Jag hade tänkt att sortera pappren efter etikett, men jag hann inte.

Jag hade tänkt literally means I had thought, but in this kind of sentence it usually means I had intended, I had planned, or I was going to.

So:

• Jag hade tänkt att sortera pappren ...
  = I had planned/intended to sort the papers ...

Swedish often uses hade tänkt att + infinitive to talk about an earlier intention that did not happen, or that is being mentioned as a plan that existed before something else got in the way.

In this sentence, that fits well because the second part is:

• men jag hann inte
  = but I didn’t have time / didn’t manage to

So the structure is basically:

• I had intended to do X, but I didn’t get around to it.

You can say Jag tänkte sortera pappren ..., but Jag tänkte att sortera ... is not natural Swedish.

Here is the difference:

• Jag tänkte sortera pappren.
  = I was thinking of sorting / I intended to sort the papers.

• Jag hade tänkt att sortera pappren.
  = I had intended to sort the papers.

The version with hade tänkt sounds a bit more clearly like the plan existed before and then was not carried out.

A useful rule:

• tänka + infinitive → possible
  
  • Jag tänkte gå.
• ha tänkt att + infinitive → very common
  
  • Jag hade tänkt att gå.

But:

• Jag tänkte att sortera ... → not idiomatic in this meaning

Because tänkte att usually introduces a full clause, such as:

• Jag tänkte att det var bäst att vänta.
  = I thought it was best to wait.

Here, att is the infinitive marker, like to in English.

• att sortera = to sort

So:

• Jag hade tänkt att sortera pappren
  = I had intended to sort the papers

In Swedish, some verb constructions use att before the infinitive, while others do not.

Examples:

• Jag vill sortera pappren.
  = I want to sort the papers.
  (no att after vill)

• Jag hade tänkt att sortera pappren.
  = I had intended to sort the papers.
  (att is normal here)

So this is not something you can always translate word-for-word from English; it depends on the verb pattern.

Pappren is the definite plural form of papper in a common spoken and written variant.

• ett papper = a paper
• papper = papers
• pappren or papperen = the papers

Both pappren and papperen occur, but pappren is very common and sounds natural in everyday Swedish.

This shortening happens with some neuter nouns ending in -er:

• papper → pappren
• äppel is not a standard noun, so don’t generalize too mechanically

For learners, the important point is:

• pappren = the papers

and it is not a mistake.

Not necessarily. In Swedish, a singular noun is often used after a preposition when describing a system, category, or method.

So:

• efter etikett
  literally according to label but more naturally by label or according to the label

This is similar to how English might say:

• sort by color
• arrange by category
• file by date

Those nouns are also singular in English even though many items are involved.

So efter etikett means the sorting principle is the label.

Depending on context, Swedish might also use other expressions, such as:

• sortera pappren efter etiketter
• sortera pappren efter deras etiketter

But efter etikett is understandable as a general method: by label.

Here, efter means something like:

• according to
• by
• based on

So:

• sortera pappren efter etikett
  = sort the papers by label

This use of efter is common when talking about arrangement or classification:

• sortera efter namn = sort by name
• ordna efter storlek = arrange by size
• gruppera efter färg = group by color

So efter does not mean after in a time sense here. It means according to some criterion.

Hann is the past tense of hinna.

Hinna means:

• to have time to
• to manage to
• to get around to

So:

• jag hann inte
  can mean:
  • I didn’t have time
  • I didn’t manage to
  • I didn’t get around to it

All of these are close in meaning here.

Examples:

• Jag hann inte äta frukost.
  = I didn’t have time to eat breakfast.

• Hon hann precis till tåget.
  = She just managed to catch the train.

So hinna often combines the ideas of time and successful completion.

Because the missing verb is understood from the earlier part of the sentence.

The full idea is:

• Jag hade tänkt att sortera pappren efter etikett, men jag hann inte [sortera pappren efter etikett].

Swedish, like English, often leaves out repeated material when it is obvious.

Compare English:

• I wanted to call her, but I didn’t.

You do not need to repeat call her because it is already understood.

Same in Swedish:

• Jag ville ringa henne, men jag gjorde inte det.
• Jag hade tänkt att sortera pappren, men jag hann inte.

So the sentence is perfectly complete even without repeating the infinitive.

Because hann is the finite verb in the main clause, and in Swedish main clauses, inte usually comes after the finite verb.

So:

• jag hann inte

follows the normal pattern:

• subject + finite verb + negation

Examples:

• Jag vet inte. = I don’t know.
• Hon kommer inte. = She isn’t coming.
• Vi hann inte. = We didn’t have time / didn’t manage.

This is a very important Swedish word-order rule.

Not in this sentence. Men means but, and the clause after it keeps normal main-clause word order:

• men jag hann inte

That is:

• men
  • subject + finite verb + inte

This is different from some subordinating conjunctions, where Swedish changes the position of inte.

Compare:

• Jag hann inte.
  main clause

• ... eftersom jag inte hann.
  subordinate clause

In subordinate clauses, inte usually comes before the finite verb.

So one useful contrast is:

• men jag hann inte
• eftersom jag inte hann

Yes, very often.

In Swedish, jag hade tänkt att ... can soften what you say. It can make an intention sound less abrupt, less forceful, or more tentative.

Examples:

• Jag hade tänkt att fråga en sak.
  = I was going to ask something.
• Jag hade tänkt att komma förbi senare.
  = I had planned to stop by later.

In your sentence, though, it mainly expresses an unrealized plan. But learners should know that this structure is also common in polite or softened speech.

Yes, it is natural.

Especially natural parts are:

• Jag hade tänkt att ...
• men jag hann inte

Those are very common everyday patterns.

The one part that might vary depending on context is efter etikett. It is understandable, but in some situations a native speaker might choose a slightly more specific phrase, for example:

• efter etiketter
• efter deras etiketter
• utifrån etikett

That depends on what exactly is meant by label and how formal or precise the speaker wants to be.

But overall, the sentence is absolutely normal and understandable Swedish.

In normal speech, pappren is typically pronounced roughly like PAP-pren, with the stress on the first syllable.

A learner-friendly approximation is:

• pappren ≈ PAHP-pren

The middle vowel is reduced compared with papperen, which is one reason the shorter form exists.

A few pronunciation notes:

• jag is often pronounced more like yah in casual speech
• hade often sounds like HA-de
• tänkt has a clear t at the end in careful speech
• hann has a short vowel and a long n
• inte is often pronounced IN-te

You do not need perfect phonetics right away, but it is useful to recognize that everyday pronunciation is often a bit more compressed than the spelling suggests.

Yes. Etikett can also mean etiquette, as in social manners.

So the word has two common meanings:

• etikett = label, tag
• etikett = etiquette, manners

In your sentence, the meaning is clearly label, because it appears with sortera pappren.

Examples:

• Det sitter en etikett på flaskan.
  = There is a label on the bottle.

• Han kan ingenting om etikett.
  = He knows nothing about etiquette.

This is a useful vocabulary note because English has the same double meaning through related words.