nagga

Swedish

nagga (present naggar, preterite naggade, supine naggat, imperative nagga)

to break off one or more small pieces from (so as to damage); to chip, to chip away, to gnaw
En mus hade naggat på brödbiten
A mouse had gnawed on the piece of bread

Kaffekoppen var naggad i kanten
The coffee cup had a chipped edge
(in the perfect participle "naggad") having an appearance like having been chipped (especially of leaves)
naggade blad
crenate leaves
(figuratively) to wear on, to gnaw, to gnaw away at
naggande tvivel
gnawing doubts

De dåliga recensionerna naggade på hans självförtroende
The bad reviews wore on his confidence

nagga på intäkterna
gnaw away at the revenue

nagga något/någon i kanten
chip/gnaw at the edge of something/someone (common turn of phrase – reduce or wear on)
(in the expression "(liten men) naggande god" ((small but) gnawing/chipping good)) very good, excellent
- 2022, Herr Talman, season 1, episode 6, spoken by Ulf Kristersson:
  Jag e en ledare med groove / Smooth e min metod / Jag e liten men naggande god
  I'm a leader with groove / Smooth is my metod / I'm small but really cool

Conjugation of nagga (weak)

	Active		Passive
Infinitive	nagga		naggas
Supine	naggat		naggats
Imperative	nagga		—
Imper. plural¹	naggen		—
	Present	Past	Present	Past
Indicative	naggar	naggade	naggas	naggades
Ind. plural¹	nagga	naggade	naggas	naggades
Subjunctive²	nagge	naggade	nagges	naggades
	Participles
Present participle	naggande
Past participle	naggad
¹ Archaic. ² Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.