stjäla is the Swedish verb "to steal," and it is genuinely irregular — there is no clean class to slot it into. Its principal parts run stjäla – stjäl – stal – stulit, marching through three different vowels: ä in the infinitive (stjäla), a in the past (stal), and u in the supine (stulit). On top of that the present stjäl drops the usual -er ending and just bares the stem. The spelling has its own hazard: stj- is the Swedish sje-sound, a soft breathy consonant — not "s + t + j" sounded out — so stjäla and stjärna ("star") begin the same way as sjö ("lake"). This card is one to memorise outright; the logic runs out and you simply learn the four forms.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| stjäla | stjäl | stal | stulit | stjäl | Irregular (strong), ä–a–u |
Read the vowels off carefully: infinitive stjäla (ä), present stjäl (ä, no -er), past stal (a), supine stulit (u). The agreeing past participle is stulen / stulet / stulna ("stolen"). Two surprises live here at once — the bare present stjäl (where most verbs would have stjäler) and the full ä → a → u vowel run. Drill the chant stjäla, stjäl, stal, stulit until it's automatic.
Han stjäl godis från affären nästan varje dag.
He steals sweets from the shop almost every day. stjäl — present, bare stem, vowel ä.
Någon stal min cykel utanför stationen.
Someone stole my bike outside the station. stal — past, vowel a.
De har stulit allt av värde i lägenheten.
They've stolen everything of value in the flat. har stulit — perfect, supine vowel u.
Use 1: present, past and perfect
The tenses follow the four principal parts. Mind the present: it is the bare stjäl, not stjäler. The past is stal (a); the perfect is har stulit, the pluperfect hade stulit.
Skatan stjäl gärna allt som glittrar.
The magpie happily steals anything that glitters. Present stjäl — note: no -er ending.
De stal bilen mitt på ljusa dagen.
They stole the car in broad daylight. stal — simple past with a.
Tjuven hade redan stulit smyckena innan larmet gick.
The thief had already stolen the jewellery before the alarm went off. hade stulit — pluperfect, supine stulit.
Use 2: stjäla från — steal FROM someone
To name the victim, stjäla governs från: stjäla något från någon ("steal something from someone"). The thing stolen is the direct object; the person robbed is introduced by från.
Det är fult att stjäla från sina vänner.
It's despicable to steal from your friends. stjäla från — infinitive.
Han stal pengar från kassan i flera månader.
He stole money from the till for months. stal från — past.
Någon har stulit min plånbok från väskan.
Someone has stolen my wallet from my bag. har stulit ... från — perfect.
Use 3: the participle stulen ('stolen') and the thief, en tjuv
The past participle stulen is the everyday word for "stolen," agreeing with its noun: en stulen bil (a stolen car), ett stulet pass (a stolen passport), stulna varor (stolen goods). The agent of the verb — the person who steals — is not built from stjäla at all; it is the separate noun en tjuv ("a thief"), itself written with the tj- spelling for the tje-sound.
Polisen hittade en stulen bil i skogen.
The police found a stolen car in the woods. stulen — en-word participle.
Att köpa stulna varor är också ett brott.
Buying stolen goods is a crime too. stulna — plural participle.
Tjuven greps med det stulna i fickan.
The thief was caught with the stolen goods in his pocket. tjuv (the thief) + det stulna (the stolen items).
Watch the bli-passive: a thing that gets stolen is bli stulen (Cykeln blev stulen — "the bike got stolen"), but a person who is robbed is bli bestulen — the participle of the related verb bestjäla, governing på: bli bestulen på något ("be robbed of something"). Swedish keeps the victim and the object on different verbs.
Cykeln blev stulen utanför skolan.
The bike got stolen outside the school. bli stulen — the thing is the subject.
Hon blev bestulen på hela sin lön.
She was robbed of her entire wages. bli bestulen på — the person is the subject, robbed of something.
Common Mistakes
❌ Han stjäler godis varje dag.
Incorrect — the present is the bare stjäl, with no -er. Only the infinitive ends in -a (stjäla).
✅ Han stjäl godis varje dag.
He steals sweets every day.
❌ Någon stjälade min cykel.
Incorrect — stjäla is irregular and takes no -ade ending. The past is stal.
✅ Någon stal min cykel.
Someone stole my bike.
❌ De har stal allt.
Incorrect — after har you need the supine stulit, not the past stal.
✅ De har stulit allt.
They have stolen everything.
❌ Polisen hittade en stalen bil. (wrong participle vowel)
Incorrect — the participle is stulen with u, not the past's a. Steal → stolen takes u.
✅ Polisen hittade en stulen bil.
The police found a stolen car.
Now practice Swedish
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Start learning Swedish→Related Topics
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