Wiktionary

kunna

See also: kunnâ, and kúnna

Faroese

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Etymology

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From Old Norse kunna, from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃-.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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kunna (third person singular past indicative kundi, third person plural past indicative kundu, supine kunnað)

  1. can, to be able to
  2. to know

Conjugation

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Conjugation of kunna (irregular)
infinitive kunna
supine kunnað
participle — —
present past
first singular kann kundi
second singular kanst kundi
third singular kann kundi
plural kunnu/kunna kundu
imperative
singular —!
plural —!

Icelandic

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Etymology

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From Old Norse kunna, from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃-.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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kunna (preterite-present verb, third-person singular present indicative kann, third-person singular past indicative kunni, supine kunnað)

  1. to know (by heart), know a skill
    Hún kann enga þýsku.
    She doesn't know any German.
    Ég kunni þetta kvæði einu sinni utanað.
    I used to know this poem by heart.
  2. can: to know how to
    Um hvað ertu að tala? Auðvitað kann ég að synda.
    What are you talking about? Of course I can swim.
    Enginn er maður með mönnum nema hann kunni að skjóta.
    A man's not a man unless he knows how to shoot.
  3. may, might (denoting possibility)
    Þetta kann að vera of seint.
    It may already be too late.
    Viðbrögð hans kunna að virðast undarleg.
    His reaction might seem strange.

Conjugation

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kunna — active voice (germynd)
infinitive
(nafnháttur) 		að kunna
supine
(sagnbót) 		kunnað
present participle
(lýsingarháttur nútíðar) 		kunnandi
indicative
(framsöguháttur) 		subjunctive
(viðtengingarháttur)
present
(nútíð) 		ég kann við kunnum present
(nútíð) 		ég kunni við kunnum
þú kannt þið kunnið þú kunnir þið kunnið
hann, hún, það kann þeir, þær, þau kunna hann, hún, það kunni þeir, þær, þau kunni
past
(þátíð) 		ég kunni við kunnum past
(þátíð) 		ég kynni við kynnum
þú kunnir þið kunnuð þú kynnir þið kynnuð
hann, hún, það kunni þeir, þær, þau kunnu hann, hún, það kynni þeir, þær, þau kynnu
imperative
(boðháttur) 		- -
Forms with appended personal pronoun
- -
* Spoken form, usually not written; in writing, the unappended plural form (optionally followed by the full pronoun) is preferred.

Derived terms

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Derived terms
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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Inherited from Old Norse kunna, from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃-. Akin to English can.

Verb

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kunna (present tense kan, past tense kunne, past participle kunna)

  1. can, could
    Eg kan sjå deg.
    I can see you.
  2. might
    Eg kan komma, om eg får tid.
    I might come, if I can find the time.
  3. can (be able to)
    Eg kan spela fele.
    I can play the fiddle.
  4. to know
    Eg kan denne songen.
    I know this song.

References

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Old Frisian

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Etymology

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From Proto-West Germanic *kunnan.

Verb

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kunna

  1. to be able (to), can

Descendants

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  • North Frisian:
    Föhr-Amrum: kön
    Hallig: kune
    Helgoland: kan
    Mooring: koone
    Sylt: ken
  • Saterland Frisian: konne
  • West Frisian: kinne

Old Norse

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Etymology

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From Proto-Germanic *kunnaną. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know”).

Verb

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kunna

  1. to know, understand, be able to
  2. to know (by memory)
  3. to know, be familiar with (a person)

Conjugation

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Conjugation of kunna (preterite-present)
infinitive kunna
present participle kunnandi
past participle kunnaðr
indicative present past
1st-person singular kann kunna
2nd-person singular kannt kunnir
3rd-person singular kann kunni
1st-person plural kunnum kunnum
2nd-person plural kunnuð kunnuð
3rd-person plural kunnu kunnu
subjunctive present past
1st-person singular kunna kunna
2nd-person singular kunnir kunnir
3rd-person singular kunni kunni
1st-person plural kunnim kunnim
2nd-person plural kunnið kunnið
3rd-person plural kunni kunni
imperative present
2nd-person singular kunn
1st-person plural kunnum
2nd-person plural kunnuð
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Descendants

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References

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  • “kunna”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Old Swedish

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Etymology

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From Old Norse kunna, from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną.

