finna (to find) | Swedish Grammar

finna means "to find," and it is a strong verb of the i–a–u class — the same family as dricka–drack–druckit. Its English cognate makes it almost free to learn: finna–fann–funnit is find–found–found, with the u surfacing in the supine. The one thing you must internalise is register: in everyday spoken Swedish, "to find" is the weak verb hitta, not finna. Finna is the more formal, literary, and idiomatic option — and it is the active relative of the existential deponent finnas (det finns, "there is").

Principal parts

Infinitive	Present	Preteritum (past)	Supine	Imperative	Group
finna	finner	fann	funnit	finn (rare)	strong, i–a–u

The vowel runs i → a → u: infinitive and present keep i (finna, finner), the past is fann with a, and the supine is funnit with u — used after ha for the perfect (har funnit). The past participle is funnen (den funna nyckeln, "the found key"). The imperative finn exists but is barely used in modern Swedish; you would say hitta! instead. Like every Swedish verb, finner is the same for all subjects: jag finner, du finner, de finner.

Domstolen finner inga skäl att ändra domen.

The court finds no grounds to change the verdict. finner — present, formal register; everyday speech would rarely use finna here.

Hon fann till slut svaret i en gammal bok.

She finally found the answer in an old book. fann — strong past with a, a literary touch.

Forskarna har funnit spår av vatten på planeten.

The researchers have found traces of water on the planet. har funnit — perfect, supine vowel u.

Use 1: formal or literary "find"

In its plain sense, finna simply means "to find" — but it carries a written, elevated flavour. You meet it in news reports, court language, academic prose, and literature far more than in conversation. The everyday counterpart is hitta (see below); reach for finna when the register is formal or when an idiom demands it.

Utredningen fann att rutinerna brustit på flera punkter.

The inquiry found that procedures had failed on several points. fann — typical of official, report-style Swedish.

I dikten finner diktaren tröst i havet.

In the poem the poet finds solace in the sea. finner — a literary present, the kind you'd read, not say.

Use 2: finna sig i — "put up with, resign oneself to"

The reflexive idiom finna sig i means to accept or tolerate something one cannot change. It is common in both writing and reasonably formal speech, and it is worth memorising as a unit because the bare English "find" gives you no hint of it.

Vi får finna oss i att tåget är försenat igen.

We'll have to put up with the train being late again. finna oss i — the reflexive matches the subject (vi → oss).

Hon vägrade finna sig i orättvisan.

She refused to put up with the injustice. finna sig i + a noun.

A related, slightly different idiom is finna sig till rätta ("settle in, find one's feet"): Han fann sig snabbt till rätta på det nya jobbet ("He quickly settled in at the new job").

Use 3: the existential sibling — finnas (det finns)

The deponent finnas ("to exist; there is/are") is finna's family member: same root, same strong vowels in the past and supine, but it always carries an -s and is used in the existential frame det finns. Knowing they're related helps you keep the irregular vowels straight: finnas → fanns → funnits mirrors finna → fann → funnit.

Det finns inget kaffe kvar — vi får köpa mer.

There's no coffee left — we'll have to buy more. det finns — the everyday existential, the deponent finnas.

Det fanns en gång en kung som inte kunde sova.

Once upon a time there was a king who couldn't sleep. fanns — past of finnas, the storytelling 'there was'.

finna vs hitta — the register split

This is the practical heart of the card. Both mean "find," but they live in different registers:

	finna (strong)	hitta (weak)
Register	formal, literary, written	everyday, spoken, neutral
Past	fann	hittade
Supine	funnit	hittat
Typical use	court/report/poetry, idioms (finna sig i)	"I found my keys", "did you find it?"

In normal conversation you almost always want hitta. If you say Jag fann mina nycklar, a Swede will understand you but find it oddly bookish; Jag hittade mina nycklar is what people actually say.

Jag hittade till slut parkeringen — den låg bakom huset.

I finally found the parking — it was behind the building. hitta is the natural spoken choice here, not finna.

Har du hittat dina glasögon? — Ja, de låg i fickan.

Have you found your glasses? — Yes, they were in my pocket. Everyday speech: har hittat, not har funnit.

Common Mistakes

❌ Jag finnade nyckeln på golvet.

Incorrect — finna is strong, so no -ade ending. The regularisation trap: the past is fann, not *finnade.

✅ Jag fann nyckeln på golvet. / Jag hittade nyckeln på golvet.

I found the key on the floor. (fann = literary; hittade = everyday — usually pick hittade in speech.)

❌ Vi har fann en lösning.

Incorrect — fann is the PAST; the supine after har is funnit.

✅ Vi har funnit en lösning.

We have found a solution. Supine vowel u: funnit.

❌ Jag finner mina nycklar varje morgon — var är de?

Off in register and sense — for the everyday 'where did I find/locate it?' use hitta, not finna.

✅ Jag hittar aldrig mina nycklar på morgonen.

I can never find my keys in the morning. hitta is the natural choice.

❌ Vi får finna oss i det. → Vi får finna det.

Incorrect — the idiom 'put up with' is finna sig i; you can't drop the reflexive sig/oss and the i.

✅ Vi får finna oss i det.

We'll just have to put up with it.

💡

finna–fann–funnit is find–found–found (i–a–u) — but it's the formal, literary "find." In everyday speech use hitta–hittade–hittat. Keep finna for writing, for the idiom finna sig i ("put up with"), and remember its existential sibling finnas (det finns).

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