Betyde means to mean or to signify — but only in the sense of what a word, a sign, or a thing stands for. What does that word mean? This means a lot to me. Both are betyde. The verb is one of the most common irregular verbs you will meet at A2, because its past tense, betød, changes its vowel instead of taking a regular ending. And it must be kept strictly apart from mene, which is for what people intend or think.
Principal parts
Betyde is irregular (a "strong" verb): the past betød is formed by a vowel change (y → ø), not by adding -te or -ede. Memorise this form directly — there is no rule that predicts it.
| Form | Danish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | (at) betyde | to mean / to signify |
| Present | betyder | mean(s) / signifies |
| Past (datid) | betød | meant / signified |
| Past participle | betydet | meant / signified |
| Imperative | (betyd!) | (rare — things, not people, signify) |
The imperative is essentially unused: you cannot command a word to signify something. In practice you will only ever need the present, past, participle, and infinitive.
The present: betyder
Betyder asks or states what something stands for. The textbook-perfect question — and one you will genuinely use every day as a learner — is Hvad betyder...?
Hvad betyder det ord?
What does that word mean?
Hvad betyder det røde skilt deroppe?
What does that red sign up there mean?
Ordet hygge betyder noget i retning af cosiness.
The word 'hygge' means something along the lines of cosiness.
Betyde = matter, be important
Betyde has a second, very common sense: to matter, to be of importance. Here the subject is a thing or a person, and betyde meget / lidt / alt says how much it counts.
Det betyder meget for mig, at du kom i dag.
It means a lot to me that you came today.
Penge betyder ikke alt.
Money isn't everything.
Din støtte har betydet alt for hele familien.
Your support has meant everything to the whole family.
This sense is alive in the fixed phrase det betyder ikke noget — it doesn't matter — one of the handiest reassurances in the language.
— Undskyld, jeg kom til at vælte din kop. — Pyt, det betyder ikke noget.
— Sorry, I knocked over your cup. — Never mind, it doesn't matter.
The past: betød
The simple past is the irregular betød. Use it for what something signified or how much it mattered at a definite past time. For where this fits among Danish past tenses, see the past tense overview.
Dengang vidste jeg ikke, hvad forkortelsen betød.
At the time I didn't know what the abbreviation meant.
Det betød alt for hende at få lov til at rejse.
It meant everything to her to be allowed to travel.
The present perfect: har betydet
The perfect uses har with the participle betydet (note the regular-looking participle even though the past is irregular). See the present perfect and, for participles in general, participles.
Den bog har betydet utrolig meget for mig gennem årene.
That book has meant an incredible amount to me over the years.
Betyde vs. mene — the core split
This is the distinction English speakers must drill, because English mean covers both:
- betyde — what a word, sign, or thing signifies, or how much something matters. Hvad betyder det ord? / Det betyder meget.
- mene — what a person intends or is of the opinion about. Hvad mener du? / Jeg mener, at...
A quick test: if the subject is a thing or a word, use betyde. If the subject is a person expressing intent or opinion, use mene.
Hvad mener du med det ord — for jeg ved godt, hvad det betyder i ordbogen?
What do you mean by that word — because I know what it means in the dictionary?
That single sentence holds both verbs: mene for the speaker's intention, betyde for the dictionary definition.
Common collocations
- hvad betyder...? — what does ... mean?
- betyde meget / lidt / alt — to matter a lot / little / everything
- det betyder ikke noget — it doesn't matter
- det vil sige (dvs.) — that is to say (a fixed alternative when explaining, lit. "that will say")
- have stor betydning — to be of great importance (the noun betydning comes from this verb)
In conversation
— Hvad betyder dvs.? — Det betyder det vil sige. Det bruger man, når man uddyber noget.
— What does 'dvs.' mean? — It means 'that is to say'. You use it when you're elaborating on something.
Common mistakes
❌ Jeg betyder, at vi skal gå nu.
Incorrect — a person's opinion takes mene, not betyde.
✅ Jeg mener, at vi skal gå nu.
I think we should go now.
When the subject is a person expressing a view, use mene. Betyde can never take a personal opinion.
❌ Hvad mener det ord?
Incorrect — a word signifies, so it takes betyde.
✅ Hvad betyder det ord?
What does that word mean?
A word cannot have an opinion. To ask its meaning, use betyde.
❌ Hvad betydede ordet?
Incorrect — betyde is irregular; the past is not formed with -ede.
✅ Hvad betød ordet?
What did the word mean?
Do not regularise the past. The strong vowel change gives betød, never betydede or betydte.
❌ Det betyder ikke noget for mig at du kom.
Wrong sense — here you mean it matters a great deal.
✅ Det betyder meget for mig, at du kom.
It means a lot to me that you came.
Watch the polarity: betyder ikke noget = doesn't matter, while you almost certainly want betyder meget = matters a lot. (Note also the comma before the at-clause.)
Key takeaways
- Betyde is irregular: betyde – betyder – *betød – betydet. Memorise the *ø of the past.
- It means signify (of words, signs, things) and to matter / be important.
- It is never used for a person's opinion or intention — that is mene.
- The fixed phrase det betyder ikke noget means it doesn't matter.
Now practice Danish
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Start learning Danish→Related Topics
- MeneA2 — How to use mene (to mean, to be of the opinion) — its forms and the crucial split between mene, betyde, synes and tro.
- SigeA1 — Full reference for sige ('to say') — principal parts, all core tenses in natural sentences, its job as a reporting verb (han siger, at...), the idiom det vil sige, and how it differs from fortælle, tale and snakke.
- The Past Tense: An OverviewA1 — How the Danish simple past (datid) splits into weak -ede, weak -te, and strong (vowel-change) verbs — and why you must learn each verb's class.
- 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.
- Present and Past ParticiplesB1 — Danish's two participles — the -ende present participle and the -et/-t/strong past participle — their forms, and the active/ongoing versus passive/completed split that governs them.