öppna

Öppna is a Swedish verb meaning to open or to uncover something, and it is used in both physical and figurative senses. It can refer to opening a door, a lid, a book, a file, or a program, as well as to initiating or making accessible something that was closed or hidden. The word also appears in common phrases such as öppna data (open data) and öppna möjligheter (open opportunities).

Etymology and cognates: öppna comes from Old Norse opna, and has cognates in other North Germanic languages, such as Norwegian åpne and Danish åbne. It is related to the English word open, reflecting shared Germanic roots.

Conjugation and forms: öppna is an irregular verb in its stems. In the present tense the form is öppnar (jag öppnar, du öppnar, han öppnar, vi öppnar, ni öppnar, de öppnar). The past tense is öppnade, and the supine (used with have/had for perfect tenses) is öppnat. The infinitive is öppna, and the imperative singular is öppna (as in Öppna dörren!). The participles include öppnat as the past participle, used with have (har öppnat).

Usage notes: The verb is extremely common in everyday Swedish and appears in literal and figurative contexts. In computing and media, öppna is used in menu phrases such as “Öppna filen” (Open the file) and in public discourse it appears in phrases like öppna källor or öppna data, indicating openness and accessibility.

See also: open data, open source, openness (öppenhet).