Verb

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kunna

  1. can, to be able
  2. to know

Conjugation

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Conjugation of kunna (preterite-present)
present past
infinitive kunna —
participle kunnandi kunnit (ntr.)
active voice indicative subjunctive imperative indicative subjunctive
iæk kan kunni — kunni kunni
þū kant kunni kunn kunni kunni
han kan kunni — kunni kunni
vīr kunnum kunnum kunnum kunnum kunnum
īr kunnin kunnin kunnin kunnin kunnin
þēr kunnu kunnin — kunnu kunnin
mediopassive voice indicative subjunctive imperative indicative subjunctive
iæk — — — — —
þū — — — — —
han — — — — —
vīr — — — — —
īr — — — — —
þēr — — — — —

Descendants

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Swedish

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Etymology

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From Old Swedish kunna, from Old Norse kunna, from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃-.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /²kɵnːa/
  • Audio:(file)

Verb

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kunna (present kan, preterite kunde, supine kunnat)

  1. "to can", to be able to
    att kunna göra något
    to be able to do something
    Jag kan göra det
    I can do it
    Hon kan spela dragspel
    She can play the accordion
    Hur länge har hon kunnat spela dragspel?
    How long has she been able to play the accordion?
    Jag hade också spelat dragspel om jag (hade) kunnat
    I would also have played the accordion if I had been able to
    Kan du komma imorgon?
    Can you come tomorrow?
    Jag kunde knappt vänta
    I could hardly wait
  2. to know (have proficiency in or deeper knowledge of)
    Kan du tyska?
    Do you know German?
    Jag kan karate
    I know karate
    Jag kan svaret på fråga 3
    I know the answer to question 3 (can also be expressed with veta (“know”))
    Han kan sina knep
    He knows his tricks
    Han kan sina skräckfilmer och vann frågesporten
    He knows his horror movies and won the quiz
  3. to possibly be able to, can, could, might, may
    Det kan hända vem som helst
    It can happen to anyone
    Kan han vara den skyldige?
    Could he be the culprit?
    Ja, det kan vara han som gjorde det
    Yeah, it might/could be him who did it
    att kunna vara skyldig
    to possibly ("to be able to") be guilty (somewhat awkward, but to illustrate the idea)
    Kan det vara Nisse som står där borta?
    Could that be Nisse standing over there?
    Det här kan vara det godaste jag ätit
    This may be the most delicious thing I've ever eaten
  4. to be given permission to, "to can", "to may"
    Ni kan komma in nu
    You can/may come in now
    Du kan gå nu
    You may leave now (sounds more like an order in this example, like in English)

Usage notes

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The English verb know has several different translations in Swedish, and the correct choice is not always obvious:

  • veta – This is used mainly about theoretical knowledge (to know individual facts), while kunna also assumes ability, or even proficiency in the use of the knowledge.
  • veta om – To be aware of.
  • känna – To know about a person or their intentions (also: to recognize someone, to know someone's name).
  • känna till – About knowing a (small) specific piece of fact; be (loosely) aware of. May indicate that the facts are a bit distant or less important to the person.

Conjugation

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Conjugation of kunna (irregular)
Active Passive
Infinitive kunna —
Supine kunnat —
Imperative — —
Imper. plural1 — —
Present Past Present Past
Indicative kan kunde — —
Ind. plural1 kunna kunde — —
Subjunctive2 kunne kunde — —
Participles
Present participle kunnande
Past participle —
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

See also

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  • skulle (often appears together with kunna, especially in polite phrases)

References

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Anagrams

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