köra

See also: Appendix:Variations of "kora"

Swedish

Etymology 1

From Old Swedish kø̄ra, from Old Norse keyra (“to drive, fling, toss”), from Proto-Germanic *kaurijaną, *karjaną (“to turn, sweep”). More at cair.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²ɕœ̞ːra/

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

köra (present kör, preterite körde, supine kört, imperative kör)

1. to drive ((of) a (motorized) vehicle)

   Man kör bilar och båtar och pansarvagnar

   You drive cars and boats and tanks

   Vi har kört i fem timmar

   We've been driving for five hours

   Bilen körde mot oss

   The car drove towards us

   Jag råkade köra över en katt

   I accidentally ran [drove] over a cat

   köra på någon

   hit someone with a vehicle

   köra ifrån någon

   outrun someone

   köra i diket

   drive into the ditch

   • 1993, Ronny & Ragge (lyrics and music), “Köra fort som fan [Drive fast as hell]”, in Let's Pök! [Let's Bone!]‎^[1]:

     Vi ska köra, köra fort som fan. Köra runt med bilen genom hela stan. Vi ska köra, köra fort som fan. Sladda loss och börna genom hela stan ikväll.

     We will [shall] drive, drive fast as hell. Drive around with the car through the whole town. We will drive, drive fast as hell. Drift [skid loose] and burn rubber through the whole town tonight.

2. to run (machinery or the like – or sometimes in a more general sense by extension)

   Maskinen blir väldigt varm medan den körs

   The machine gets very hot while running [while it is being run] (see also drift)

   Kör inte tvättmaskinen tom

   Don't run the washing machine empty

   Han körde igång tvättmaskinen mitt i natten

   He started the washing machine in the middle of the night

   Kör igång filmen!

   Start the movie!

   På tisdag kör vi igång med ett nytt projekt

   On Tuesday, we're kicking off a new project

   När kör ni igång?

   When do you start?

   1. (computing) to run, to execute

      Kör programmet genom att klicka på ikonen

      Run the program by clicking the icon

      Programmet tar tio minuter att köra

      The program takes ten minutes to run

      Programmet körs

      The program is being run

3. (often with a particle specifying a direction) to drive (push)

   Jag körde in min armbåge i hans mage

   I drove my elbow into his stomach

   Jag körde upp mitt knä i hans skrev

   I drove my knee into his crotch

   Jag råkade köra en skruvmejsel genom vägen

   I accidentally drove a screwdriver through the wall

   De körde in en plastslang i min mun

   They drove a plastic tube into my mouth

5. (usually with ut (“out”) or the like) to drive, to run ((usually) away, out, or the like – get to leave, by commanding to leave, through physical means, or the like – compare åka)

   De körde ut banditerna ur staden

   They ran the bandits out of town

   Hon blev utkörd ur föreläsningssalen

   She was kicked out of [out-driven out of] the lecture hall

   Kör bort fåglarna innan de äter upp jordgubbarna!

   Chase away the birds before they eat the strawberries!

   köra barnen i säng

   take ["drive" – bit more forceful-sounding] the children to bed

   – Körde vakterna ut honom? – Ja, han åkte ut med ändan före.

   – Did the bouncers kick him out? – Yeah, he was kicked out [went out] butt first [idiomatic].

6. (somewhat colloquial, often with på) to go for (a particular option or the like) (not to be confused with köra på as a particle verb)

   – Ska vi köra på den gula tapeten? – Ja, vi kör på den!

   – Shall we go for the yellow wallpaper? – Yeah, let's go for that one!

   Jag tror det finns bättre sätt, men okej då, vi kör på det

   I think there are better ways, but alright, let's go with that

7. (somewhat colloquial) to do (utilize or the like)

   Vi tänker köra ett nytt kebabsåsrecept på festen

   We are going to do a new kebab sauce recipe at the party

   Kör kulsprutan först, och sen en bomb när monstret är försvagat

   Use the machine gun first, and then a bomb when the monster is weakened

   Jag körde mikron istället för ugnen för att värma upp maten

   I used [did] the microwave instead of the oven to reheat the food [warm it up]

   Hon kör sitt gamla trick

   She's doing her old trick

8. (in some expressions) to go, to do it

   Nu kör vi!

   Let's go! (idiomatic)

   Kör, grabbar!

   Go / Do it, boys!

9. (colloquial) to flunk, to fail (an exam or the like)

   Jag körde tentan

   I flunked the exam

   Synonym: kugga

Usage notes

See bil for car-related terms.

Conjugation

Conjugation of köra (weak)

	Active		Passive
Infinitive	köra		köras
Supine	kört		körts
Imperative	kör		—
Imper. plural1	kören		—
	Present	Past	Present	Past
Indicative	kör	körde	körs, köres	kördes
Ind. plural1	köra	körde	köras	kördes
Subjunctive2	köre	körde	köres	kördes
	Participles
Present participle	körande
Past participle	körd
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Derived terms

• körkort
• körlektion
• påkörning
• påkörningslast

 

Descendants

• → Finnish: köraa

See also

• köra ifrån, köra in, köra med, köra på, köra upp, köra ut, köra över, köra ihop sig

Etymology 2

From the noun kör (“choir”), from Latin chorus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²kœ̞ːra/

Verb

köra (present körar, preterite körade, supine körat, imperative köra)

1. to sing in a choir
2. to sing as a backing vocalist

Conjugation

Conjugation of köra (weak)

	Active		Passive
Infinitive	köra		—
Supine	körat		—
Imperative	köra		—
Imper. plural1	kören		—
	Present	Past	Present	Past
Indicative	körar	körade	—	—
Ind. plural1	köra	körade	—	—
Subjunctive2	köre	körade	—	—
	Participles
Present participle	körande
Past participle	—
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Derived terms

• körlektion

Related terms

• kör
• körd

See also

• åka (“ride”)

References

• köra in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• köra in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• köra in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
• köra in Reverso Context (Swedish-English)

Anagrams

• köar, röka, ökar