kunna

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈkʰʊnːa/
• Rhymes: -ʊnːa

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

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

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈkʰʏnːa/
• Rhymes: -ʏnːa

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.

• kunnur

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

1. Alternative form of kunne

From Proto-West Germanic *kunnan.

kunna

1. to be able (to), can

• North Frisian:

  Föhr-Amrum: kön

  Hallig: kune

  Helgoland: kan

  Mooring: koone

  Sylt: ken

• Saterland Frisian: konne
• West Frisian: kinne

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

kunna

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

• kenna
• kná
• kœnn

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

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

kunna

1. can, to be able
2. to know

• Swedish: kunna

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

• IPA^(key): /²kɵnːa/

kunna (present kan, preterite kunde, supine kunnat)

1. can, to be able to
2. to know, to have as knowledge
3. to know, to understand
4. to know how to do

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.

• unkna