Bruge means to use — but it also means to spend, both time and money. Where English needs two different verbs ("use" a tool, "spend" an hour, "spend" money), Danish covers all three with the single verb bruge. This one-verb-for-two-English-words economy is the key thing to learn here: Jeg bruger min telefon, Jeg bruger to timer, and Jeg bruger mange penge are all the same verb. As a bonus, the past participle brugt doubles as an adjective meaning used / second-hand.
Principal parts
Bruge is a regular weak verb of the -te class.
| Infinitive | Present | Past | Past participle | Imperative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (at) bruge | bruger | brugte | brugt | brug! |
The -te class gives past brugte (brug + te) and participle brugt. The imperative is brug!
Present: bruger — to use
The plain "use a thing" sense works just like English.
Jeg bruger altid cyklen til arbejde.
I always use my bike to get to work.
Hvilken app bruger du til det?
Which app do you use for that?
Man bruger ikke kniven til det her — brug en ske.
You don't use a knife for this — use a spoon.
Present: bruger — to spend (time and money)
This is the sense English speakers underuse. Danish does not normally use a cognate of "spend"; bruge does the job for both time and money.
Jeg bruger to timer i toget hver dag.
I spend two hours on the train every day.
Vi bruger alt for mange penge på takeaway.
We spend far too much money on takeaway.
Hvor meget tid bruger du på telefonen?
How much time do you spend on your phone?
You may hear the borrowed verb spendere, but it is rare and a little flashy — it leans toward "splash out / treat someone." For ordinary spending of time or money, bruge is the natural choice. The pattern is bruge tid/penge på + something — note the preposition på ("on").
One verb, three English meanings
Because bruge maps onto both English use and spend, it helps to see the three readings laid out together. They are not really three different verbs in Danish — they are one verb applied to three kinds of object.
| Object of bruge | English verb | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a tool, a thing, a method | use | Jeg bruger en app. — I use an app. |
| time | spend | Jeg bruger en time. — I spend an hour. |
| money | spend | Jeg bruger hundrede kroner. — I spend a hundred kroner. |
The cue is simply what gets used up. If the object is a thing you employ, English says use; if it is time or money that gets consumed, English says spend. Danish makes no such split, which is why a learner's instinct to reach for a "spend" word leads them astray. Trust bruge for all three.
Vi bruger den samme opskrift og bruger en hel eftermiddag på den.
We use the same recipe and spend a whole afternoon on it.
Past: brugte
Vi brugte hele weekenden på at male huset.
We spent the whole weekend painting the house.
Jeg brugte for mange penge i ferien.
I spent too much money on holiday.
Present perfect: har brugt
Jeg har brugt hele formiddagen på det her.
I've spent the whole morning on this.
Har du brugt min oplader?
Have you used my charger?
brugt as an adjective — used / second-hand
The participle brugt is also a normal adjective meaning used or second-hand. It inflects like any adjective: en brugt bil (a used car), et brugt møbel (a used piece of furniture), brugte bøger (used books).
Vi købte en brugt bil i stedet for en ny.
We bought a used car instead of a new one.
Der er en god butik med brugt tøj på hjørnet.
There's a good second-hand clothes shop on the corner.
Collocations
| Danish | English |
|---|---|
| bruge tid på | to spend time on |
| bruge penge på | to spend money on |
| bruge op | to use up |
| brugt tøj / brugte bøger | second-hand clothes / used books |
| bruges til | to be used for (passive) |
Vi har brugt al mælken op — kan du købe noget?
We've used up all the milk — can you buy some?
Hvad bruges det her værktøj til?
What is this tool used for?
Brug ikke for meget tid på det.
Don't spend too much time on it.
A short dialogue
— Hvor mange penge brugte du på ferien? — Alt for mange! Vi brugte næsten alt på flybilletter. — Og hvad bruger du så pengene på resten af måneden? — Ingenting. Jeg har brugt det hele.
— How much money did you spend on the holiday? — Far too much! We spent nearly all of it on plane tickets. — So what are you spending money on for the rest of the month? — Nothing. I've spent it all.
Common mistakes
❌ Jeg spenderer to timer i toget.
Wrong/unnatural: spendere is rare and means 'splash out,' not ordinary spending.
✅ Jeg bruger to timer i toget.
Correct: bruge covers spending time.
❌ Vi bruger mange penge for takeaway.
Wrong preposition: spending is bruge ... på, not for.
✅ Vi bruger mange penge på takeaway.
Correct: bruge penge på = spend money on.
❌ Han brugede cyklen i går.
Wrong: bruge is a -te verb, not a -ede verb.
✅ Han brugte cyklen i går.
Correct: brug + te = brugte.
❌ Vi købte en bruge bil.
Wrong: the adjective 'used' is the participle brugt, not the infinitive.
✅ Vi købte en brugt bil.
Correct: brugt = used / second-hand.
❌ Har du bruget min oplader?
Wrong participle: -te verbs take -t, not -et.
✅ Har du brugt min oplader?
Correct: the participle is brugt.
Now practice Danish
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Start learning Danish→Related Topics
- The Present TenseA1 — How to form the Danish present (add -r) and why one present form covers English's simple present, present continuous, and 'going to' future.
- Weak Past: The -te ClassA2 — The second weak class of Danish verbs — past in -te, participle in -t — and how to tell it apart from the larger -ede 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.
- KøbeA1 — Full reference for købe ('to buy') — principal parts, all core tenses in natural sentences, the regular -te weak pattern, shopping collocations, and the contrast with its irregular antonym sælge ('to sell').
- BetaleB1 — Full reference for betale ('to pay') — principal parts, all core tenses in natural sentences, betale for, betale tilbage and betale af på, the idiom det betaler sig, the noun en betaling, and the key contrast between paying a bill directly and paying FOR a thing.