lägga

See also: lagga and lággá

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish læggia, from Old Norse leggja, from Proto-Germanic *lagjaną. Causative of *ligjaną (see ligga).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /²lɛɡa/
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -²ɛɡa

Verb

lägga (present lägger, preterite lade, la, supine lagt, imperative lägg)

to place lying (to lay) somewhere, to place/put in a lying position (not in a standing position); in particular used like the English put for things that either lie down flat or where the eventual orientation does not matter, such as in a heap
Lägg jeansen på sängen! ― Put the jeans on the bed!

Lägg boken på bordet! ― Put the book on the table! (Assumed to mean lying down in English.)

Ställ boken på bordet! ― Put the book upright on the table!

Lägg boken i högen! ― Put the book in the heap!

Lägg korten på bordet! ― Put your cards on the table!
to put (into a bag, in a pocket, or in a box of some kind)
Synonyms: lägga ner, stoppa, stoppa ner

Jag är säker på att jag lade nyckeln i fickan
I'm positive I put the key in my pocket
(reflexive, sometimes with ner) to lie down; to assume a reclining position
Sara mådde illa och fick lägga sig (ner) en stund
Sara felt sick and had to lie down for a while
(transitive) to put to bed
Synonyms: (about small children) stoppa om (“tuck in”), (about small children) natta

När brukar ni lägga barnen?
At what time do you usually put the kids to bed?
(reflexive) to go to bed; to go to sleep
Synonyms: gå och lägga sig, gå till sängs, hoppa i säng, knyta sig, krypa till kojs, törna in

Jag tänker lägga mig tidigt ikväll
I intend to go to bed early tonight
(usually with på) to expend (some resource, like money or time or energy, towards some goal)
Synonyms: lägga ner, (mostly about money) spendera

Jag har lagt tusentals timmar på projektet
I have spent thousands of hours on the project
(reflexive, about snow) to accumulate on the ground without melting
Snön hade inte lagt sig än
The snow hadn't settled yet
(reflexive, about bodies of water) to freeze
Vättern lägger sig inte varje år.
Vättern doesn't freeze every year.
to lay; to install for example flooring or a roof
Vi har lagt nytt tak
We've put on a new roof
to lay (an egg)
Fågeln har bara lagt ett ägg
The bird has only laid one egg
(card games) to play (a card)
Synonym: spela ut

Mormor lade ruter sju
Grandma played the seven of diamonds
(card games, reflexive) to fold; to cease to take further part in a certain deal; to withdraw from further betting
Mormor vann när alla lade sig
Grandma won when everybody folded
(reflexive, with a preposition) to position oneself, with respect to someone else who is moving in the same direction
När det var ett varv kvar lade han sig precis bakom ledaren
When there was one lap to go, he placed himself right behind the leader
to fold into a shape suitable for storage (about large pieces of fabric, e.g. sheets or larger table cloths)
Synonym: (also about clothing in general) vika ihop

Usage notes

See the usage notes for ställa for comparisons between these verbs.

Conjugation

Conjugation of lägga (weak)

	Active		Passive
Infinitive	lägga		läggas
Supine	lagt		lagts
Imperative	lägg		—
Imper. plural¹	läggen		—
	Present	Past	Present	Past
Indicative	lägger	lade	läggs, lägges	lades
Ind. plural¹	lägga	lade	läggas	lades
Subjunctive²	lägge	lade	lägges	lades
	Participles
Present participle	läggande
Past participle	lagd
¹ Archaic. ² Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Related terms

References

lägga in Svensk ordbok (SO)
lägga in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
lägga in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
lägga in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)