flytta means "to move" — and it covers both senses English splits between "move house" and "move something." You flytta when you relocate your whole life to a new home, and you flytta when you nudge a chair across the room. It is a completely regular Group 1 verb, so once you know tala, you already know how flytta conjugates.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| flytta | flyttar | flyttade | flyttat | flytta | Group 1 |
Everything is by the book. Present is stem + -r (flyttar), past adds the full -ade (flyttade), the supine after har ends in -at (flyttat), and the imperative is the bare stem (Flytta! "Move!"). The double t stays in every form — it marks the short, sharp y vowel.
Use 1: relocating — moving house
The headline meaning of flytta is changing where you live. You can use it on its own, or add till ("to") for the destination and från ("from") for the origin.
Vi flyttar till Göteborg i augusti.
We're moving to Gothenburg in August. flyttar + till for the destination.
De flyttade till en större lägenhet förra året.
They moved to a bigger flat last year. flyttade — the regular Group 1 past.
Jag har flyttat fyra gånger på tre år.
I've moved four times in three years. har flyttat — the perfect, supine flyttat after har.
Use 2: flytta in / flytta ut — move in / move out
With the particles in and ut, flytta describes moving into or out of a home. The particle is stressed and stands after the verb.
När flyttar ni in i det nya huset?
When are you moving into the new house? flytta in = move in; note i for 'into'.
Han flyttade ut förra månaden efter skilsmässan.
He moved out last month after the divorce. flytta ut = move out.
A closely related life-event phrase is flytta hemifrån — "to move out of one's parents' home," literally "move from home." Hemifrån is a single adverb meaning "from home."
Min dotter ska flytta hemifrån till hösten.
My daughter is going to move out (of home) this autumn. flytta hemifrån — the classic 'leave the parental nest'.
Use 3: flytta på sig — move aside
When flytta takes an object, it means "shift, move (something)." The most useful everyday version is the reflexive flytta på sig — "move (yourself) out of the way, shift over." Swedish adds på sig rather than just sig; the på gives it the sense of a small adjustment.
Kan du flytta på dig lite? Jag ser inte tavlan.
Can you move over a bit? I can't see the picture. flytta på dig — shift yourself aside.
Flytta soffan närmare fönstret, är du snäll.
Move the sofa closer to the window, please. flytta + object = shift an object.
Vi flyttade fram mötet till fredag.
We moved the meeting forward to Friday. flytta fram — reschedule, 'move (a date) forward'.
Use 4: moving files, money and abstract things
flytta is not limited to physical objects. In everyday digital life you flytta files between folders, money between accounts, and appointments around the calendar. Swedish reaches for the same verb English does ("move the file," "move money"), so this use feels familiar.
Jag flyttade alla bilder till en ny mapp.
I moved all the photos to a new folder. flytta works for files just like in English.
Kan du flytta pengarna till mitt sparkonto?
Can you move the money to my savings account? flytta + pengar — transfer between accounts informally.
flytta vs flytta på sig — relocate vs shift
The key split is this: bare flytta (intransitive, of a person) = "relocate, move house"; flytta + object = "shift that object"; flytta på sig = "move yourself a little, get out of the way." So Jag flyttar on its own means "I'm moving (to a new home)," not "I'm moving my body." To tell someone to budge, you need flytta på dig.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jag flytter till Lund. (Group 2 ending)
Incorrect — flytta is Group 1, so the present is flyttar (-ar), not *flytter (-er).
✅ Jag flyttar till Lund.
I'm moving to Lund.
❌ Vi flyttde i somras. (bare -de)
Incorrect — Group 1 takes the full -ade. The past is flyttade, not *flyttde.
✅ Vi flyttade i somras.
We moved last summer.
❌ Kan du flytta dig? (for 'move over')
Off — to ask someone to shift aside, Swedish adds på: flytta på dig, not bare 'flytta dig'.
✅ Kan du flytta på dig?
Can you move over?
❌ Jag rör till Stockholm. (using röra for 'relocate')
Wrong verb — röra means 'touch/stir', not relocate. To move house, use flytta.
✅ Jag flyttar till Stockholm.
I'm moving to Stockholm.
❌ Jag har flyttade tre gånger.
Incorrect — after har you need the supine flyttat, not the preterite flyttade.
✅ Jag har flyttat tre gånger.
I've moved three times.
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Start learning Swedish→Related Topics
- Using the Verb ReferenceA2 — How to read the single-verb reference cards and the principal-parts citation system that underpins them. Every Swedish verb is cited as a short chain — infinitive – present – preteritum – supine – (past participle) — because every other form is derivable from those parts. This page decodes one weak verb (tala – talar – talade – talat) and one strong verb (skriva – skriver – skrev – skrivit – skriven), explains the conjugation-group labels (1/2/3/4), and gives a key to everything on a card.
- Posture and Placement Verbs (ligga/lägga, sitta/sätta)B1 — Swedish DESCRIBES the orientation of objects instead of saying 'be'. Flat things lie (ligga), upright things stand (stå), set-in things sit (sitta) — and each pairs with a causative twin that puts something there (lägga, ställa, sätta). 'The book is on the table' is 'Boken ligger på bordet'. Watch the principal parts: ligga/låg/legat vs lägga/lade/lagt, sitta/satt/suttit vs sätta/satte/satt.
- ligga/lägga, sitta/sätta, stå/ställaB1 — Swedish refuses to use a single verb 'to be' or 'to put' for things in space. Where English says 'the book is on the table' and 'I put it there', Swedish picks a verb by the object's ORIENTATION: flat things lie (ligga), upright things stand (stå), fitted things sit (sitta) — plus a matching set of transitive partners for placing them (lägga, ställa, sätta). This guide gives you the orientation test so you can choose the right verb for any object.