räkna covers both English "count" (count the children, count to ten) and "do maths / calculate" (work out a sum). On its own it is a basic everyday verb; with particles — räkna med, räkna ut, räkna upp — it opens into a small family of high-frequency expressions. It is a fully regular Group 1 verb.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| räkna | räknar | räknade | räknat | räkna | Group 1 |
Standard Group 1: present stem plus -r (räkna → räknar); past -ade (räknade); supine -at (räknat); imperative the bare stem (Räkna!). No stem change, no subject agreement.
Use 1: counting
The base sense is "count" — tallying things, counting up to a number.
Kan du räkna till tio på svenska?
Can you count to ten in Swedish? räkna till — count up to a number.
Läraren räknade barnen innan bussen åkte.
The teacher counted the children before the bus left. räknade — past tense, barnen as direct object.
Jag har räknat dem tre gånger nu.
I've counted them three times now. har räknat — perfect, supine räknat after har.
Use 2: doing maths / calculating
räkna is also the everyday word for "doing maths." School pupils räknar matte ("do maths"), and you räknar a problem or a sum.
Han sitter och räknar matte vid köksbordet.
He's sitting doing maths at the kitchen table. räkna matte — do maths, the colloquial school sense.
Vi räknade hela uppgiften utan miniräknare.
We worked through the whole problem without a calculator. räknade — past, the calculating sense.
räkna med — count on / expect
With med, räkna means "count on, rely on, expect" — both counting on a person and reckoning with a likely outcome.
Du kan räkna med mig.
You can count on me. räkna med + person = rely on someone.
Vi räknar med regn i morgon.
We're expecting rain tomorrow. räkna med + outcome = reckon with, expect.
Ingen hade räknat med att det skulle gå så fort.
No one had counted on it going so fast. har/hade räknat med — perfect/pluperfect of the 'expect' sense.
räkna ut — work out / calculate
With ut, räkna means "work out, figure out, calculate" — arriving at an answer.
Kan du räkna ut hur mycket det blir per person?
Can you work out how much it comes to per person? räkna ut — calculate, reach a figure.
Det tog en stund att räkna ut svaret.
It took a while to work out the answer. räkna ut svaret — figure out the answer.
räkna upp — list, enumerate
With upp, räkna means "list, reel off, enumerate" — naming things one after another.
Hon räknade upp alla länder hon hade besökt.
She listed all the countries she'd visited. räkna upp — enumerate, name in turn.
The noun ett räknesätt
The related compound ett räknesätt means "an arithmetic operation / a method of calculation" — the four räknesätt being addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Note how the particle senses split apart: räkna med (count on), räkna ut (calculate), and räkna upp (list) each mean something the bare verb does not.
Common Mistakes
❌ Kan du räkner till tio? (Group 2 ending)
Incorrect — räkna is Group 1, so the present is räknar (-ar), not *räkner (-er).
✅ Kan du räkna till tio?
Can you count to ten?
❌ Läraren räknde barnen. (bare -de)
Incorrect — Group 1 takes the full -ade. The past is räknade, not *räknde.
✅ Läraren räknade barnen.
The teacher counted the children.
❌ Du kan räkna på mig. (wrong particle)
Off — to 'count on / rely on' someone it's räkna med, not räkna på. räkna på means literally 'calculate on / do sums about'.
✅ Du kan räkna med mig.
You can count on me.
❌ Kan du räkna hur mycket det blir? (missing ut)
Incomplete — to mean 'work out / calculate', you need the particle: räkna ut hur mycket det blir.
✅ Kan du räkna ut hur mycket det blir?
Can you work out how much it comes to?
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