känna is a high-value verb because English smears together meanings that Swedish keeps apart. It covers "feel" (a sensation or emotion) and "know" in the sense of being acquainted with a person. Crucially, it is not the verb for knowing facts (veta) or knowing how to do things (kunna). Getting känna right means learning where the English verb "know" splits three ways in Swedish.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| känna | känner | kände | känt | känn | Group 2 (-de) |
känna is a regular Group 2 -de verb. The stem känn- takes -er in the present (känner), and because the stem is voiced it forms the past with -de. The double -nn simplifies to a single -n before the ending: kände, supine känt (not *kännde or *kännt). The imperative is känn! ("feel!" / "touch!").
Use 1: känna = know a person (be acquainted)
For "know a person," Swedish uses känna. It means you are acquainted — you've met, you have a relationship — not that you know facts about them.
Jag känner honom från jobbet.
I know him from work. känna a person = 'be acquainted with'.
Känner du några bra ställen att äta på här?
Do you know any good places to eat around here? känna can extend to 'be familiar with' places.
Vi har känt varandra sedan högstadiet.
We've known each other since secondary school. Perfect har känt.
Use 2: känna sig + adjective — feel (a state)
To describe how you feel — your emotional or physical state — Swedish uses the reflexive känna sig plus an adjective. The reflexive agrees with the subject (känner mig, dig, sig).
Jag känner mig trött och hängig idag.
I feel tired and run-down today. känna sig + adjective = 'feel (a state)'.
Hon kände sig ensam efter flytten.
She felt lonely after the move. Preteritum kände sig.
Känn dig som hemma!
Make yourself at home! (Lit. 'feel yourself at home'.) Imperative känn + reflexive dig.
Use 3: känna = feel/sense something
Without the reflexive, känna + an object means "feel / sense" something physical — a touch, a smell, a sensation.
Känner du lukten av nybakat bröd?
Can you smell the freshly baked bread? (Lit. 'do you feel the smell'.) känna + object = perceive.
Jag kände en kall vind mot ansiktet.
I felt a cold wind against my face. Preteritum kände + object.
Use 4: känna igen — recognise
The particle verb känna igen ("feel/know again") means "recognise" — to identify someone or something you've encountered before.
Jag kände inte igen henne med kort hår.
I didn't recognise her with short hair. känna igen = 'recognise'.
Känner du igen den här melodin?
Do you recognise this tune? känna igen for a familiar thing.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jag vet honom sedan länge.
Incorrect — for knowing a person use känna, not veta: Jag känner honom.
✅ Jag känner honom sedan länge.
I've known him for a long time.
❌ Jag känner trött idag.
Incorrect — to feel a state you need the reflexive: jag känner mig trött.
✅ Jag känner mig trött idag.
I feel tired today.
❌ Hon kännde sig ensam.
Incorrect — the double -nn simplifies before the ending: kände, not *kännde.
✅ Hon kände sig ensam.
She felt lonely.
❌ Jag känner simma.
Off — knowing how to do something is kunna, not känna: Jag kan simma.
✅ Jag kan simma.
I can swim / I know how to swim.
Now practice Swedish
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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.
- 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.
- 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.