titta means "to look" or "to watch" — the verb for actively directing your eyes at something. Its single most important feature is the preposition it governs: you titta på something ("look at / watch"), where på literally means "on," not "at." That mismatch with English is the heart of this card. titta is a fully regular Group 1 verb.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| titta | tittar | tittade | tittat | titta | Group 1 |
Standard Group 1: present titta + r = tittar; past tittade; supine tittat (after har); imperative Titta! ("Look!"). The stem titt- never changes, and there is no agreement with the subject.
Use: titta på — look at / watch
The core construction is titta på — "look at" something, or "watch" (TV, a film, a match). The governed preposition is på. English "look at" tempts learners to reach for a word meaning "at," but Swedish fixes på here, and it is not optional.
Titta på den där fågeln!
Look at that bird! titta på — på is the fixed preposition, not a word for 'at'.
Vi tittar på en film ikväll.
We're watching a film tonight. titta på = 'watch' for screen media.
Barnen tittade på tecknat hela morgonen.
The kids watched cartoons all morning. tittade på — the regular Group 1 past.
Har du tittat på det nya avsnittet?
Have you watched the new episode? har tittat på — perfect, supine tittat.
Hon tittade länge på tavlan utan att säga något.
She looked at the painting for a long time without saying anything. tittade på + object of looking.
titta efter — look for / check
titta efter means "look for" something, or "check" / "have a look." The particle efter ("after") gives the sense of searching or checking.
Kan du titta efter om tåget är försenat?
Can you check whether the train is delayed? titta efter = 'check / have a look'.
Jag tittade efter mina nycklar överallt.
I looked everywhere for my keys. titta efter = 'look for'.
titta in — drop by
titta in means "drop by / pop in" — to make a brief visit. The particle in ("in") turns looking into a quick call-round.
Titta in när du har vägarna förbi!
Drop by when you're passing! titta in = 'pop in for a visit'.
titta vs se
This is the key distinction. titta is active looking — you deliberately direct your gaze. se is perceiving — you see something, whether or not you meant to, and it's also the verb for "watch" in some set phrases and for "understand / realise." Roughly: titta = English "look," se = English "see." You can titta på a painting (deliberately study it) and se a bird fly past (just notice it). Note that for watching films, both titta på (en film) and se (en film) are heard, with titta på leaning more "sit and watch" and se more "have seen / caught."
Jag tittade på honom, men han såg mig inte.
I looked at him, but he didn't see me. titta = active looking; se = perceiving. The contrast in one sentence.
Titta! Ser du regnbågen?
Look! Do you see the rainbow? titta (deliberately direct your eyes) vs se (perceive it).
Common Mistakes
❌ Jag tittar at fågeln.
Incorrect — Swedish doesn't use a word for English 'at' here; the fixed preposition is på: titta på.
✅ Jag tittar på fågeln.
I'm looking at the bird.
❌ Vi tittar en film. (dropping på)
Incorrect — titta needs på before its object: titta på en film. The preposition isn't optional.
✅ Vi tittar på en film.
We're watching a film.
❌ Jag ser på honom men han tittade mig inte. (se/titta swapped)
Off — use titta for deliberately looking and se for perceiving: Jag tittade på honom, men han såg mig inte.
✅ Jag tittade på honom, men han såg mig inte.
I looked at him, but he didn't see me.
❌ Jag titter på tv. (Group 2 ending)
Incorrect — titta is Group 1, present tittar (-ar), not *titter.
✅ Jag tittar på tv.
I'm watching TV.
Now practice Swedish
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
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.