Glemme means to forget — to let something slip out of your memory, or to leave something behind by accident. It is the natural counterpart to huske (to remember), and like its partner it splits into two patterns: forgetting a thing and forgetting to do something.
Principal parts
Glemme is a weak verb, but it belongs to the smaller -te class, not the -ede class. Its stem ends in a doubled consonant (glemm-), and the past drops one m before the -te ending: glemte. Watch this carefully — the spelling change trips up learners.
| Form | Danish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | (at) glemme | to forget |
| Present | glemmer | forget(s) |
| Past (datid) | glemte | forgot |
| Past participle | glemt | forgotten |
| Imperative | glem! | forget! |
Weak, but the -te class
Danish weak verbs split into two groups. The bigger -ede class (like vågne → vågnede) adds a full extra syllable. The -te class, to which glemme belongs, adds only -te and stays one syllable in the past. As a rule of thumb, stems ending in a "hard" consonant or a long sound tend to take -te. See the weak -te past class for the full picture, and contrast it with the -ede class.
The present: glemmer
Glemmer covers both forget and am forgetting. Danish has no progressive, so don't invent one (see Inventing a Progressive Tense).
Jeg glemmer altid, hvor jeg har lagt mine briller.
I always forget where I've put my glasses.
Hun glemmer aldrig et ansigt.
She never forgets a face.
Two patterns: glemme noget vs. glemme at
Just like huske, glemme changes nuance with what follows.
Glemme + object means to forget a fact or to leave a thing behind. Danish uses the same verb for both senses, where English splits them into forget and leave.
Jeg glemte min paraply i toget.
I left my umbrella on the train.
Pyt, jeg har glemt hele diskussionen igen.
Never mind, I've forgotten the whole argument again.
Glemme at + infinitive means to forget to do something — to fail to carry out an action.
Jeg glemte at sætte vækkeuret, så jeg sov over mig.
I forgot to set the alarm, so I overslept.
Glem ikke at skrive under nederst på siden.
Don't forget to sign at the bottom of the page.
The contrast is sharp: Jeg glemte mødet = I forgot (about) the meeting, while Jeg glemte at gå til mødet = I forgot to go to the meeting.
The past: glemte
The simple past is glemte — one m, plus -te. Use it for forgetting that happened at a particular past moment.
Vi glemte helt, at det var helligdag, og stod foran en lukket butik.
We completely forgot it was a holiday and stood in front of a closed shop.
The present perfect: har glemt
Glemme takes har in the perfect; the participle is glemt (no extra ending). It is not a change-of-state verb, so være never appears.
Undskyld, jeg har glemt dit navn — kan du sige det igen?
Sorry, I've forgotten your name — can you say it again?
Common collocations
- glemme at
- infinitive — forget to (do)
- glemme alt om noget — forget all about something
- glemme sig selv — to forget oneself (lose one's composure)
- det glemmer jeg aldrig — I'll never forget that
- glem det! — forget it! / never mind!
Glem alt om ferie i år — vi har simpelthen ikke råd.
Forget all about a holiday this year — we simply can't afford it.
— Hvad skylder jeg dig for kaffen? — Åh, glem det.
— What do I owe you for the coffee? — Oh, forget it.
In conversation
— Tog du skraldet ud? — Nej, det glemte jeg fuldstændig. Det gør jeg nu.
— Did you take out the rubbish? — No, I completely forgot. I'll do it now.
Common mistakes
❌ Jeg glemmede min paraply.
Incorrect — glemme is a -te verb, not an -ede verb.
✅ Jeg glemte min paraply.
I forgot / left my umbrella.
The most common error is over-regularising: forcing glemme into the big -ede class. It belongs to the -te class, and the double m drops to one: glemte, not glemmede.
❌ Jeg glemte forlade mit pas hjemme.
Incorrect — Danish doesn't use 'forlade' here, and 'forget to' needs 'at'.
✅ Jeg glemte at tage mit pas med.
I forgot to bring my passport.
When the thing you forgot is an action, use glemme at + infinitive — and don't reach for English leave; Danish just uses glemme for objects left behind.
❌ Jeg forlod min telefon i bussen.
Wrong nuance — forlade means abandon a place/person, not leave an object behind.
✅ Jeg glemte min telefon i bussen.
I left my phone on the bus.
English leave maps onto two different Danish verbs. For an object left behind by mistake, it is glemme; forlade means to abandon or depart from a place or person.
❌ Glem at ringe til tandlægen!
Reverses the meaning — this tells someone NOT to call.
✅ Glem ikke at ringe til tandlægen!
Don't forget to call the dentist!
To remind someone, you need the negative imperative glem ikke at.... The bare glem at... literally orders them to forget — the opposite of what you mean.
Key takeaways
- Glemme is a weak -te verb with consonant simplification: glemme – glemmer – glemte – glemt.
- Glemme + object = forget a fact or leave a thing behind; glemme at + infinitive = forget to do something.
- Danish glemme covers English forget and leave (behind); forlade is for abandoning places and people.
- It is the opposite of huske — learn the pair together.
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
- HuskeA2 — How to use huske (to remember) — its forms, the patterns huske at and huske på, and how it pairs with glemme.
- 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.
- Weak Past: The -ede ClassA1 — The largest, productive class of Danish regular verbs — past in -ede, participle in -et — and the safe default for any verb you don't recognise.
- 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.
- Inventing a Progressive TenseA2 — Why 'jeg er spisende' for 'I am eating' is wrong — the plain present already means '-ing', plus the real Danish ways to stress an action in progress.