lösa

Lösa is a Swedish verb with two primary senses. In everyday language it means to solve or resolve something, such as a problem, question, or task. It can also mean to loosen, undo, or free something that is bound or fixed, though the latter sense is less common in modern usage and often described with related verbs.

In the sense of solving, lösa is used with a range of objects: problems, riddles, tasks, or equations. Examples include “Vi måste lösa problemet” (We must solve the problem) and “Hur ska vi lösa gåtan?” (How shall we solve the riddle?). In perfect tenses the form is löst, as in “vi har löst problemet.” The verb is flexible for various contexts, including academic and practical problem solving.

Grammatically, lösa is a regular Swedish verb. Its principal conjugation is: infinitiv lösa, presens löser, preteritum löste, supinum löst, imperativ lös. It can appear with auxiliary verbs when forming tenses, for example “har löst” in the present perfect.

In the sense of loosening or undoing, lösa can describe freeing bindings or detaching something that is fastened. This usage is more limited and often found in phrases about undoing a knot or untying a bind. The core idea remains removing an obstacle or making something no longer fixed, though the common expression for unlocking a door is låsa upp rather than lösa.

Etymology and related terms: lösa is related to similar words in other Scandinavian languages, such as Danish løse and Norwegian løse. Related Swedish nouns include lösning (solution) and lösenord (password), both deriving from the same root concept of unlocking or finding a way through.