leva means "to live" — but only one of the two things English "live" can mean. Swedish splits the English verb in two: leva is "to be alive / to live a life," while bo is "to reside, to have your home somewhere." Confusing them is one of the most common beginner errors, so this distinction is the heart of the page.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| leva | lever | levde | levt | lev | Group 2 (-de) |
leva is a regular Group 2 -de verb. The stem lev- takes -er in the present (lever), and because the final -v is voiced, the past adds -de (levde). The supine ends in -t (levt), and the imperative is the bare stem lev! The spelling stays with -v- throughout; don't be tempted toward a \-bb- or *-fv-*.
Use 1: leva = be alive
The most basic sense of leva is "to be alive" — to still be breathing, as opposed to dead.
Min mormor lever fortfarande, hon fyller nittio i år.
My grandmother is still alive; she turns ninety this year. leva = 'be alive'.
Fisken levde fortfarande när vi släppte tillbaka den.
The fish was still alive when we put it back. Preteritum levde.
Han har levt ett långt och rikt liv.
He has lived a long and full life. Perfect har levt, supine in -t.
Use 2: leva = live a (kind of) life
leva also means "to live" in the sense of how you conduct your life — the life you lead. It often pairs with ett ... liv ("a ... life").
De lever ett gott liv ute på landet.
They live a good life out in the countryside. leva ett liv = 'lead a life'.
Hon lever helt för sin musik.
She lives entirely for her music. leva för = 'live for'.
Use 3: leva vs bo — the key contrast
This is the distinction to lock in. bo answers where you have your home; leva answers whether you're alive or how you live. You bor in Stockholm (your address), but you lever a healthy life or are still alive.
| Swedish | English | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| Jag bor i Stockholm. | I live in Stockholm. | residence — where your home is |
| Min farfar lever än. | My grandfather is still alive. | being alive |
| De lever ett enkelt liv. | They live a simple life. | the life you lead |
Vi bor i en lägenhet i stan, men vi lever ganska enkelt.
We live in a flat in town, but we live quite simply. bo = reside; leva = the kind of life.
Hon bodde i Paris i tre år och levde verkligen livet.
She lived in Paris for three years and really lived life to the full. bodde (place) vs levde (how).
Use 4: leva på — live on / off
The phrasal leva på means "to live on / off" — what sustains you, whether food, money, or a source of income.
Som student levde jag mest på pasta och kaffe.
As a student I mostly lived on pasta and coffee. leva på = 'live on'.
De lever på sina besparingar tills pensionen kommer.
They're living off their savings until the pension comes. leva på an income source.
Use 5: Leve! — long live! (fossil subjunctive)
A relic worth recognising: in the cheer Leve kungen! ("Long live the king!") the form leve is an old present subjunctive — a fossilised form no longer productive in modern Swedish, surviving only in set exclamations like Leve brudparet! ("Long live the bride and groom!"). You won't form new subjunctives this way, but you'll hear Leve...! at celebrations.
Fyrfaldigt leve för Sverige — hurra, hurra, hurra, hurra! (set phrase)
A fourfold cheer for Sweden — hooray, hooray, hooray, hooray! Leve as a fossil subjunctive in a toast.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jag lever i Stockholm.
Off — for where you reside, use bo: Jag bor i Stockholm. leva is 'be alive / lead a life'.
✅ Jag bor i Stockholm.
I live in Stockholm.
❌ Min mormor bor fortfarande. (meaning 'is still alive')
Off — to say someone is still alive, use leva: Min mormor lever fortfarande.
✅ Min mormor lever fortfarande.
My grandmother is still alive.
❌ Han levade ett långt liv.
Incorrect — leva is Group 2, not Group 1; the past is levde, never *levade.
✅ Han levde ett långt liv.
He lived a long life.
❌ Hon har levat här i åratal.
Incorrect — the Group 2 supine is levt, not the Group 1 *levat.
✅ Hon har levt så här i åratal.
She has lived like this for years.
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.
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- 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.