skrika is the Swedish verb "to scream, shout, cry out," a strong verb of the i–e–i type. Its principal parts run skrika – skrek – skrikit, the same shape as skriva – skrev – skrivit ("write") — present and supine in i, past in e. It covers the loud, involuntary or forceful end of vocal sound: screaming in fear, shouting in anger, a baby crying its lungs out, a bird's harsh call. To shout at someone, Swedish governs the preposition åt. Keep skrika apart from two neighbours: ropa ("call out, shout for") is purposeful and word-bearing, while gråta ("cry, weep") is about tears, not volume.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| skrika | skriker | skrek | skrikit | skrik | Group 4 (strong), i–e–i |
The vowel ladder is i–e–i: present skriker (i), past skrek (e), supine skrikit (i again). This is the most populous strong class, so the chant skrika, skrek, skrikit slots straight in next to skriva, skrev, skrivit and rida, red, ridit ("ride"). The past participle skriken exists but is rare; in practice you'll meet the supine skrikit in the perfect far more often.
Bebisen skriker varje gång vi lägger ner honom.
The baby screams every time we put him down. skriker — present, vowel i.
Hon skrek till när hon såg spindeln.
She let out a scream when she saw the spider. skrek — past, vowel e.
Grannarna har skrikit på varandra hela natten.
The neighbours have been screaming at each other all night. har skrikit — perfect, supine vowel i.
Use 1: present, past and perfect
The tenses follow the principal parts. The present skriker is "scream / am screaming"; the past skrek takes the e; the perfect is har skrikit, the pluperfect hade skrikit.
Måsarna skriker över hamnen från gryningen.
The gulls screech over the harbour from dawn. Present skriker.
Publiken skrek av glädje när bandet kom in.
The crowd screamed with joy when the band came on. skrek — simple past with e.
Barnet hade skrikit sig till sömns.
The child had cried itself to sleep. hade skrikit — pluperfect, supine skrikit.
Use 2: skrika åt — shout AT someone
To direct your shouting at a person, skrika governs åt. skrika åt någon is to shout at someone, often in anger or to make them stop. Note that this is åt, not på or till — a fixed preposition you should memorise with the verb.
Sluta skrika åt mig — jag hör dig mycket väl.
Stop shouting at me — I can hear you perfectly well. skrika åt — governed by åt.
Tränaren skrek åt spelarna att springa fortare.
The coach shouted at the players to run faster. skrek åt — past.
Jag har aldrig skrikit åt mina barn.
I've never shouted at my children. har skrikit åt — perfect.
Use 3: the noun ett skrik
The verb has a matching noun, ett skrik ("a scream, a shout, a cry"), an ett-word: ett skrik, skriket, skrik, skriken. It turns up in everyday phrases like Edvard Munchs "Skriet" (Munch's "The Scream") and the idiom sista skriket ("the latest fashion," literally "the last scream").
Vi hörde ett skrik från lägenheten ovanför.
We heard a scream from the flat above. ett skrik — the noun.
De här skorna är sista skriket just nu.
These shoes are all the rage right now. sista skriket — idiom, 'the last scream' = the latest fashion.
Use 4: skrika vs ropa vs gråta
Three verbs that English blurs together. skrika is loud and often uncontrolled — fear, pain, fury, a baby. ropa is to call out with a purpose, usually words: calling someone's name, shouting for help (ropa på hjälp). gråta is to cry / weep — about tears and sorrow, not necessarily loud at all. Pick by intent: raw volume → skrika; calling to summon → ropa; tears → gråta.
Hon ropade på sin hund från andra sidan parken.
She called for her dog from across the park. ropade — calling with purpose, not skrika.
Han skrek av smärta men grät inte.
He screamed in pain but didn't cry. skrek (volume) vs grät (tears) — the contrast in one sentence.
Common Mistakes
❌ Barnet skrikade hela natten.
Incorrect — skrika is strong and takes no -ade ending. The past is skrek.
✅ Barnet skrek hela natten.
The child screamed all night.
❌ Hon har skrek på mig.
Incorrect — after har you need the supine skrikit, not the past skrek (and the preposition is åt, not på).
✅ Hon har skrikit åt mig.
She has shouted at me.
❌ Tränaren skrek på spelarna.
Incorrect — to shout AT someone, skrika governs åt, not på.
✅ Tränaren skrek åt spelarna.
The coach shouted at the players.
❌ Han skrikte av smärta. (wrong past)
Incorrect — the past is the strong skrek, not a weak skrikte. Don't regularise it.
✅ Han skrek av smärta.
He screamed in pain.
Now practice Swedish
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Start learning Swedish→Related Topics
- Index of Strong Verbs by PatternB1 — A navigable index of the common Swedish strong verbs, grouped by ablaut pattern rather than alphabetically — i–e–i (skriva/skrev/skrivit), i–a–u (dricka/drack/druckit), a–o–a (ta/tog/tagit), and the irregular/contracted set (gå/gick/gått). Each group is a four-part table of principal parts with English cognate hints, because organising strong verbs by shared vowel pattern turns a scary list into a few learnable families.
- Strong Pattern: i – e – i (skriva, bita)B1 — The cleanest strong class: infinitive i, past e, supine back to i — skriva/skrev/skrivit, bita/bet/bitit, gripa/grep/gripit, stiga/steg/stigit, rida/red/ridit, skina/sken/skinit. This is the same family as English write/wrote/written and bite/bit/bitten, so the cognate intuition transfers with only a vowel adjustment. The trap is regularising (*skrivade) or using the wrong supine vowel.
- gråta (to cry)B1 — gråta means 'to cry, to weep' and is a strong verb with an å–ä–å vowel pattern: gråta – gråter – grät – gråtit. The infinitive and supine keep å, but the past grät switches to ä.