gilla means "to like" — and it is the warm, casual, everyday word for it. It is a perfectly regular Group 1 verb, so every form is derived by rule, and it has one big practical advantage over its more formal rival tycka om: it takes a plain direct object. Jag gillar dig — "I like you." No preposition, no particle, nothing to remember. This card covers its forms, its direct object, the gilla vs tycka om split, and the modern social-media sense.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gilla | gillar | gillade | gillat | gilla | Group 1 |
This is textbook Group 1, conjugating exactly like tala. The present is the infinitive plus -r (gilla → gillar). The past adds the full -ade (gillade) — never a bare -de. The supine, the form after har, ends in -at (gillat). The imperative is the bare stem, identical to the infinitive (Gilla!). There is no stem change and no agreement with the subject: jag gillar, hon gillar, de gillar are all the same.
Jag gillar din nya frisyr.
I like your new haircut. gillar — the present, plus a plain direct object (din nya frisyr).
Vi gillade verkligen restaurangen.
We really liked the restaurant. gillade — the regular Group 1 past, full -ade ending.
Har du alltid gillat kaffe?
Have you always liked coffee? har gillat — the perfect, supine gillat after har.
Use 1: liking with a direct object
The defining feature of gilla is that the thing you like follows directly, as a direct object — no preposition. This is what makes it so handy: you simply name what you like.
Jag gillar dig.
I like you. The object dig follows the verb directly — no preposition at all.
Hon gillar inte fisk.
She doesn't like fish. Negation inte sits right after the verb, object fisk after that.
Gillar du den här låten?
Do you like this song? In a question the verb leads; the object den här låten follows.
De gillade filmen men inte slutet.
They liked the film but not the ending. One verb, two direct objects (filmen / slutet).
Use 2: gilla vs tycka om
gilla and tycka om mean the same thing — "to like" — but they are built differently and they sit at slightly different registers. gilla is the relaxed, everyday word and takes a plain object (Jag gillar dig). tycka om is a touch more neutral or careful and is a particle verb: the object goes after the particle om (Jag tycker om dig). Both are extremely common; gilla simply sounds a bit more casual and direct.
Jag gillar dig. (informal, direct object)
I like you. (informal) gilla takes the object straight: gillar + dig.
Jag tycker om dig. (object after the particle om)
I like you. The synonym tycka om puts the object after om: tycker om + dig.
Vad gillar du att göra på helgerna?
What do you like to do at weekends? gilla + att + infinitive works smoothly too.
Use 3: being liked (gillas) and the social-media "like"
Because gilla is a normal active verb, it forms a regular -s passive, gillas ("be liked"). And in the internet age gilla has acquired a second life: it is the standard Swedish verb for "to like" a post — gilla ett inlägg — exactly as English uses the verb "like" on social media. The noun is en gilla-markering or simply en gilla.
Hans inlägg gillades av tusentals personer.
His post was liked by thousands of people. gillades — the -s passive, 'was liked'.
Glöm inte att gilla och dela!
Don't forget to like and share! The social-media gilla — 'like' a post.
Jag gillade din bild.
I liked your picture. Same form as 'I liked your picture' in real life — context disambiguates.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jag gillar om dig.
Incorrect — gilla already takes a direct object; don't add om. The om belongs to tycka om, not gilla.
✅ Jag gillar dig.
I like you.
❌ Jag gillade om filmen.
Incorrect — same trap in the past: gillade takes the object directly, no om.
✅ Jag gillade filmen.
I liked the film.
❌ Jag gillde maten. (bare -de)
Incorrect — gilla is Group 1, so the past is gillade with the full -ade, not *gillde.
✅ Jag gillade maten.
I liked the food.
❌ Jag har gillade din bild. (past for supine)
Incorrect — after har you need the supine gillat, not the past gillade.
✅ Jag har gillat din bild.
I have liked your picture.
❌ Jag gillar med dig.
Incorrect — no preposition with gilla at all; the object follows straight away.
✅ Jag gillar dig.
I like you.
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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.
- Verb + Preposition GovernmentB2 — Many Swedish verbs demand a specific, unpredictable preposition: tänka på (think about), vänta på (wait for), tro på (believe in), be om (ask for), tycka om (like), längta efter (long for), bero på (depend on). The governed preposition rarely matches English's, and it's unstressed (unlike a particle), so these combinations are vocabulary items you learn as whole units.
- The Four Conjugation GroupsA2 — Swedish verbs sort into four conjugation classes, identified not by the present tense but by the PAST (preteritum) and supine: Group 1 (talar/talade/talat), Group 2 (ringer/ringde/ringt, köper/köpte/köpt), Group 3 (bor/bodde/bott), and Group 4, the strong verbs (skriver/skrev/skrivit) that change their vowel. Group 1 is so dominant and regular that every new and borrowed verb joins it — so treat it as the default and memorise only the closed list of strong verbs.