sätta means "to set, to put" — specifically, to put something into a position where it sits, fits, or is fixed. It is the transitive twin of sitta ("to sit, to be fixed"): sitta describes where a thing already is, sätta is the act of putting it there. Despite ending in -a like a regular verb, sätta is an irregular weak verb, and its forms hide one of the meanest traps in Swedish.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sätta | sätter | satte | satt | sätt | irregular weak |
The vowel changes from ä to a in the past and supine — that is what makes it irregular. The preterite is satte (with double t), the supine is satt, and the imperative drops the final -a to give the bare sätt ("Put!"). The past participle is satt (en satt fläck) with plural/definite satta (de satta gränserna, "the set limits").
Use 1: setting / putting something into place
The core meaning: putting an object into a position where it sits or fits — a stamp on an envelope, a key in a lock, a child on a chair, a price on a product.
Hon satte barnet i barnstolen.
She put the child in the high chair. satte = preterite of sätta; you place the child into a seated position.
Sätt nyckeln i låset och vrid åt höger.
Put the key in the lock and turn to the right. sätt — the bare-stem imperative.
Vem har satt en lapp på dörren?
Who has put a note on the door? har satt — supine of sätta. With har it can only be 'put', never 'sat'.
Use 2: sätta sig — sit down
The reflexive sätta sig means "to sit down" — the action of taking a seat, as opposed to sitta, which is the state of already sitting. This is one of the most common phrases in spoken Swedish.
Sätt dig, så pratar vi.
Sit down (have a seat), and we'll talk. Sätt dig! — the everyday invitation to take a seat.
Hon satte sig vid fönstret med en kopp te.
She sat down by the window with a cup of tea. satte sig = the act of sitting down.
Var så god och sätt er.
Please be seated. (to a group, or polite) sätt er — reflexive with the plural/formal 'er'.
Compare with sitta: Hon sitter vid fönstret = "she is sitting by the window" (state); Hon satte sig vid fönstret = "she sat down by the window" (action). Mixing these up is the classic learner slip.
Use 3: particle verbs — sätta på, sätta igång, sätta in
sätta combines with particles into a family of high-frequency phrasal verbs:
- sätta på — "to turn on" (a device), or "put on" (e.g. coffee, music)
- sätta igång — "to get going, start" (a process or activity)
- sätta in — "to insert, to put in"; in banking, "to deposit"
Kan du sätta på kaffet? Jag är helt slut.
Can you put the coffee on? I'm completely exhausted. sätta på = switch on / get going.
Vi måste sätta igång nu, annars hinner vi inte.
We have to get started now, otherwise we won't make it. sätta igång = get going.
Jag satte in tusen kronor på sparkontot.
I deposited a thousand kronor into the savings account. sätta in = deposit (into an account).
sitta vs sätta — the pair
Keep the pair straight by remembering: sitta is intransitive and strong (you are seated/fixed somewhere — sitter, satt, suttit), while sätta is transitive and irregular weak (you put something somewhere — sätter, satte, satt). A person sitter on a chair; you sätter a vase on the shelf or sätter dig on the chair.
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum | Supine | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| sitta (be seated/fixed) | sitta | sitter | satt | suttit |
| sätta (put, set) | sätta | sätter | satte | satt |
Common Mistakes
❌ Jag har suttit en lapp på dörren. (using sitta's supine)
Incorrect — to PUT something you need sätta, supine satt. 'suttit' is sitta ('been sitting').
✅ Jag har satt en lapp på dörren.
I've put a note on the door.
❌ Hon sätte sig vid fönstret. (wrong past)
Incorrect — the preterite of sätta is satte (double t), not *sätte.
✅ Hon satte sig vid fönstret.
She sat down by the window.
❌ Sitt dig! (for 'sit down')
Incorrect — 'sit down' is the reflexive of sätta: Sätt dig! sitta has no transitive imperative here.
✅ Sätt dig!
Sit down! / Have a seat!
❌ Jag satter nyckeln i låset. (wrong present)
Incorrect — the present keeps ä: sätter, not *satter.
✅ Jag sätter nyckeln i låset.
I'm putting the key in the lock.
❌ Hon satte i fåtöljen hela kvällen. (for 'she sat in the armchair')
Wrong verb — to be seated (state) is sitta: 'satt'. sätta needs an object you place.
✅ Hon satt i fåtöljen hela kvällen.
She sat in the armchair all evening.
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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.
- Posture and Placement Verbs (ligga/lägga, sitta/sätta)B1 — Swedish DESCRIBES the orientation of objects instead of saying 'be'. Flat things lie (ligga), upright things stand (stå), set-in things sit (sitta) — and each pairs with a causative twin that puts something there (lägga, ställa, sätta). 'The book is on the table' is 'Boken ligger på bordet'. Watch the principal parts: ligga/låg/legat vs lägga/lade/lagt, sitta/satt/suttit vs sätta/satte/satt.
- ligga/lägga, sitta/sätta, stå/ställaB1 — Swedish refuses to use a single verb 'to be' or 'to put' for things in space. Where English says 'the book is on the table' and 'I put it there', Swedish picks a verb by the object's ORIENTATION: flat things lie (ligga), upright things stand (stå), fitted things sit (sitta) — plus a matching set of transitive partners for placing them (lägga, ställa, sätta). This guide gives you the orientation test so you can choose the right verb for any object.