Bede means "to ask for," "to request," and also "to pray." The single most important thing to learn is that it is not interchangeable with spørge ("to ask a question"). English uses one verb, "ask," for both jobs; Danish splits them, and choosing the wrong one is one of the most common learner errors. This page sorts it out.
Principal parts
Bede is a strong verb: the past tense changes the stem vowel (e → a) rather than adding an ending.
| Form | Danish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | (at) bede | (to) ask for / request / pray |
| Present | beder | ask(s) / request(s) |
| Past | bad | asked / requested |
| Past participle | bedt | asked / requested |
| Imperative | bed! | ask! / pray! |
The present perfect uses har: jeg har bedt. Watch the spelling — the participle is bedt, with no e before the -dt.
Bede om — to ask FOR something
When you want a thing, you beder om it. The preposition om is obligatory and is the part English speakers forget.
Jeg beder om hjælp.
I'm asking for help.
Må jeg bede om regningen?
May I have the bill, please?
Han bad om et glas vand.
He asked for a glass of water.
Må jeg bede om …? ("May I ask for …?") is the standard polite way to request something at a table, a counter, or a shop — far more natural than a bare "jeg vil have." (See politeness for the wider toolkit of polite phrasing.)
Bede nogen om at — to ask someone TO do something
To ask a person to perform an action, the pattern is bede nogen om at + infinitive: "ask someone to do something." Here the om at introduces the requested action.
Jeg bad ham om at lukke vinduet.
I asked him to close the window.
Kan du bede dem om at være lidt stille?
Can you ask them to be a bit quiet?
Hun har bedt mig om at passe hunden i weekenden.
She has asked me to look after the dog this weekend.
The big split: bede vs spørge
English "ask" covers two different acts, and Danish gives each its own verb:
| You want… | Danish verb | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a thing / a favour / an action | bede (om) | Jeg beder om en kop kaffe. |
| information (a question) | spørge | Jeg spørger, hvad klokken er. |
The rule of thumb: if the answer you want is a thing or an action, use bede om. If the answer is information — a fact, a yes/no, a time — use spørge. Compare:
Jeg beder om vand.
I'm asking for water. (I want the water itself)
Jeg spørger, om der er vand.
I'm asking whether there's any water. (I want the information)
Bede = to pray
The same verb means "to pray." Context makes it clear; with a religious object you often add til.
Hun bad til Gud hver aften.
She prayed to God every evening.
De bad en bøn før maden.
They said a prayer before the meal.
Across the tenses
| Tense | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| Present | Jeg beder om en fridag. | I'm asking for a day off. |
| Past | Jeg bad om en fridag. | I asked for a day off. |
| Present perfect | Jeg har bedt om en fridag. | I've asked for a day off. |
Common collocations
- bede om hjælp / et råd — ask for help / advice
- bede om lov — ask for permission
- bede om undskyldning — apologise (literally "ask for forgiveness")
- bede nogen om at … — ask someone to …
- må jeg bede om …? — may I have …? (polite)
- bede en bøn — say a prayer
Du burde bede om undskyldning.
You ought to apologise.
A short dialogue
— Undskyld, må jeg bede om en kop te? — Ja, selvfølgelig. Skal jeg også bede tjeneren om regningen?
— Excuse me, may I have a cup of tea? — Yes, of course. Shall I also ask the waiter for the bill?
Common mistakes
❌ Jeg spørger om vand.
Wrong for requesting the thing itself — 'spørge om' means inquire about.
✅ Jeg beder om vand.
I'm asking for water. (you want the water)
❌ Jeg beder hjælp.
Wrong — 'bede' needs 'om' before the thing requested.
✅ Jeg beder om hjælp.
I'm asking for help.
❌ Jeg bad ham at lukke vinduet.
Wrong — the pattern is 'bede nogen om at'.
✅ Jeg bad ham om at lukke vinduet.
I asked him to close the window.
❌ Jeg har bedet om en fridag.
Wrong participle — it's 'bedt', not 'bedet'.
✅ Jeg har bedt om en fridag.
I've asked for a day off.
❌ Han beder mig, hvad klokken er.
Wrong verb — that's seeking information, so use 'spørge'.
✅ Han spørger mig, hvad klokken er.
He asks me what time it is.
Key takeaways
- Bede is strong: present beder, past bad, participle bedt (one form per tense, every subject).
- Use bede om for a thing/favour; use bede nogen om at to ask a person to do something.
- Use spørge, not bede, when you want information (a question). This split is the core lesson of this page.
Now practice Danish
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Danish→Related Topics
- SpørgeB1 — Full reference for spørge ('to ask a question') — principal parts with the irregular past spurgte, all core tenses in natural sentences, spørge om and spørge efter, the noun et spørgsmål, and how spørge (ask a question) differs from bede om (request a thing).
- Strong Verbs: Ablaut PatternsA2 — Danish strong verbs form their past by changing the stem vowel — learn the major ablaut series as families to turn memorisation into pattern recognition.
- The Present PerfectA2 — How Danish builds the present perfect with have (or være) plus the past participle — and the one rule English speakers need: definite past time takes the simple past, not the perfect.
- Politeness and Softening StrategiesB1 — Danish has no word for 'please' — politeness lives in past-tense modals, the particle lige, gerne, and downtoners. How to make a request that sounds friendly rather than blunt.
- The Infinitive and the Marker AtA1 — The Danish infinitive, the infinitive marker at ('to'), when to use it and when to drop it — and the notorious at/og spelling trap.