odla means "to grow" or "to cultivate" — but crucially in the sense of growing something on purpose. A gardener odlar tomatoes; a farmer odlar wheat. The verb is transitive: it needs an object, the thing being cultivated. This is where English trips Swedish learners, because English "grow" covers two completely different Swedish verbs — odla (you grow it) and växa (it grows by itself).
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| odla | odlar | odlade | odlat | odla | Group 1 |
odla is a textbook Group 1 verb, derived entirely by rule: present odlar (stem + -r), past odlade (the full -ade), supine odlat (-at), imperative the bare stem odla. No stem changes, no irregularities.
Use: cultivate / grow something (transitive)
odla always takes an object — the crop, plant, or produce you are raising. Think "put effort into making it grow."
Vi odlar tomater på balkongen.
We grow tomatoes on the balcony. odla + object — the thing being cultivated.
Min farmor odlade potatis i hela sitt liv.
My grandmother grew potatoes her whole life. odlade — the regular Group 1 past.
De har odlat grönsaker här i tjugo år.
They have grown vegetables here for twenty years. har odlat — the perfect, supine odlat after har.
Vad odlar du i trädgården i år?
What are you growing in the garden this year? Present odlar with a question.
odla vs växa — the key contrast
English "grow" is two verbs in Swedish, split by who does the growing:
| Verb | Type | Who grows | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| odla | transitive | a person grows it deliberately | Vi odlar tomater. |
| växa | intransitive | the plant grows by itself | Tomaterna växer. |
So Vi odlar tomater means "We grow tomatoes" (we plant and tend them), while Tomaterna växer means "The tomatoes are growing" (getting bigger on their own). You cannot swap them: växa never takes the produce as an object the way odla does, and odla never describes the plant's own increase in size.
Jag odlar basilika, men den växer långsamt.
I grow basil, but it grows slowly. odla (I cultivate it) then växa (it grows on its own).
Barnen växer så fort!
The children are growing up so fast! växa — natural, self-driven growth, never odla.
Här odlas mest spannmål.
Mostly grain is grown here. The passive odlas — note odla, since a person cultivates it.
en odling — the noun
The related noun is en odling ("a cultivation, a crop, a plantation / plot under cultivation"). It is an en-word: en odling, odlingen, odlingar. It names either the activity of growing or the planted area itself.
Ekologisk odling kräver tålamod.
Organic farming requires patience. The noun odling — the activity of cultivation.
Frosten förstörde hela odlingen.
The frost destroyed the entire crop. odlingen — the planted area / crop.
Figurative use: odla kontakter
odla extends naturally into the figurative "cultivate" — nurturing relationships, interests, or an image over time, just as English "cultivate contacts."
Det lönar sig att odla kontakter i branschen.
It pays to cultivate contacts in the industry. Figurative odla — nurture relationships.
Hon odlar medvetet en image som rebell.
She deliberately cultivates an image as a rebel. odla en image — build up over time.
Common Mistakes
❌ Tomaterna odlar snabbt.
Wrong verb — odla is what the gardener does. If the plant itself grows, use växa: Tomaterna växer snabbt.
✅ Tomaterna växer snabbt.
The tomatoes are growing fast.
❌ Vi växer grönsaker.
Wrong verb — to grow something deliberately is odla, not växa. växa has no object here.
✅ Vi odlar grönsaker.
We grow vegetables.
❌ Vi odler tomater.
Incorrect — odla is Group 1, so the present is odlar (-ar), not the Group 2 *odler (-er).
✅ Vi odlar tomater.
We grow tomatoes.
❌ De har odla potatis länge.
Incorrect — after har you need the supine odlat, not the infinitive odla.
✅ De har odlat potatis länge.
They have grown potatoes for a long time.
Now practice Swedish
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Start learning Swedish→Related Topics
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