minska means "to decrease, reduce, go down." Like its mirror-image öka ("to increase"), it works in both directions with the same form: you can minska something (make it smaller) and a thing can minska on its own (get smaller). English splits this into "reduce X" vs. "X falls / shrinks"; Swedish uses one Group 1 verb for both.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| minska | minskar | minskade | minskat | minska | Group 1 |
Standard Group 1 throughout: present stem plus -r (minska → minskar); past -ade (minskade); supine -at (minskat); imperative the bare stem (Minska!). No stem change, no agreement with the subject.
Use 1: transitive — reduce something
Used transitively, minska takes a direct object — you reduce the costs, the risk, the dose, the speed.
Vi behöver minska kostnaderna i år.
We need to reduce costs this year. minska kostnaderna — transitive, kostnaderna as direct object.
Läkaren minskade dosen efter en vecka.
The doctor reduced the dose after a week. minskade — transitive past.
Företaget har minskat sina utsläpp med tjugo procent.
The company has cut its emissions by twenty per cent. har minskat — perfect, supine minskat, with a direct object; med for the amount of reduction.
Use 2: intransitive — fall, shrink, go down
Without an object, minska means the subject itself goes down — a number falls, a population shrinks, interest declines. Just like öka, the same form serves both directions: there is no separate "reduce" verb and no reflexive minska sig. Whether minska is transitive or intransitive is read straight off the sentence — if there's a direct object, someone is doing the reducing; if there isn't, the subject is shrinking on its own.
Antalet anmälningar minskar för varje år.
The number of applications is falling year by year. minskar — intransitive, no object.
Befolkningen minskade kraftigt på landsbygden.
The population shrank sharply in the countryside. minskade — intransitive past.
Intresset har minskat sedan priserna höjdes.
Interest has declined since the prices were raised. har minskat — intransitive perfect.
minska på
The particle phrase minska på means "cut down on, ease off" something — using less of it. It pairs naturally with things you might overdo.
Jag försöker minska på sockret.
I'm trying to cut down on sugar. minska på — ease off, use less.
Läkaren bad honom minska på saltet.
The doctor asked him to cut down on salt. minska på — go easy on something.
The noun en minskning, and the opposite öka
The related noun is en minskning ("a decrease, a reduction"): en kraftig minskning ("a sharp decrease"), en minskning av antalet ("a decrease in the number"). The opposite verb is öka ("to increase"), which behaves identically — Group 1, both transitive and intransitive.
Rapporten visar en tydlig minskning av antalet olyckor.
The report shows a clear decrease in the number of accidents. en minskning — the noun; av introduces what decreased.
Utgifterna minskade i våras men ökade igen i höstas.
Expenses fell in the spring but rose again in the autumn. minska and its opposite öka, both intransitive.
Common Mistakes
❌ Antalet minsker varje år. (Group 2 ending)
Incorrect — minska is Group 1, so the present is minskar (-ar), not *minsker (-er).
✅ Antalet minskar varje år.
The number falls every year.
❌ Befolkningen minskde på landsbygden. (bare -de)
Incorrect — Group 1 takes the full -ade. The past is minskade, not *minskde.
✅ Befolkningen minskade på landsbygden.
The population shrank in the countryside.
❌ Intresset har minska sedan dess. (infinitive after har)
Incorrect — after har you need the supine minskat, not the infinitive minska.
✅ Intresset har minskat sedan dess.
Interest has declined since then.
❌ Vi behöver minska med kostnaderna. (stray med)
Off — to reduce something, no preposition: minska kostnaderna. med only marks the amount of reduction: minska med tjugo procent ('reduce by twenty per cent').
✅ Vi behöver minska kostnaderna.
We need to reduce costs.
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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.
- öka (to increase)B1 — öka means 'to increase' and works both ways: transitively ('increase something', öka farten) and intransitively ('rise, go up', Priserna ökar). It is a regular Group 1 verb — ökar, ökade, ökat — its noun is en ökning, and its opposite is minska.