hänga (to hang) | Swedish Grammar

hänga means "to hang." It belongs to Group 2 and takes the -de past ending: hänga – hänger – hängde – hängt. The single most useful thing to know about hänga is that one form covers two English ideas — both "to hang something up" (transitive) and "to be hanging" (intransitive). English splits these with word order and helping verbs; Swedish uses the same verb either way.

Principal parts

Infinitive	Present	Preteritum (past)	Supine	Imperative	Group
hänga	hänger	hängde	hängt	häng	Group 2

The present adds -er to the stem (häng- → hänger), the past adds -de (hängde), and the supine — the form after har — ends in -t (hängt). The imperative is the bare stem, häng. Because the stem already ends in a voiced consonant, the -de (not -te) ending is the regular choice here.

Use 1: hänga (transitive) — hang something up

With a direct object, hänga means to put something in a hanging position. In practice the particle upp ("up") is usually added: hänga upp something.

Kan du hänga upp tvätten medan jag lagar mat?

Can you hang up the laundry while I cook? hänga upp + object — the transitive sense.

Hon hängde tavlan över soffan.

She hung the picture above the sofa. hängde — the Group 2 past.

Häng jackan i hallen, är du snäll.

Hang your jacket in the hallway, please. häng — the bare imperative.

Use 2: hänga (intransitive) — be hanging

With no object, hänga describes something that is in a hanging position. English needs "to be hanging" here, but Swedish keeps the same plain verb.

Tavlan hänger redan på väggen.

The picture is already hanging on the wall. No object — hänger means 'is hanging'.

Tvätten har hängt ute hela dagen.

The laundry has been hanging outside all day. har hängt — the perfect, supine after har.

Molnen hängde tungt över staden.

The clouds hung heavily over the city. Intransitive past, often used figuratively too.

Use 3: hänga med — keep up / come along

hänga med is one of the most common spoken phrases built on this verb. It has two everyday senses: "to come along / tag along," and "to keep up" (follow what's going on, or stay current).

Häng med, vi ska fika!

Come along, we're going for coffee! häng med — invitation to join. (informal)

Förlåt, jag hänger inte med — kan du förklara igen?

Sorry, I'm not following — can you explain again? hänga med = keep up / follow. (informal)

Han hänger med i allt som är nytt inom teknik.

He keeps up with everything new in tech. hänga med i = stay current with something.

hänga kvar and hänga upp sig

Two more particle combinations are worth knowing. hänga kvar means "to linger, stay around" (a smell, a feeling, a person who won't leave). hänga upp sig is the everyday way to say a computer or program "freezes."

Lukten av rök hängde kvar i flera dagar. (informal)

The smell of smoke lingered for several days. (informal) hänga kvar = linger.

Common Mistakes

❌ Tavlan hängar på väggen. (Group 1 ending)

Incorrect — hänga is Group 2, so the present is hänger (-er), not *hängar (-ar).

✅ Tavlan hänger på väggen.

The picture is hanging on the wall.

❌ Jag har hängat upp jackan. (wrong supine)

Incorrect — the Group 2 supine ends in -t: hängt, not *hängat.

✅ Jag har hängt upp jackan.

I've hung up my jacket.

❌ Jag förstår inte, jag hänger inte upp.

Wrong particle — 'I'm not following' is hänga med, not *hänga upp.

✅ Jag förstår inte, jag hänger inte med.

I don't understand, I'm not following.

❌ Kom med oss — häng med upp!

Off — to invite someone along it's simply häng med, no extra particle.

✅ Kom med oss — häng med!

Come with us — come along!

💡

hänga is one verb for two English ideas: hänga upp tavlan ("hang up the picture," transitive) and Tavlan hänger ("the picture is hanging," intransitive). Group 2: hänger – hängde – hängt. In everyday speech the phrase to remember is hänga med — "come along" or "keep up" (Häng med!).

Now practice Swedish

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

Start learning Swedish→