rycka

Swedish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Swedish rykka, rykkia, from Old Norse rykkja, from Proto-Germanic *rukkijaną. Doublet of rucka.

Pronunciation

Audio: (file)

Verb

rycka (present rycker, preterite ryckte, supine ryckt, imperative ryck)

to yank, to jerk, to pull quickly
rycka loss ett hårstrå
pull out [loose] a hair

rycka upp ogräs
pull up weeds

rycka i startsnöret till gräsklipparen
pull the starter cord of the lawnmower

rycka tag i någon
snatch a hold of someone
(usually impersonal) to twitch (of (part of) the body)
Det ryckte i hans arm
His arm was twitching

rycka i ögat
have an eye twitch

Han ryckte till
He flinched [twitched till (expresses a sudden and brief action)]
to move (quickly, with a purpose – see also dra)
Soldaterna ryckte fram i skydd av mörkret
The soldiers advanced under cover of darkness [pulled forth in protection of the darkness]
1. (especially sports) to suddenly increase one's speed; to make a dash
  rycka på upploppet
  make a dash on the home stretch
  1. (with ifrån) to pull away, to pull ahead (move into the lead or increase one's lead (move (further) away from competitors), as a consequence of increasing one's speed)
    Skidåkaren ryckte ifrån klungan
    The skier pulled away from the pack

Usage notes

Rycka and dra (“pull”) have some overlap with how pull is sometimes used for more general movement in English in (sense 3), though it's not perfect. You can't "rycka/dra" ("yank/pull") into a driveway, for example.

Conjugation

Conjugation of rycka (weak)

	Active		Passive
Infinitive	rycka		ryckas
Supine	ryckt		ryckts
Imperative	ryck		—
Imper. plural¹	rycken		—
	Present	Past	Present	Past
Indicative	rycker	ryckte	rycks, ryckes	rycktes
Ind. plural¹	rycka	ryckte	ryckas	rycktes
Subjunctive²	rycke	ryckte	ryckes	rycktes
	Participles
Present participle	ryckande
Past participle	ryckt
¹ Archaic. ² Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Conjugation of rycka (class 2 strong)

	Active		Passive
Infinitive	rycka		ryckas
Supine	ruckit		ruckits
Imperative	ryck		—
Imper. plural¹	rycken		—
	Present	Past	Present	Past
Indicative	rycker	röck	rycks, ryckes	röcks
Ind. plural¹	rycka	röcko	ryckas	röckos
Subjunctive²	rycke	röcke	ryckes	röckes
	Participles
Present participle	ryckande
Past participle	rucken
¹ Archaic. ² Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Derived terms

Related terms

References

rycka in Svensk ordbok (SO)
rycka in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
rycka in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
rycka in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)