tänka
How tänka is used
Tänka is thinking as an activity: to think about something, to consider. Tänka på means to think about; tänka sig means to imagine. For opinions use tycka, for beliefs tro.
Meaning
think; imagine; intend
In Swedish: medvetet bearbeta i hjärnan, fundera; föreställa sig
Conjugation
| Infinitive | att tänka | to think |
|---|---|---|
| Present | tänker | jag tänker |
| Past | tänkte | jag tänkte |
| Supine | tänkt | used after har / hade |
| Perfect | har tänkt | jag har tänkt |
| Past perfect | hade tänkt | jag hade tänkt |
| Future | ska tänka | or: kommer att tänka |
| Conditional | skulle tänka | jag skulle tänka |
| Imperative | tänk! | a command |
| Present participle | tänkande | -ing, used as an adjective |
| Past participle | tänkt | used like an adjective, and agrees like one |
Passive (-s form)
| Infinitive | tänkas |
|---|---|
| Present | tänks |
| Past | tänktes |
| Supine | tänkts |
Group 2: -er verbs. Present -er, past -de or -te (after a voiceless consonant), supine -t. Swedish verbs don't change for person: jag, du, hon, vi and de all use tänker. See the four verb groups explained.
Practise tänka
1 / 2Yesterday I … (tänka). Which is the past tense?
tänka in a sentence
- Jag tänker på dig.I'm thinking of you.
- Tänk dig att du bor i Stockholm.Imagine that you live in Stockholm.
- tänka på konsekvensernathink about the consequences
- det kan tänkasthat is possible
- tänka sigimagine
- Tänk att det gick!Well, it worked!
- Tänk om hon inte kommer!What if she doesn't come!
- jag tänker gå nuI'm going to go now
- Vad tänker du på?What are you thinking about?
- Jag satt där och tänkte på vad som hade hänt igår.I sat there and thought about what had happened yesterday.
Questions
What does tänka mean in English?
tänka means “think, imagine”.
What is the past tense of tänka?
The past tense of tänka is tänkte (“jag tänkte”). The supine is tänkt, used in “jag har tänkt”.
What is the present tense of tänka?
tänker, the same for every person: jag tänker, du tänker, vi tänker.
Similar words
funderafilosofera
Where the course teaches it
- Det versus den in SwedishComplete Swedish – Season 1
- How Swedish forms the past participleComplete Swedish – Season 1
- Swedish prepositions of positionComplete Swedish – Season 1
- Giving commands in SwedishComplete Swedish – Season 1
- Swedish past tense: -te and -de endingsComplete Swedish – Season 2
- Swedish words ending in -iskComplete Swedish – Season 2
Origin
From Old Swedish þænkia, from Middle Low German denken (“to perceive, think”), from Old Saxon thenkian.
Nearby common words
tänka is number 111 in our frequency list. These words come just before and after it.
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Sources: Folkets lexikon (CC BY-SA 2.5) and Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), edited by Lingolib. Recording: Wikimedia Commons. Browse the dictionary