begynna

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

begynna (present tense begynner, past tense begynte, past participle begynt, present participle begynnande, imperative begynn)

1. Alternative form of begynne

Swedish

Etymology

From Middle Low German beginnen, from Old Saxon biginnan, from Proto-Germanic *biginnaną. Compare Danish begynde, Norwegian Bokmål begynne, Norwegian Nynorsk begynne, begynna, Low German begünnen, North Frisian begin, Saterland Frisian beginne, West Frisian begjinne, Scots begin, English begin, Dutch beginnen, Afrikaans begin and German beginnen.

Verb

begynna (present begynner, preterite begynte, supine begynt, imperative begynn)

1. (archaic except in the present participle "begynnande") to begin

   en begynnande flint

   thinning hair / receding hairline ("a beginning hairless-portion-of-the-scalp (like a bald spot, or portion more generally)")

Usage notes

• Usually archaic, though the present participle begynnande (beginning) is still fairly common, usually meaning incipient.
• If the conjugation were to follow that of känna, the past tense would be begynde, but begynte is much more common. Past participle begynt is used for both neuter and common gender (året är begynt, striden är begynt), but begynd can also be found.

Conjugation

Conjugation of begynna (weak)

	Active		Passive
Infinitive	begynna		begynnas
Supine	begynt		begynts
Imperative	begynn		—
Imper. plural1	begynnen		—
	Present	Past	Present	Past
Indicative	begynner	begynte	begynns, begynnes	begyntes
Ind. plural1	begynna	begynte	begynnas	begyntes
Subjunctive2	begynne	begynte	begynnes	begyntes
	Participles
Present participle	begynnande
Past participle	begynd
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Synonyms

• börja
• starta
• sätta i gång

Derived terms

• begynnelse

References

• begynna in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• begynna in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• begynna in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)