Titta på hunden!

the dog

Breakdown of Titta på hunden!

• titta på: to look at

Questions & Answers about Titta på hunden!

Why do we say titta på rather than just titta?

In Swedish, titta needs the preposition på to mark what you’re looking at.

• Titta! = Look! (intransitive: no object)
• Titta på hunden! = Look at the dog! (transitive with a prepositional object)
  This pattern is the same with other perception verbs: lyssna på musiken, vänta på bussen, tro på Gud.

What’s the difference between titta, se, and kolla?

• titta (på) = look (at), an intentional act of directing your eyes. Very common and neutral.
• se = see; also used as watch. Takes a direct object: se en film, se solen.
• kolla (på) = check/look (at), casual/colloquial.
  Roughly: English look at ≈ titta på, see ≈ se, watch ≈ se or titta på (context decides).

Can I just say Titta! without på?

Yes. Titta! works on its own to get someone’s attention (Look!). As soon as you name what to look at, add på: Titta på hunden!. Saying Titta hunden! is ungrammatical.