käfta

Swedish

Etymology

From käft (“jaw, mouth”) +‎ -a.

Verb

käfta (present käftar, preterite käftade, supine käftat, imperative käfta)

  1. (colloquial) to bicker (argue in a nonproductive and somewhat heated way)
    Synonyms: käbbla, smågräla
    De käftar med varandra hela tiden. Jag tror deras förhållande spricker.
    They're bickering all the time. I don't think their relationship will last.
    Jag har inte tid att käfta med dig
    I don't have time to argue with you
  2. (colloquial) to mouth off (speak without discretion in a provoking manner)
    Han ska alltid käfta när han dricker
    He always starts mouthing off when he drinks

Usage notes

"To mouth" with a more animalistic word for mouth might provide intuition. See käft as well.

Conjugation

Conjugation of käfta (weak)
active passive
infinitive käfta käftas
supine käftat käftats
imperative käfta —
imper. plural1 käften —
present past present past
indicative käftar käftade käftas käftades
ind. plural1 käfta käftade käftas käftades
subjunctive2 käfte käftade käftes käftades
present participle käftande
past participle käftad

1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

See also

References

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