søka

Søka is a form of the Scandinavian verb meaning "to seek" or "to apply", encountered chiefly as a dialectal or non-standard variant of the Norwegian verb søke and in some Nynorsk-adjacent usage. It carries the same core meanings as søke: to look for or search, to request or apply for something (for example, to søka jobb or to søka om tillatelse), and more generally to pursue or attempt.

Etymology and cognates trace søka back to Old Norse sækja, and it is cognate with English seek and German suchen, reflecting a common Germanic origin. Pronunciation follows Norwegian phonology, typically realized with an initial ø vowel.

Grammatically, søka appears as an infinitive or as an element in colloquial conjugations and idiomatic expressions; standard written Norwegian more commonly uses søke (Bokmål) or søkje/søkja (Nynorsk variants depending on norm). Regional speech communities may prefer søka in everyday conversation, and the form can be found in dialect literature and oral transcripts.

Because söka is a variant rather than a separate lexical entry in most standardized Norwegian grammars, written usage is limited in formal contexts, yet it remains a recognizable and productive form within spoken varieties and informal writing.