krypa is the Swedish verb "to crawl" or "to creep" — a baby crawling across the floor, an insect creeping along a wall, a cold that creeps into your bones. It is a strong verb of the y–ö–u type, with principal parts krypa – kröp – krupit. The vowel walks from y in the infinitive, to ö in the past kröp, to u in the supine krupit — the same three-step shape as knyta – knöt – knutit and flyga – flög – flugit. The trap is precisely that walk: learners reach for the supine's u in the past, or stall on y, when the past is squarely ö.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| krypa | kryper | kröp | krupit | kryp | Group 4 (strong), y–ö–u |
Watch the three vowels: infinitive and present in y (krypa, kryper), past in ö (kröp), supine in u (krupit). The agreeing past participle krupen / krupet / krupna exists but is rare on its own; you meet its u-stem most often in hopkrupen ("curled up, huddled"): en hopkrupen katt, "a curled-up cat." For everyday talk you'll mostly use the three core tenses.
Bebisen kryper redan över hela golvet.
The baby is already crawling all over the floor. kryper — present.
Kackerlackan kröp in under kylskåpet.
The cockroach crept in under the fridge. kröp — past, vowel ö.
Kylan har krupit in i väggarna i det gamla huset.
The cold has crept into the walls of the old house. har krupit — perfect, supine vowel u.
Use 1: present, past and perfect
The three tenses follow the principal parts. The present kryper covers both "crawls" and "is crawling." The past kröp is the bare vowel-changed stem with ö. The perfect is har krupit; the pluperfect hade krupit.
Sniglarna kryper fram så fort det börjar regna.
The snails creep out as soon as it starts to rain. kryper fram — present.
Vi kröp in i sovsäckarna när det blev mörkt.
We crawled into our sleeping bags when it got dark. kröp — past, vowel ö.
Hunden hade krupit in under sängen under åskvädret.
The dog had crawled under the bed during the thunderstorm. hade krupit — pluperfect, supine krupit.
Use 2: krypa ihop — curl up
The particle verb krypa ihop means "to curl up, huddle up" — pull yourself into a ball, whether from cold, fear, or comfort. Krypa fram is "to creep forward, edge out." Across both, the past stays kröp with ö.
Hon kröp ihop under filten och tittade på regnet.
She curled up under the blanket and watched the rain. kröp ihop — past, 'curled up'.
Katten brukar krypa ihop i fönsterkarmen på morgnarna.
The cat usually curls up on the windowsill in the mornings. krypa ihop — infinitive.
Soldaterna har krupit fram meter för meter i mörkret.
The soldiers have crept forward meter by meter in the dark. har krupit — supine krupit.
Use 3: the idiom krypa till korset
The set phrase krypa till korset — literally "crawl to the cross" — means "to eat humble pie, to climb down and admit you were wrong, swallow your pride." It is fully idiomatic and common in everyday speech.
Till slut fick han krypa till korset och be om ursäkt.
In the end he had to eat humble pie and apologize. krypa till korset — idiom.
Hon vägrar krypa till korset, även när hon har fel.
She refuses to climb down, even when she's wrong. krypa till korset — infinitive.
Common Mistakes
❌ Kackerlackan krypade under kylskåpet.
Incorrect — krypa is strong and takes no -ade ending. The past is the vowel-changed kröp.
✅ Kackerlackan kröp under kylskåpet.
The cockroach crept under the fridge.
❌ Hunden har kröp under sängen.
Incorrect — after har you need the supine krupit, not the past kröp.
✅ Hunden har krupit under sängen.
The dog has crawled under the bed.
❌ Bebisen krup över golvet. (using the supine u in the past)
Incorrect — the past is kröp with ö, not krup. The u belongs to the supine krupit, not the past.
✅ Bebisen kröp över golvet.
The baby crawled across the floor.
❌ Vi har kröpit in i tältet. (mixing the past ö into the supine)
Incorrect — the supine is krupit with u, not the past's ö.
✅ Vi har krupit in i tältet.
We've crawled into the tent.
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