hata (to hate) | Swedish Grammar

hata means "to hate." It is a fully regular Group 1 verb, and pleasantly for an English speaker it behaves just like its English counterpart: it takes a plain direct object with no preposition. Like English "hate," it ranges from genuine, intense dislike to casual, hyperbolic complaint.

Principal parts

Infinitive	Present	Preteritum (past)	Supine	Imperative	Group
hata	hatar	hatade	hatat	hata	Group 1

Textbook Group 1: present -r → hatar, past -ade → hatade, supine -at → hatat, imperative the bare stem. The imperative Hata! exists but is rarely used as a command for obvious reasons. The single -t- with a long a is the natural spelling; there is no doubled consonant here because the vowel is long — contrast this with verbs like hoppa or simma, where a doubled consonant marks a short vowel. As with every Group 1 verb, the form never changes for person or number: jag hatar, du hatar, de hatar are all identical.

Use 1: hate with a direct object

hata takes its object directly, with no preposition — exactly like English. You hate a thing, a person, or an activity, and the object follows the verb straight away.

Jag hatar måndagar.

I hate Mondays. hata + the plain direct object måndagar, no preposition — just like English.

Hon hatade att vänta.

She hated waiting. hatade + att vänta — you can hate doing something, with att + infinitive.

De har alltid hatat varandra.

They've always hated each other. har hatat — perfect, supine hatat after har.

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Unlike many emotion verbs that need a preposition, hata takes its object directly — jag hatar kylan ("I hate the cold") — exactly mirroring English. There is no på, för or av to remember.

Use 2: the hyperbolic, everyday hate

Just like in English, hata is constantly used loosely in casual speech to mean "really can't stand" rather than literal hatred. Swedes say Jag hatar när... ("I hate it when...") about minor annoyances all the time. The register here is informal but completely normal.

Jag hatar när bussen är försenad.

I hate it when the bus is late. (informal) Everyday hyperbole, not literal hatred.

Han hatar att diska, så jag gör det.

He hates doing the dishes, so I do it. (informal) hata att + infinitive for a strong dislike.

Use 3: opposite älska, and the stronger avsky

The natural opposite of hata is älska ("to love"), also a Group 1 verb — the two pair up constantly, and learning them together gives you a ready-made way to express strong preference. When you want something stronger and more formal than hata — closer to English "detest" or "loathe" — Swedish has avsky (formal). Note that avsky is not a Group 1 verb (its past is avskydde, supine avskytt), so you can't simply swap it in mechanically. It implies deep, often moral revulsion and sounds more deliberate and literary than the everyday hata; you would use it of injustice or cruelty, rarely of Mondays or spinach.

Jag älskar sommaren men hatar myggen.

I love summer but hate the mosquitoes. älska and hata as a natural pair.

Hon avskyr all form av orättvisa. (formal)

She detests every form of injustice. (formal) avsky — stronger and more formal than hata.

Som barn hatade jag spenat, men nu älskar jag det.

As a child I hated spinach, but now I love it. The past hatade paired with the present älskar across the two halves.

Common Mistakes

❌ Jag hater måndagar.

Incorrect — hata is Group 1, so the present is hatar (-ar), not *hater (-er).

✅ Jag hatar måndagar.

I hate Mondays.

❌ Jag hatar på honom.

Incorrect — hata takes a direct object with no preposition: hata honom, not *hata på honom.

✅ Jag hatar honom.

I hate him.

❌ Hon hatde att vänta.

Incorrect — Group 1 takes the full -ade: hatade, not *hatde.

✅ Hon hatade att vänta.

She hated waiting.

❌ Vi har hata det stället länge.

Incorrect — after har you need the supine: har hatat, not the infinitive *har hata.

✅ Vi har hatat det stället länge.

We've hated that place for a long time.

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hata is a regular Group 1 verb: hata – hatar – hatade – hatat. It takes a direct object with no preposition, exactly like English, and it's used just as loosely in casual speech. Its opposite is älska ("love"); when you need something stronger and more formal, reach for avsky ("detest").

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