möta means "to meet" in the sense of encountering someone or something — meeting an oncoming car, meeting a challenge, going to meet someone arriving. It's a Group 2 verb with a tidy quirk: its stem ends in a voiceless t, which doubles in the past tense. And it has a reciprocal twin, mötas / möttes, that captures "meet each other" in a single word — something English needs an extra pronoun for.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| möta | möter | mötte | mött | möt | Group 2 (-te) |
The stem is möt-. Because t is voiceless, the past takes -te — but the stem already ends in t, so the two t's collide and you write mötte (double t). The present is möter, the supine mött (note: only one extra t here, möt- + -t = mött), and the imperative the bare stem möt! Don't let mötte tempt you toward a Group 1 möt-ade — this is firmly Group 2.
Use 1: meeting / encountering
möta covers going to meet an arrival, and encountering something you come up against.
Jag möter dig på stationen klockan tre.
I'll meet you at the station at three. möta — going to meet someone who's arriving.
Vi mötte en gammal vän på torget.
We met an old friend on the square. mötte — the regular -te past, with the doubled t.
Företaget har mött hård konkurrens i år.
The company has met tough competition this year. har mött — perfect; here 'meet' = 'come up against'.
Hennes blick mötte min över rummet.
Her gaze met mine across the room. möta — two things coming toward each other.
Use 2: mötas / möttes — to meet each other
Add -s and möta becomes mötas — a reciprocal, meaning the parties meet one another. The past is möttes (the doubled-t past mötte plus -s). This is more compact than English, which has to spell out "each other."
De möttes på stationen och kramades länge.
They met (each other) at the station and hugged for a long time. möttes — reciprocal past.
Vi möts utanför biografen, okej?
Let's meet (each other) outside the cinema, okay? möts — reciprocal present.
Deras ögon har aldrig mötts förut.
Their eyes have never met before. har mötts — reciprocal perfect.
möta vs träffa
Both translate as "meet," but they aren't interchangeable. träffa is the everyday social "meet" — meeting up with a friend, meeting someone for the first time. möta leans toward encountering, going to receive an arrival, or meeting something abstract (resistance, a deadline). When you arrange to hang out, use träffa(s); when you go to fetch someone off a train, möta fits perfectly.
Vi ska träffas på fredag och ta en öl. (informal)
We're going to meet up on Friday for a beer. (informal) Social plan — träffas, not mötas.
Jag mötte henne på flygplatsen när planet landade.
I met her at the airport when the plane landed. Going to receive an arrival — möta.
Common Mistakes
❌ Vi mötade på torget. (Group 1 ending)
Incorrect — möta is Group 2; the voiceless t-stem gives mötte, not *mötade.
✅ Vi möttes på torget.
We met (each other) on the square.
❌ Vi möte i morgon. (missing ending)
Incorrect — the present needs -er: möter. For 'meet each other', möts.
✅ Vi möts i morgon.
We're meeting (each other) tomorrow.
❌ Jag vill möta mina vänner på lördag.
Off for a casual hangout — use träffa for social meeting; möta is for encountering / receiving.
✅ Jag vill träffa mina vänner på lördag.
I want to meet up with my friends on Saturday.
❌ De mötte varandra på stationen.
Understandable but redundant — the reciprocal -s already means 'each other': möttes.
✅ De möttes på stationen.
They met (each other) at the station.
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Start learning Swedish→Related Topics
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