befinna

Swedish

Etymology

From Middle Low German bevinden, from Old Saxon bifindan. Equivalent to be- +‎ finna. Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål befinne, Danish befinde, German befinden, Dutch bevinden (“to find”), English befind and Saterland Frisian befiende (“to be located”).

Verb

befinna (present befinner, preterite befann, supine befunnit, imperative befinn)

1. (reflexive, somewhat formal) to be located (at); to be (positioned) at

   Vi befinner oss nu på den plats där Martin Luther King höll sitt berömda tal.

   We find ourselves now at the precise spot where Martin Luther King held his famous speech.

2. (reflexive) to be in a specific (non-permanent) state or condition

   Ett objekt som befinner sig i rörelse kommer att förbli i rörelse försåvitt det inte verkas på av en yttre obalanserad kraft.

   An object which is in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an external and unbalanced force

   Antag att vi har en atom som befinner sig i sitt grundtillstånd.

   Suppose that we have an atom in its ground state.

Usage notes

One can, in both senses, replace it with a form of vara (“to be”), however this may give an impression of informality or even outright sloppiness, in particular in the second sense.

Conjugation

Conjugation of befinna (class 3 strong)

	active		passive
infinitive	befinna		befinnas
supine	befunnit		befunnits
imperative	befinn		—
imper. plural1	befinnen		—
	present	past	present	past
indicative	befinner	befann	befinns, befinnes	befanns
ind. plural1	befinna	befunno	befinnas	befunnos
subjunctive2	befinne	befunne	befinnes	befunnes
present participle		befinnande
past participle		befunnen

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

Further reading

• befinna in Svensk ordbok.