sälja means "to sell," and it is irregular in a way that catches every learner once: the ä of the infinitive becomes å in the past and supine. The principal parts run sälja – sålde – sålt — present säljer, but past sålde and supine sålt with å. It is the natural opposite of köpa ("buy"), and its -s passive säljs ("is sold / is for sale") is a sign you will read constantly, from shop windows to online listings.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sälja | säljer | sålde | sålt | sälj | irregular (ä → å) |
Watch the vowel. The infinitive and present keep ä (sälja, säljer), but the past sålde and supine sålt switch to å — even though the past has a weak-looking -de ending, the vowel change makes the verb irregular, not a clean Group 2. The perfect is har sålt, the pluperfect hade sålt. The agreeing past participle is såld / sålt / sålda (also å): en såld biljett, ett sålt hus, sålda varor.
Vi säljer kakor utanför affären på lördag.
We're selling cookies outside the shop on Saturday. säljer — present, vowel ä.
Hon sålde sin gamla cykel för en hundralapp.
She sold her old bike for a hundred kronor. sålde — past, vowel å. This is the form to lock in.
De har redan sålt alla biljetter till konserten.
They've already sold all the tickets to the concert. har sålt — perfect, supine å.
Use 1: present, past and perfect
The three tenses follow the principal parts directly, with the ä→å switch as the only surprise. The present säljer covers "sell / am selling." The past is sålde, the perfect har sålt.
Jag säljer min lägenhet och flyttar utomlands.
I'm selling my flat and moving abroad. Present säljer covers 'sell' and 'am selling'.
Bonden sålde grönsaker direkt från gården.
The farmer sold vegetables straight from the farm. sålde — simple past with å.
Har du sålt bilen än?
Have you sold the car yet? har sålt — perfect, supine sålt.
Use 2: sälja vs köpa — the buy/sell pair
sälja is the mirror image of köpa ("to buy"). Learn them as a pair: one party säljer while the other köper. The thing changing hands is the direct object; the price takes för ("for"), and the buyer (when named) takes till ("to").
Han köpte tavlan billigt och sålde den dyrt.
He bought the painting cheaply and sold it dear. köpa vs sälja, side by side.
Jag sålde soffan till grannen för femhundra kronor.
I sold the sofa to the neighbour for five hundred kronor. sälja … till (buyer) … för (price).
Affären köper och säljer begagnade böcker.
The shop buys and sells second-hand books. The buy/sell pair in one breath.
Use 3: säljs — the -s passive, and the particle sälja ut
The -s passive säljs ("is sold / is for sale") is everywhere in real Swedish — on signs, price tags and listings — because it lets you state that something is on the market without naming a seller. Build it from the present stem: säljer → säljs (or the fuller säljes, common in classified ads). The particle verb sälja ut means "sell off / sell out," and slutsåld is the fixed adjective "sold out."
Biljetter säljs här.
Tickets are sold here. säljs — the everyday -s passive on a sign.
Den här modellen säljs inte längre i Sverige.
This model is no longer sold in Sweden. säljs — 'is sold', no seller named.
Konserten är slutsåld, men de säljer ut lagret av t-shirts.
The concert is sold out, but they're selling off the stock of t-shirts. slutsåld (adjective) + sälja ut (particle verb).
Common Mistakes
❌ Hon säljde cykeln igår.
Incorrect — the irregular past changes the vowel to å: sålde, not *säljde. Keeping the ä is the classic regularisation trap.
✅ Hon sålde cykeln igår.
She sold the bike yesterday. Past with å: sålde.
❌ Jag har säljt bilen.
Incorrect — the supine also takes å: sålt, not *säljt.
✅ Jag har sålt bilen.
I've sold the car. Supine: sålt.
❌ Jag sålde min cykel för min granne.
Wrong preposition — the buyer takes till, not för (för is for the price). Say sålde … till grannen.
✅ Jag sålde min cykel till grannen för 500 kronor.
I sold my bike to the neighbour for 500 kronor.
❌ Den här modellen säljer inte längre. (meaning 'is no longer sold')
Off — active säljer needs a seller-subject ('it doesn't sell well'). For 'is sold' use the -s passive säljs.
✅ Den här modellen säljs inte längre.
This model is no longer sold.
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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.
- Irregular High-Frequency Verbs (vara, ha, göra, veta)A1 — A handful of everyday verbs are fully irregular and must be learned one by one: vara (är/var/varit), ha (har/hade/haft), göra (gör/gjorde/gjort), veta (vet/visste/vetat), säga (säger/sade~sa/sagt), lägga (lägger/lade~la/lagt), bli (blir/blev/blivit). These seven carry a huge share of all speech, so learn them first — including the present (är, not *varar; vet, not *vetar) and the colloquial sa/la pasts that dominate spoken Swedish.
- köpa (to buy)A1 — köpa means 'to buy' and is the model Group 2 -te verb: its voiceless p-stem gives köpa – köper – köpte – köpt. Its opposite is the irregular sälja (sålde, sålt, 'to sell'), and köpa till means 'add on / buy as an extra'.