tro
How tro is used
Tro means to believe or suppose, the “think” you use when you aren't sure of a fact. Compare tycka (an opinion) and tänka (thinking as a process).
tro as a verb
Meaning
believe
In Swedish: anse el. anta såsom sant, förmoda
Conjugation
| Infinitive | att tro | to believe |
|---|---|---|
| Present | tror | jag tror |
| Past | trodde | jag trodde |
| Supine | trott | used after har / hade |
| Perfect | har trott | jag har trott |
| Past perfect | hade trott | jag hade trott |
| Future | ska tro | or: kommer att tro |
| Conditional | skulle tro | jag skulle tro |
| Imperative | tro! | a command |
| Present participle | troende | -ing, used as an adjective |
| Past participle | trodd | used like an adjective, and agrees like one |
Passive (-s form)
| Infinitive | tros |
|---|---|
| Present | tros |
| Past | troddes |
| Supine | trotts |
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 tror. See the four verb groups explained.
tro as a noun(en tro)
Meaning
belief; faith
In Swedish: övertygelse att något är sant
Forms
| Singular, indefinite | en tro |
|---|---|
| Singular, definite | tron |
tro is an en-word, so adjectives agree with it: en stor tro, den stora tron. Check another noun
Practise tro
1 / 2Yesterday I … (tro). Which is the past tense?
tro in a sentence
- Jag tror att det blir regn.I think it's going to rain.
- Tror du på spöken?Do you believe in ghosts?
- vi trodde att det skulle gå brawe believed it would go well
- tro på Gudbelieve in God
- tro på utvecklingenbelieve in progress
- Jag tror han skulle komma vid sextidenI think he was going to come around six o'clock
- Hon trodde att Oslo var Danmarks huvudstadShe thought that Oslo was the capital of Denmark
- Hon tror fortfarande på tomtenShe still believes in Santa Claus
- tro alla om gottthink well of everybody
- tro något om någonbelieve something of someone
Expressions
- (göra något) i god tro(do sth.) in good faith
Words built with tro
- folktro folklore
- bokstavstro literalism
Questions
What does tro mean in English?
tro means “believe”.
Is it en tro or ett tro?
It is en tro, and “the belief” is tron.
What is the past tense of tro?
The past tense of tro is trodde (“jag trodde”). The supine is trott, used in “jag har trott”.
What is the present tense of tro?
tror, the same for every person: jag tror, du tror, vi tror.
Similar words
Where the course teaches it
Origin
From Old Swedish trō, from Old Norse trú, from Proto-Germanic *trewwō.
Nearby common words
tro is number 50 in our frequency list. These words come just before and after it.
Learn tro in real Swedish, free
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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

