orka is one of those Swedish verbs that English simply lacks a word for. It means "to have the energy, stamina or strength to do something," and you will hear it constantly — above all in the negative Jag orkar inte, the everyday way to say "I just can't be bothered / I don't have the energy." Grammatically it is a perfectly regular Group 1 verb (the -ar / -ade / -at type), but it behaves like a modal: orkar is followed by a bare infinitive, with no att.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| orka | orkar | orkade | orkat | orka | Group 1 (weak, -ar/-ade/-at) |
There is nothing irregular in the conjugation: present orkar, past orkade, supine orkat, imperative orka — the same endings as tala – talar – talade – talat. The perfect is har orkat and the pluperfect hade orkat. The difficulty is never the forms; it is knowing what the verb means and that it takes a bare infinitive.
Jag orkar inte gå längre, vi tar bussen.
I don't have the energy to walk any further, let's take the bus. orkar — present; bare infinitive gå (no att).
Hon orkade inte laga middag efter jobbet.
She didn't have the energy to cook dinner after work. orkade — past.
Jag har inte orkat städa på en hel vecka.
I haven't had the energy to clean for a whole week. har orkat — perfect.
Use 1: orkar + bare infinitive (the modal-like construction)
This is the core pattern. Like kunna, vilja, måste and the other modals, orka takes a bare infinitive — you say orkar gå, never orkar att gå. The closest English renderings are "have the energy to," "be up for," or "manage to," but none of them is a perfect match, so translate by sense rather than word-for-word.
Orkar du bära den här lådan upp för trapporna?
Are you up for carrying this box up the stairs? Bare infinitive bära after orkar.
Efter löpningen orkade jag knappt lyfta armarna.
After the run I could barely lift my arms. orkade + bare infinitive lyfta.
Ingen orkar lyssna på hans gnäll längre.
Nobody has the energy to listen to his whining anymore.
Use 2: Jag orkar inte — the everyday negative
By far the most common shape is the negative. Jag orkar inte on its own — with no following verb — is a complete, idiomatic sentence meaning roughly "I can't face it / I'm out of energy / I really can't be bothered." It is the spoken-Swedish equivalent of a tired sigh, and it sounds completely natural in casual speech.
— Ska vi gå ut ikväll? — Nej, jag orkar inte. (informal)
— Shall we go out tonight? — No, I just can't face it. orkar inte used absolutely, no following verb.
Jag orkar inte med dramat just nu, ärligt talat.
I can't deal with the drama right now, honestly. orka med = cope with / deal with.
Use 3: orka med — cope with / manage
With the particle med, orka med någonting means "to cope with / manage / handle" something — a workload, a stressful situation, a difficult person. Here orka governs a noun object, not an infinitive. Again English has no single verb; "cope with" and "handle" are the nearest equivalents.
Hur orkar du med tre barn och ett heltidsjobb?
How do you cope with three kids and a full-time job?
Han orkade inte med pressen och sa upp sig.
He couldn't handle the pressure and quit. orkade med + noun object pressen.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jag orkar inte att gå.
Incorrect — orka is modal-like and takes a bare infinitive, so drop the att.
✅ Jag orkar inte gå.
I don't have the energy to walk.
❌ Jag orkade inte med gå hem. (intending 'manage to walk home')
Mixed up — orka med takes a noun, while bare orka takes the infinitive. For 'manage to walk home' use orka without med.
✅ Jag orkade inte gå hem.
I didn't have the energy to walk home.
❌ Jag orkade inte stressen.
Incomplete — to 'cope with' a noun you need the particle med: orka med.
✅ Jag orkade inte med stressen.
I couldn't cope with the stress.
❌ Jag orkar inte det. (trying to say 'I can't do it')
Off — orka is about energy/stamina, not ability. For 'I can't do it' use kan inte; orka inte means 'I haven't the energy for it'.
✅ Jag orkar inte med det. / Jag kan inte.
I can't face it. / I can't (do it).
❌ Jag har orkade städa.
Wrong perfect — after har you need the supine orkat, not the past orkade.
✅ Jag har orkat städa.
I've had the energy to clean.
Now practice Swedish
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
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.
- Modal Verbs: OverviewA2 — The Swedish modal verbs — kan, vill, ska, måste, får, bör, lär, må — all share one liberating syntax: they take a BARE infinitive with NO att (Jag kan simma, not *Jag kan att simma), and like all Swedish verbs they never agree for person. Learn one present form and you can build every modal sentence. This page maps the whole set and warns you that several modals (få, ska, må) are heavily polysemous.
- 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.