UrsprungFrom Old Swedish haffa, from Middle Low German haffen (“to handle, treat by hand”), related to Middle Low German haven (“to have, hold”) and Middle Low German hebben (“to have”). Compare also Middle High German haben (“to have, grab, seize”).
- slangto catch criminals
“De haffades av polisen” — They were caught by the police
- slangto (quickly) seize (something, by grabbing it)
“Han sprang ut och haffade ett slagträ på vägen när han såg zombierna närma sig huset” — He ran out and grabbed a bat on the way when he saw the zombies approach the house
- figuratively, slangto catch, to get hold of
“De haffade en taxi” — They caught a taxi
“Han försökte haffa en tjej” — He tried to pick up a girl (only sense known to many younger native speakers)
“Ska du haffa?” — Are you going to try to pick her up?
Formerhaffar(present) · haffade(preterite) · haffat(supine) · haffa(imperative) · haffa(active, infinitive) · haffas(infinitive, passive) · haffat(active, supine) · haffats(passive, supine) · haffa(active, imperative) · -(imperative, passive) · haffen(active, archaic, error-unrecognized-form) · -(archaic, error-unrecognized-form, passive) · haffar(active, indicative, present) · haffade(active, indicative, past) · haffas(indicative, passive, present) · haffades(indicative, passive, past) · haffa(active, archaic, error-unrecognized-form, present) · haffade(active, archaic, error-unrecognized-form, past) · haffas(archaic, error-unrecognized-form, passive, present) · haffades(archaic, error-unrecognized-form, passive, past)