tina (to thaw, defrost) | Swedish Grammar

tina means "to thaw" or "to defrost." It is a regular Group 1 verb, so every form is built by rule, and it is unusually flexible: the same verb works both transitively (you thaw something — tina köttet) and intransitively (something thaws — snön tinar). Its opposite is the strong verb frysa ("to freeze").

Principal parts

Infinitive	Present	Preteritum (past)	Supine	Imperative	Group
tina	tinar	tinade	tinat	tina	Group 1

This is the regular -ar / -ade / -at pattern. The present is tinar, the past tinade, and the supine — the form after har — is tinat (har tinat). The imperative is the bare stem: Tina! ("Thaw it!").

Use 1: transitive — thawing something

Used transitively, tina takes a direct object: you thaw the meat, the bread, the berries. This is the kitchen sense.

Jag tinar köttet i kylen över natten.

I thaw the meat in the fridge overnight. tinar + a direct object — the transitive use.

Hon tinade bären innan hon bakade pajen.

She defrosted the berries before baking the pie. tinade — the regular Group 1 past.

Har du tinat brödet än?

Have you defrosted the bread yet? har tinat — the perfect, supine tinat after har.

Use 2: intransitive — something thawing on its own

Used without an object, tina describes something thawing by itself — snow, ice, frozen ground in spring. No object, no preposition.

Snön tinar redan i mars här.

The snow already thaws in March here. tinar with no object — the intransitive use.

Isen på sjön har börjat tina.

The ice on the lake has started to thaw. tina as a bare intransitive infinitive after börjat.

Marken tinade långsamt när våren kom.

The ground thawed slowly when spring came. tinade — intransitive past.

tina upp — to thaw out (literally and figuratively)

The particle verb tina upp means "to thaw out" or "warm up." It is used for food and weather, but also figuratively of a person who is shy or reserved at first and then warms up and becomes friendly.

Låt fisken tina upp innan du steker den.

Let the fish thaw out before you fry it. tina upp — literal 'thaw out'.

Han var tyst i början, men tinade upp efter en stund.

He was quiet at first but warmed up after a while. tina upp — figurative, of a shy person.

tina vs frysa

tina and frysa are opposites. tina is a regular Group 1 verb (tinade, tinat); frysa is a strong verb with a vowel change (frös, frusit) — so don't expect frysa to behave like tina. Cold makes things frysa (freeze); warmth makes them tina (thaw).

Vattnet fryser på natten och tinar på dagen.

The water freezes at night and thaws during the day. frysa ↔ tina, the opposites side by side.

Common Mistakes

❌ Jag tiner köttet. (Group 2 ending)

Incorrect — tina is Group 1, so the present is tinar (-ar), not *tiner (-er).

✅ Jag tinar köttet.

I thaw the meat.

❌ Snön tinde i solen. (bare -de)

Incorrect — Group 1 takes the full -ade. The past is tinade, not *tinde.

✅ Snön tinade i solen.

The snow thawed in the sun.

❌ Jag måste tina köttet, så det blir fruset först.

Wrong direction — frysa means 'freeze', the opposite. To unfreeze is tina.

✅ Jag måste tina köttet, så det blir mjukt.

I have to thaw the meat so it gets soft.

❌ Han tinade efter en stund. (missing particle for the figurative sense)

For 'warmed up' as a person, the particle is needed: tina upp. Bare tina here suggests literal thawing.

✅ Han tinade upp efter en stund.

He warmed up after a while.

💡

tina is a fully regular Group 1 verb — tina – tinar – tinade – tinat — and it works both ways: transitive (tina köttet) and intransitive (isen tinar). The particle verb tina upp adds a lovely figurative sense: a shy person who tinar upp warms up and opens up. Its opposite, frysa ("freeze"), is a strong verb — so they don't conjugate alike.

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