stikke ("to stick, poke, prick, dart") is a small word with a surprisingly wide reach. Its core sense is a quick, pointed movement — sticking a key in a lock, a bee stinging you, a pain that stabs — but in everyday speech it also means "to dash off, to leave," and it builds two of the most useful casual idioms in Norwegian: stikke av ("to bolt, run off") and stikke innom ("to drop by"). It is a strong verb of the i–a–u family, conjugating just like drikke, finne and trekke.
Conjugation
Class: strong, ablaut i–a–u. Auxiliary: ha.
| Tense / mood | Norwegian | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitiv | å stikke | to stick / poke / dart |
| Presens | stikker | stick(s), poke(s) |
| Preteritum | stakk | stuck, poked |
| Perfektum | har stukket | have/has stuck |
| Pluskvamperfektum | hadde stukket | had stuck |
| Futurum | skal/vil stikke | will stick |
| Imperativ | stikk! | stick! / clear off! |
| Presens partisipp | stikkende | stinging (adjective) |
| Passiv (infinitiv) | å stikkes | to be stuck / to sting |
The ablaut and the English cognate
stikke runs the i → a → u pattern:
- i: stikke, stikker
- a: stakk
- u: stukket
The English cousin is stick / stuck / stuck. English collapsed the preterite and past participle into one form ("stuck"), but the deep pattern is the same strong, vowel-changing verb — and helpfully, the supine stukket echoes English "stuck" closely enough to anchor it. Where English has just "stuck" for both jobs, Norwegian keeps the preterite stakk (with a) visibly distinct from the supine stukket (with u). Hold on to that: the single English form has to be split into two Norwegian ones.
Hun stikker nøkkelen i låsen og åpner døra.
She sticks the key in the lock and opens the door.
En veps stakk meg i armen på stranda.
A wasp stung me on the arm at the beach.
Jeg har stukket meg på en tornebusk.
I've pricked myself on a thorn bush.
stikke av and stikke innom — bolt and drop by
These two particle verbs are everywhere in spoken Norwegian.
stikke av means "to run off, bolt, take off" — to leave suddenly, often to escape.
Tyven stakk av før politiet rakk fram.
The thief bolted before the police got there.
Hunden stikker av hver gang han ser en katt.
The dog runs off every time he sees a cat.
stikke innom means "to drop by, pop in" — a brief, informal visit.
Kan du stikke innom butikken på vei hjem?
Can you drop by the shop on the way home?
Vi stakk innom bestemor på søndag.
We popped in on grandma on Sunday.
Other uses
- stikke ut — to stick out, protrude; also "to mark out, stake out" (a route, a course). Beina hans stakk ut under teppet = "His legs stuck out from under the blanket."
- stikke fram — to poke out, peek out.
- det stikker — "it stings / it's a stabbing pain." Used impersonally for a sharp, localized pain. Det stikker i siden når jeg løper = "I get a stitch in my side when I run."
- stikke seg — to prick oneself.
Det stikker i øynene når jeg ser på skjermen for lenge.
My eyes sting when I look at the screen too long.
En liten holme stakk opp av vannet.
A little islet stuck up out of the water.
Common Mistakes
❌ Tyven stikket av med vesken.
Incorrect — stikke is strong; the preterite is stakk, not stikket
✅ Tyven stakk av med vesken.
The thief ran off with the bag.
❌ Jeg har stakk meg på en nål.
Incorrect — stakk is the preterite; after har use the supine stukket
✅ Jeg har stukket meg på en nål.
I've pricked myself on a needle.
❌ En bie stukk meg.
Incorrect — the preterite is stakk (with a); stukk is not a form at all
✅ En bie stakk meg.
A bee stung me.
❌ Kan du stikke inn butikken?
Incorrect — the idiom for 'drop by' is 'stikke innom', not 'stikke inn'
✅ Kan du stikke innom butikken?
Can you drop by the shop?
Key Takeaways
- stikke / stikker / stakk / har stukket / stikk! — strong, i–a–u, like English stick/stuck.
- Spelling: both past forms keep the double k — stakk vs stukket; only the vowel differs. There is no form stukk.
- stikke av = bolt / run off; stikke innom = drop by; bare stikke (informal) = to leave / get going.
- det stikker = it stings (impersonal, for a sharp pain).
Now practice Norwegian
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Start learning Norwegian→Related Topics
- The Strong Verb Ablaut ClassesB1 — The ablaut (vowel-change) classes of Norwegian strong verbs grouped by pattern — i–a–u, i–e–e, y/ju–ø–ø, a–o–å, e–a–e — each mapped onto its English cognate class so you can often guess the forms.
- Strong Verbs: Ablaut and the Vowel-Change ClassesA2 — Strong verbs build the past by changing the stem vowel instead of adding an ending (drikke → drakk → drukket) — the main ablaut series, grouped, with full tables and English cognate hooks.
- Verb Reference: How to Use These TablesA2 — How to read the Norwegian verb-reference pages — the five principal parts, weak vs strong classes, and the supine (the har-form).
- trekke (to pull/draw)B1 — Full conjugation of the strong verb trekke (trekke / trekker / trakk / har trukket), plus the key idioms trekke seg, trekke pusten and trekke fra/for.