åka

See also: Appendix:Variations of "aka"

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish aka, from Old Norse aka, from Proto-Germanic *akaną. Cognate with Danish age. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-. Doublet of agera, which was borrowed from Latin agō, from the same ultimate Proto-Indo-European source.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈoːka/
Audio: (file)

Verb

åka (present åker, preterite åkte, supine åkt, imperative åk)

to go by using something more/else than the human or animal body, for example a vehicle, skis, or skates; to go, to ride, etc.
att åka skateboard ― to ride a skateboard

att åka skidor ― to ski

att åka skridskor ― to ice skate

att åka buss ― to take the bus

att åka hiss ― to take the elevator

– Hur kom ni hit? – Vi åkte bil.
– How did you get here? – We went by car.

Dags att åka hem. ― Time to go home [with a vehicle, skis, skates, etc.]

Dags att gå hem. ― Time to go home [on foot].
1. to ride (an amusement ride or the like)
  att åka bergochdalbana ― to ride a roller coaster
to go (by sliding), to slide
Synonym: (places more emphasis on the sliding as opposed to the going) glida

Jag åkte nedför backen på ändan. ― I went down the hill on my butt.

Hjälmen åkte ner framför ögonen. ― My helmet slipped down over [in front of] my eyes.
to go (by being driven in some sense, focusing on the "riding" (movement, etc.) rather than the "driving" (action of moving, etc.))
Rullgardinen åkte upp. ― The roller blind went up.

Varje gång vi är hos Nisse åker dragspelet fram.
Every time we're at Nisse's, the accordion comes [goes] out.

Jag hoppade in i bilen och körde / åkte mot Säffle. (focus on either the driving or the riding – somewhat interchangeable)
I jumped into the car and drove / went towards Säffle.
2. (usually with ut (“out”) or the like) to be driven, to be run ((usually) out, away, or the like – be made to leave, by commanding to leave, through physical means, or the like – compare köra (“drive”))
  – Körde vakterna ut honom? – Ja, han åkte ut med ändan före. (idiomatic)
  – Did the bouncers kick him out? – Yeah, he was kicked out [went out] butt first.
(intransitive) to leave, to depart
Vi åker nu. ― We are leaving now [with a vehicle, skis, skates, etc.].

Vi går nu. ― We are leaving now [on foot].

Usage notes

To ride a horse or other mount is to rida. Saying "åka häst" makes a horse sound like a vehicle, or like something you strap to your feet or the like.
Riding a bike is to cykla.
Sometimes somewhat interchangeable with köra (“drive”), like in English.

Conjugation

Conjugation of *åka* (weak)
	active		passive
infinitive	åka		—
supine	åkt		—
imperative	åk		—
imper. plural¹	åken		—
	present	past	present	past
indicative	åker	åkte	—	—
ind. plural¹	åka	åkte	—	—
subjunctive²	åke	åkte	—	—

present participle		åkande
past participle		—

¹ Archaic. ² Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Related terms

References