Swedish verb· top 5,000 most common

tända

light, igniteAlso the plural of tänd./²tɛnda/

Meaning

light; ignite

In Swedish: få att brinna

Conjugation

Conjugation of tända (light)
Infinitive	att tända	to light
Present	tänder	jag tänder
Past	tände	jag tände
Supine	tänt	used after har / hade
Perfect	har tänt	jag har tänt
Past perfect	hade tänt	jag hade tänt
Future	ska tända	or: kommer att tända
Conditional	skulle tända	jag skulle tända
Imperative	tänd!	a command
Present participle	tändande	-ing, used as an adjective
Past participle	tänd	used like an adjective, and agrees like one

Passive (-s form)

Passive of tända
Infinitive	tändas
Present	tänds
Past	tändes
Supine	tänts

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 tänder. See the four verb groups explained.

Practise tända

1 / 2

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

tända in a sentence

tända ljuset
turn on the lights
tända lampan
turn on the lights
tända brasan
light the fire
han tände på idén
he was excited by the idea
motorn vill inte tända
the engine won't start
Han tände lampan
He turned on the light
Han tände en cigarett
He lit a cigarette
Doktor Snuggles tänder på människor och djur
Doctor Snuggles is turned on by humans and animals (misheard lyrics)

Questions

What does tända mean in English?

tända means “light, ignite”.

What is the past tense of tända?

The past tense of tända is tände (“jag tände”). The supine is tänt, used in “jag har tänt”.

What is the present tense of tända?

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

Origin

From Old Swedish tænda, from Old Norse tenda, from Proto-Germanic *tandijaną.

Nearby common words

tända is number 2,269 in our frequency list. These words come just before and after it.

2,265medborgare citizen
2,266as carcass, carrion
2,267drag stroke, line
2,268vinter winter
2,270april April
2,271rök smoked
2,272föremål thing, object
2,273choklad chocolate

Start today, free

Learn tända 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 tända 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