon |
| Plural, definite | bona |
bo is an ett-word, so adjectives agree with it: ett stort bo, det stora boet. Check another noun
Practise bo
1 / 2Yesterday I … (bo). Which is the past tense?
bo in a sentence
- Vi bodde i Stockholm förra året.We lived in Stockholm last year.
- Min syster bodde nära skolan när hon var liten.My sister lived near the school when she was little.
- Hur länge hade du bott i den här lägenheten innan du flyttade?How long had you lived in this apartment before you moved?
- hon bor i villashe lives in a detached house
- Jag vill bo i en stor stad.I want to live in a big city.
- fågelbobird’s nest
- sätta bosettle down
Words built with bo
- fågelbo bird's nest
- bodelning distribution of marital property
- dödsbo estate (of a dead person)
- boskillnad division of marital property
Questions
What does bo mean in English?
bo means “reside, dwell”.
Is it en bo or ett bo?
It is ett bo, and “the hole” is boet.
What is the plural of bo?
The plural of bo is bon, and the definite plural is bona.
What is the past tense of bo?
The past tense of bo is bodde (“jag bodde”). The supine is bott, used in “jag har bott”.
What is the present tense of bo?
bor, the same for every person: jag bor, du bor, vi bor.
Where the course teaches it
Origin
From Old Swedish bō, bōa, from Old Norse búa, from Proto-Germanic *būaną.
Nearby common words
bo is number 467 in our frequency list. These words come just before and after it.
Learn bo 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 bo 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
Sources: Folkets lexikon (CC BY-SA 2.5) and Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), edited by Lingolib. Recording: Wikimedia Commons. Browse the dictionary