begynna

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

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

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)

(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

Derived terms

begynnelse

References