tänka means "to think" — but only one kind of thinking. English packs opinion, belief, and mental activity into the single word "think"; Swedish splits them across three verbs. tänka is the pondering / intending verb: thinking about something, or planning to do it. It's a regular Group 2 verb with a voiceless k-stem, so its past is tänkte.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tänka | tänker | tänkte | tänkt | tänk | Group 2 (-te) |
The present is the stem plus -er (tänk- → tänker). The past is tänkte: the stem tänk- ends in k, voiceless, so the ending is -te. The supine is tänkt (har tänkt), and the imperative is the bare stem tänk! ("Think!").
The three "think" verbs: tänka vs tycka vs tro
This is the heart of the matter. Choose your "think" verb by what kind of thinking it is:
| Verb | Meaning | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| tänka | think / ponder / intend | mental activity; tänka på = think about; tänker + infinitive = intend to |
| tycka | think = have an opinion | "I think the film was good" — a personal judgement |
| tro | think = believe | "I think it'll rain" — a guess or belief about a fact |
If you can replace English "think" with "reckon / believe," use tro. If you can replace it with "in my opinion," use tycka. If it's literally the act of thinking, or a plan, use tänka.
Jag tycker att filmen var fantastisk.
I think the film was fantastic. tycka — a personal opinion, a judgement.
Jag tror att det blir regn imorgon.
I think it'll rain tomorrow. tro — a belief/guess about a fact, not an opinion.
Jag tänker på det hela tiden.
I think about it all the time. tänka — actual mental activity, dwelling on something.
Use 1: tänka på — to think ABOUT something
To think about something, Swedish uses tänka på ("think on"). The preposition på is fixed here — not om, not över (though tänka över, "think over / consider," also exists).
Vad tänker du på?
What are you thinking about? tänka på — the standard 'think about' phrase.
Hon tänkte på sin barndom när hon hörde låten.
She thought about her childhood when she heard the song. tänkte på — past tense, voiceless k → -te.
Jag har tänkt mycket på vad du sa.
I've thought a lot about what you said. har tänkt på — perfect, supine tänkt.
Use 2: tänka + infinitive — to intend / plan to
This is the construction English speakers most often miss. tänker plus a bare infinitive (no att) means "intend to," "be going to," "plan to." Jag tänker resa = "I'm going to / I intend to travel." It expresses your own plan or determination.
Jag tänker resa till Japan i sommar.
I'm going to travel to Japan this summer. tänker + bare infinitive = intend/plan to. No att!
Vi tänkte inte säga något, men det blev fel.
We didn't intend to say anything, but it went wrong. tänkte + infinitive in the past = 'intended to'.
Hur länge tänker du stanna?
How long are you planning to stay? tänka + infinitive for asking about someone's plans.
Use 3: tänka om — to reconsider / think again
The particle verb tänka om means "to reconsider," "to think again," "change your mind." (Note it's tänka om, distinct from tänka på.)
Du borde tänka om innan du tackar nej.
You should think it over again before you say no. tänka om — reconsider, change your mind.
Common Mistakes
❌ Han tänkade på saken länge.
Incorrect — tänka is Group 2, not Group 1; the past is tänkte, not *tänkade.
✅ Han tänkte på saken länge.
He thought about the matter for a long time.
❌ Jag tänker att filmen var bra.
Wrong 'think' — for an opinion use tycka: jag tycker att filmen var bra.
✅ Jag tycker att filmen var bra.
I think the film was good.
❌ Jag tänker att det regnar imorgon.
Wrong 'think' — for a belief/guess use tro: jag tror att det regnar imorgon.
✅ Jag tror att det regnar imorgon.
I think it'll rain tomorrow.
❌ Jag tänker att resa i sommar.
Drop the att — 'intend to' is tänker + bare infinitive: jag tänker resa.
✅ Jag tänker resa i sommar.
I'm going to travel this summer.
❌ Vad tänker du om?
Wrong particle — 'think about' is tänka på: vad tänker du på? (tänka om = reconsider).
✅ Vad tänker du på?
What are you thinking about?
- bare infinitive = intend to. Keep it distinct from tycka (opinion) and tro (belief). Voiceless k-stem → -te past: tänkte, har tänkt.
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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.
- The Four Conjugation GroupsA2 — Swedish verbs sort into four conjugation classes, identified not by the present tense but by the PAST (preteritum) and supine: Group 1 (talar/talade/talat), Group 2 (ringer/ringde/ringt, köper/köpte/köpt), Group 3 (bor/bodde/bott), and Group 4, the strong verbs (skriver/skrev/skrivit) that change their vowel. Group 1 is so dominant and regular that every new and borrowed verb joins it — so treat it as the default and memorise only the closed list of strong verbs.
- Verb + Preposition GovernmentB2 — Many Swedish verbs demand a specific, unpredictable preposition: tänka på (think about), vänta på (wait for), tro på (believe in), be om (ask for), tycka om (like), längta efter (long for), bero på (depend on). The governed preposition rarely matches English's, and it's unstressed (unlike a particle), so these combinations are vocabulary items you learn as whole units.