Nævne means to mention — to bring something up in passing, to name it, to refer to it briefly without going into detail. It is one of the most useful discourse verbs in Danish, woven into fixed expressions like som nævnt ("as mentioned") and for ikke at nævne ("not to mention"), and it is the natural verb whenever you want to say that something came up or was brought up. English speakers tend to over-reach for sige ("say") and produce odd phrasings like sige om; the cleaner, more native choice is almost always nævne. This page covers the forms, the fixed phrases, and the neighbours.
Principal parts
Nævne is a weak verb of the -te class: the past adds -te and the participle -t.
| Form | Danish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | (at) nævne | to mention / name |
| Present | nævner | mention(s) |
| Past | nævnte | mentioned |
| Past participle | nævnt | mentioned |
| Imperative | nævn! | mention! / name! |
Present: nævner
Han nævner aldrig sin tidligere familie.
He never mentions his previous family.
Hver gang jeg nævner ferie, skifter hun emne.
Every time I mention a holiday, she changes the subject.
Past: nævnte
Hun nævnte ikke et ord om mødet.
She didn't mention a word about the meeting.
Du nævnte engang, at du havde boet i Norge.
You mentioned once that you'd lived in Norway.
Present perfect: har nævnt
Som jeg allerede har nævnt, er vi nødt til at spare.
As I've already mentioned, we have to cut back.
Har nogen nævnt det for chefen endnu?
Has anyone mentioned it to the boss yet?
Key constructions
Nævne combines in a few fixed ways that are worth learning whole.
| Danish | English |
|---|---|
| nævne nogen / noget | mention someone / something |
| nævne, at... | mention that... |
| nævne noget for nogen | mention something to someone |
| som nævnt | as mentioned / as stated |
| for ikke at nævne | not to mention |
| blive nævnt | to be mentioned / get a mention |
Two of these are real workhorses. Som nævnt points back to something already said — it is a core "referring back" connector, treated more fully on discourse/reformulation:
Som nævnt ovenfor er fristen rykket til fredag.
As mentioned above, the deadline has been moved to Friday. (formal/written)
And for ikke at nævne stacks an extra, often emphatic, item onto a list:
Turen var dyr og lang — for ikke at nævne det forfærdelige vejr.
The trip was expensive and long — not to mention the dreadful weather.
Notice that to mention something to someone, Danish uses for, not til: nævne noget *for nogen*.
Kan du nævne det for Mette, når du ser hende?
Can you mention it to Mette when you see her?
nævne vs omtale vs kalde vs sige
These overlap in the "talk about / name" area, and choosing wrongly is a classic transfer error.
- nævne — "mention," bring up briefly. The default for "I brought it up." See the fixed phrases above.
- omtale (slightly formal) — "refer to, speak about" in a more sustained way, often in writing or media. Avisen omtaler sagen i dag. ("The paper covers the case today.")
- kalde — "call / name" — give something a name or label, or summon. De kaldte hunden Max. ("They named the dog Max.") See verb-reference/kalde.
- sige — "say," produce words generally; it does not by itself mean "mention." See verb-reference/sige.
Avisen omtalte ham som en lovende forsker.
The paper described him as a promising researcher. (omtale — sustained description)
De kalder ham bare 'chefen'.
They just call him 'the boss'. (kalde — give a name/label)
In conversation
— Sagde han noget om lønnen? — Han nævnte den kort, men gik ikke i detaljer. Han omtalte den nærmest som en bagatel.
— Did he say anything about the salary? — He mentioned it briefly, but didn't go into detail. He almost referred to it as a trifle.
Common Mistakes
1. Using sige om for "mention." This is the headline error. Danish has no such construction; use nævne.
❌ Han sagde om problemet til mødet.
Incorrect — sige om isn't Danish for 'mention'.
✅ Han nævnte problemet til mødet.
He mentioned the problem at the meeting.
2. Using til instead of for for the addressee. You mention something for someone.
❌ Jeg nævnte det til hende.
Incorrect preposition — nævne takes for, not til.
✅ Jeg nævnte det for hende.
I mentioned it to her.
3. Using nævne where a sustained description (omtale) or a label (kalde) is meant.
❌ Avisen nævnte ham som en helt. (for an extended portrayal)
Off — for describing someone as X, use omtale ... som.
✅ Avisen omtalte ham som en helt.
The paper portrayed him as a hero.
4. Misspelling the stem vowel. It is æ in every form.
❌ Han naevnte det aldrig.
Incorrect orthography — it must be nævnte with æ.
✅ Han nævnte det aldrig.
He never mentioned it.
5. Using være in the perfect. Nævne is a have-verb.
❌ Jeg er nævnt det allerede.
Incorrect — nævne takes har, and the active perfect is har nævnt.
✅ Jeg har nævnt det allerede.
I've already mentioned it.
Key takeaways
- nævne / nævner / nævnte / nævnt, imperative nævn!, perfect with har — and always with æ.
- "Mention something to someone" = nævne noget *for nogen*.
- Learn som nævnt ("as mentioned") and for ikke at nævne ("not to mention") as set phrases.
- Don't say sige om; for description use omtale ... som, for naming use kalde.
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
- 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.
- KaldeB1 — Full reference for kalde ('to call, to name') — principal parts, all core tenses in natural sentences, the give-a-name pattern kalde nogen noget, the phrase kalde på, the passive blive kaldt, and how kalde differs from hedde (be named) and ringe til (phone).
- Reformulation and ExemplificationC1 — How to restate, clarify, and illustrate with Danish discourse markers like altså, det vil sige, med andre ord, nemlig, and for eksempel.
- 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.