tenke (to think) | Norwegian Grammar

Tenke is "think" as a process — the activity going on inside your head: pondering, reflecting, intending, imagining. This is the crucial thing to grasp, because English "think" also covers having an opinion ("I think the film was good") and making a guess ("I think it's raining"), and for those jobs Norwegian uses other verbs (synes, tro). Reserve tenke for the mental act itself, and you will already sound more native than most learners. It is a tidy weak Class 2 verb, so its forms hold no surprises.

Conjugation

Class: weak, Class 2 (stem ends in a single voiceless consonant; preterite -te, supine -t). Auxiliary: ha.

Tense / mood	Norwegian	English
Infinitiv	å tenke	to think
Presens	tenker	think(s), am/is/are thinking
Preteritum	tenkte	thought
Perfektum	har tenkt	have/has thought
Pluskvamperfektum	hadde tenkt	had thought
Futurum	skal/vil tenke	will think
Imperativ	tenk!	think!
Presens partisipp	tenkende	thinking (adjective)

💡

Class 2 means -te in the preterite and -t in the supine: tenkte, har tenkt — never the Class 1 -et (so not *tenket). The stem-final -k is what assigns it to Class 2, just like snakke → snakket's neighbour like → likte.

Sense 1: the mental process

At its core tenke describes thinking as an activity. You can be deep in thought, think hard, think before you speak. English "ponder," "reflect," "have in mind" all map here.

Vent litt — jeg må tenke.

Hold on a second — I need to think.

Han satt og tenkte lenge før han svarte.

He sat thinking for a long time before he answered.

Jeg har tenkt mye på det du sa i går.

I've thought a lot about what you said yesterday.

Because it is the process, tenke is wrong for opinions and guesses. "I think the soup is too salty" is a verdict, not a process → that is synes. "I think it's raining" is a guess at a fact → that is tro. Keep reading for the full contrast.

tenke på — think about

The standard way to say "think about / of" something is tenke på + a noun or clause. The preposition is fixed: it is always på, never om or over in this everyday sense. (You will meet tenke over "think through / consider carefully" at a higher level, but tenke på is the workhorse.)

Jeg tenker ofte på sommerferien i Italia.

I often think about the summer holiday in Italy.

Hva tenker du på akkurat nå?

What are you thinking about right now?

Du må tenke på familien din også, ikke bare jobben.

You have to think about your family too, not just work.

tenke seg — imagine, picture

With the reflexive seg (or meg, deg, oss...), tenke seg means "imagine / picture (to oneself)." The imperative Tenk deg! is an extremely common conversational exclamation: "Imagine that! / Just think!"

Tenk deg at vi vant i Lotto — hva ville du gjort?

Imagine we won the lottery — what would you do?

Jeg kan ikke tenke meg et bedre sted å bo.

I can't imagine a better place to live.

Tenk deg! Hun hadde aldri sett snø før.

Just imagine! She had never seen snow before.

There is also a useful softener kunne tenke seg = "would like / could see oneself," handy for polite wishes: Jeg kunne tenke meg en kaffe = "I'd quite like a coffee."

tenke å — intend / plan to

Followed by the infinitive marker å + a verb, tenke means "intend / plan to." Note the å is obligatory here — dropping it is a classic English-speaker slip (see Common Mistakes).

Jeg tenker å reise til Bergen til helga.

I'm planning to travel to Bergen this weekend.

Hva tenkte du å gjøre med de gamle bøkene?

What were you thinking of doing with the old books?

tenke vs synes vs tro vs mene

The whole point of the page: four verbs, one English word. Match the mental act to the verb.

Verb	Means	Use it for
tenke	think / ponder (the mental process)	the act of thinking, intending, imagining
synes	find / feel (subjective impression)	personal taste, how something strikes you
tro	believe / guess (uncertain fact)	predictions, estimates, the unverifiable
mene	hold the opinion / mean (considered view)	reasoned positions, what you intend to say

Jeg tenker på problemet, men jeg har ikke løst det ennå.

I'm thinking about the problem, but I haven't solved it yet. — process

Jeg synes problemet er vanskelig.

I think (find) the problem is hard. — impression

Jeg tror løsningen står på neste side.

I think (guess) the answer is on the next page. — uncertain fact

The reliable test: if English "think" describes an activity inside the head (and you could say "thinking about / over"), use tenke. If it could be replaced by "find/feel," use synes; by "believe/guess," use tro; by "am of the opinion," use mene. The full decision guide is on the synes / tror / mener page.

💡

A neat overlap to watch: Jeg tenker at... does exist and is creeping into casual speech to mean "my take is...", but careful Norwegian still prefers synes for impressions and tro for guesses. As a learner, default to those two for opinions and keep tenke for the thinking itself.

Common Mistakes

❌ Jeg tenker filmen var bra.

Wrong verb — an impression takes synes, not tenke.

✅ Jeg synes filmen var bra.

I think (find) the film was good.

❌ Jeg tenker det regner i morgen.

Wrong verb — a guess about a fact takes tro.

✅ Jeg tror det regner i morgen.

I think (guess) it'll rain tomorrow.

❌ Jeg tenker reise til Bergen.

Incorrect — 'intend to' needs the infinitive marker å: tenke å reise.

✅ Jeg tenker å reise til Bergen.

I'm planning to travel to Bergen.

❌ Jeg har tenket mye på det.

Incorrect supine — Class 2 takes -t, not -et: tenkt.

✅ Jeg har tenkt mye på det.

I've thought a lot about it.

Key Takeaways

tenke / tenker / tenkte / har tenkt / tenk! — weak Class 2 (-te / -t, never *tenket).
Core meaning = thinking as a process, not having an opinion or making a guess.
tenke på = think about (always på); tenke seg = imagine (Tenk deg!); tenke å
- infinitive = intend to (keep the å).
In the tenke / synes / tro / mene family, tenke is the mental-process member — use synes for impressions, tro for guesses, mene for reasoned opinions.

Now practice Norwegian

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Norwegian→