lukke (to close) | Norwegian Grammar

lukke ("to close, to shut") is an early, high-frequency verb — you close doors, windows, lids and your eyes. It is a regular weak Class 1 verb, so the conjugation is painless, but it sits at the centre of a genuinely tricky three-way contrast: Norwegian uses lukke for shutting physical objects, stenge for closing shops and shutting things off, and åpne for the opposite of both. To make matters worse, the particle phrase lukke opp does not mean "shut more" — it means open. This page sorts all of that out.

Conjugation

Class: weak, Class 1 (-et / -et). Auxiliary: ha.

Tense / mood	Norwegian	English
Infinitiv	å lukke	to close
Presens	lukker	close(s), am/is/are closing
Preteritum	lukket	closed
Perfektum	har lukket	have/has closed
Pluskvamperfektum	hadde lukket	had closed
Futurum	skal/vil lukke	will close
Imperativ	lukk!	close!
Presens partisipp	lukkende	closing (adjective)

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As a Class 1 verb, lukke uses the same word — lukket — for both the preterite and the supine, so jeg lukket ("I closed") and jeg har lukket ("I have closed") differ only by the auxiliary. Keep the double k throughout (lukke, lukker, lukket), and note the imperative drops the -e: lukk!

The Class 1 pattern

lukke is a straightforward Class 1 weak verb: -et in both the preterite and the supine, no vowel change, double k throughout. If you have learned snakke / snakket or the related hoppe / hoppet, lukke slots into exactly the same mould.

Lukk døra, det trekker kaldt inn.

Close the door, there's a cold draught coming in.

Han lukket lokket på boksen og satte den i kjøleskapet.

He closed the lid on the tin and put it in the fridge.

Har du lukket alle vinduene før vi drar?

Have you closed all the windows before we leave?

lukke vs stenge vs åpne — the three-way contrast

This is the heart of the page. English gets by with "open" and "close/shut," but Norwegian distributes the "close" side across two verbs:

lukke — shut a physical object that swings, folds or covers: a door, a window, a lid, a book, your eyes. This is the direct opposite of åpne.
stenge — close in the sense of shutting down, shutting off, or blocking: a shop closing for the day, a road being blocked, the water or electricity being shut off.

So a door you lukker (åpne ↔ lukke), but a shop you stenger (åpne ↔ stenge). A road gets stengt (blocked), never lukket. When the issue is access, business hours, or a supply being cut, reach for stenge; when it's a tangible thing being physically pulled shut, reach for lukke.

Vi lukker øynene og teller til ti.

We close our eyes and count to ten.

Veien er stengt på grunn av et trafikkuhell.

The road is closed because of a traffic accident.

Kafeen stenger klokka elleve, men kjøkkenet lukker klokka ti.

The café closes at eleven, but the kitchen shuts at ten.

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Decision rule: can you grab the thing and physically push it shut (a door, a window, a lid, a book, an eyelid)? Use lukke. Are you ending business, cutting a supply, or blocking access (a shop, a road, the water, a border)? Use stenge. The opposite of both is åpne.

lukke igjen — close (firmly shut)

The everyday way to say "close it up" is lukke igjen, where igjen reinforces that something is being shut back into place. It's the natural phrase for closing a door, a bag, or a wound so that it is properly shut.

Husk å lukke igjen porten så ikke hunden stikker av.

Remember to close the gate so the dog doesn't run off.

Hun lukket igjen lokket og bar kassen ut.

She closed the lid and carried the box out.

lukke opp — beware: this means OPEN

Here is the trap that catches every learner. lukke opp does not mean "close up" — it means open. It is an older, slightly literary or folksy synonym of åpne, surviving in everyday speech especially about answering the door. The particle opp flips the sense entirely.

Det ringer på døra — kan du lukke opp?

Someone's at the door — can you open it?

Hun lukket opp vinduet for å slippe inn frisk luft.

She opened the window to let in some fresh air.

So you have the curious pair: lukke igjen = close, but lukke opp = open. The igjen / opp particle does all the steering; the verb lukke alone is neutral about direction in these idioms. (In a pinch, åpne is always a safe, unambiguous "open.")

Common Mistakes

❌ Butikken lukker klokka seks.

Incorrect — a shop ending its day is stenger, not lukker

✅ Butikken stenger klokka seks.

The shop closes at six.

❌ Kan du lukke opp døra? Det trekker.

Incorrect — lukke opp means OPEN; to shut the door say lukke (igjen)

✅ Kan du lukke døra? Det trekker.

Can you close the door? There's a draught.

❌ Veien er lukket på grunn av snø.

Incorrect — a blocked road is stengt, not lukket

✅ Veien er stengt på grunn av snø.

The road is closed because of snow.

❌ Jeg har lukke vinduet.

Incorrect — after har use the supine lukket, not the infinitive

✅ Jeg har lukket vinduet.

I've closed the window.

Key Takeaways

lukke / lukker / lukket / har lukket / lukk! — regular weak Class 1; preterite and supine are both lukket, with double k.
lukke shuts a physical object (a door); stenge closes a shop, road or supply; åpne is the opposite of both.
lukke igjen = close; but lukke opp = open — the particle reverses the meaning.
When in doubt about "open," åpne is always safe and unambiguous.

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