tigga
Meaning
beg
In Swedish: be enträget (om pengar, mat etc)
Conjugation
| Infinitive | att tigga | to beg |
|---|---|---|
| Present | tigger | jag tigger |
| Past | tiggde | jag tiggde |
| Supine | tiggt | used after har / hade |
| Perfect | har tiggt | jag har tiggt |
| Past perfect | hade tiggt | jag hade tiggt |
| Future | ska tigga | or: kommer att tigga |
| Conditional | skulle tigga | jag skulle tigga |
| Imperative | tigg! | a command |
| Present participle | tiggande | -ing, used as an adjective |
Passive (-s form)
| Infinitive | tiggas |
|---|---|
| Present | tiggs |
| Past | tiggdes |
| Supine | tiggts |
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 tigger. See the four verb groups explained.
Practise tigga
1 / 2Yesterday I … (tigga). Which is the past tense?
tigga in a sentence
- tigga om uppmärksamhetbeg for attention
- gå på gatorna och tiggaroam the streets begging
- en tiggare som sitter på gatan och tigger (pengar)a beggar who sits on the street and begs (for money)
- försörja sig genom att tiggamake a living by begging
- På en vecka lyckades hon bara tigga ihop 500 kronorIn a week, she only managed to earn 500 kronor through begging [only managed to beg together 500 kronor]
- tigga om några dagar ledigtbeg for a few days off
- tigga till sig en cigarettscrounge [beg to oneself] a cigarette
Questions
What does tigga mean in English?
tigga means “beg”.
What is the past tense of tigga?
The past tense of tigga is tiggde (“jag tiggde”). The supine is tiggt, used in “jag har tiggt”.
What is the present tense of tigga?
tigger, the same for every person: jag tigger, du tigger, vi tigger.
Origin
From Old Swedish þiggia, from Old Norse þiggja (“to receive”), from Proto-Germanic *þigjaną.
Nearby common words
tigga is number 4,267 in our frequency list. These words come just before and after it.
Learn tigga 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 tigga 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. Browse the dictionary

