inte

Inte is a Swedish negation adverb meaning "not." It functions to negate verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or entire clauses, making it one of the most common elements in Swedish sentences. In addition to its plain negation use, inte appears in fixed phrases such as inte längre (no longer) and inte alls (not at all).

In sentence structure, inte typically follows the finite verb in main clauses: Jag gillar inte kaffe (I don’t like coffee). With auxiliary verbs, the position follows the standard word order: Jag har inte sett filmen (I have not seen the film). In subordinate clauses, inte can negate the main clause or the subclause depending on emphasis: Jag tror inte att han kommer (I don’t think that he will come) versus Jag tror att han inte kommer (I think that he will not come). The choice affects nuance: the former negates the entire proposition, the latter stresses the verb in the subclause.

Historically and linguistically, inte is a pure negation particle in Swedish. It is distinct from other Germanic negations such as Norwegian ikke and Danish ikke, which serve similar roles in their respective languages but are not interchangeable with Swedish inte.

In everyday use, inte also appears as an interjection in short responses, meaning simply "No!" or used to refute a suggestion: Inte! In written and spoken Swedish, inte is spelled as a single word and does not inflect for tense or number.

Overall, inte is central to negation in Swedish grammar, shaping meaning and emphasis across a wide range of sentences.