Oversætte ("to translate") is over- ("over, across") fused onto the verb sætte ("to set, put") — literally "to set across" — and it inflects exactly like its base: oversætter → oversatte → oversat, with the same æ → a vowel shift in the past and the collapse of the double t. Two things make this verb worth a page: the slightly irregular sætte past pattern, and a stress contrast that separates the abstract verb oversætte (translate) from the literal phrasal verb sætte over (put across, e.g. a kettle). This page covers the forms, the fra … til frame, the derived nouns, and that stress trap.
Principal parts
Oversætte follows the sætte class: technically a weak -te verb, but with a stem-vowel shift (æ → a) and a reduced t in the past, so it looks half-strong.
| Form | Danish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | (at) oversætte | to translate |
| Present | oversætter | translate(s) |
| Past (datid) | oversatte | translated |
| Past participle | (har) oversat | translated |
| Imperative | oversæt! | translate! |
Across the tenses
The perfect takes har — oversætte is transitive (you translate something), so it is a "have"-verb, never an er-verb:
| Tense | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| Present | Hun oversætter romaner fra japansk. | She translates novels from Japanese. |
| Past | Jeg oversatte teksten i går. | I translated the text yesterday. |
| Present perfect | De har oversat hele hjemmesiden. | They've translated the whole website. |
Kan du oversætte det her for mig? Jeg forstår ikke et ord.
Can you translate this for me? I don't understand a word.
Bogen er blevet oversat til over tredive sprog.
The book has been translated into more than thirty languages.
The frame: oversætte fra X til Y
The standard frame is oversætte fra (source language) til (target language): oversætte fra dansk til engelsk. Note the prepositions — fra for the source, til for the target — and that the language names are lower-case in Danish.
Hun oversætter fra dansk til engelsk og omvendt.
She translates from Danish into English and vice versa.
Hvordan oversætter man 'hygge' til engelsk? Det kan man næsten ikke.
How do you translate 'hygge' into English? You almost can't.
The derived nouns
Two high-frequency nouns come straight off the verb: en oversættelse ("a translation," the product) and en oversætter ("a translator," the person). Both keep the over- prefix and the -sæt- stem.
Den danske oversættelse er bedre end originalen, synes jeg.
The Danish translation is better than the original, I think.
Han arbejder som oversætter for EU.
He works as a translator for the EU.
Stress: oversætte (translate) vs sætte over (put across)
Here is the trap. Danish marks the difference between an abstract, fused prefix verb and a literal phrasal verb by stress, not spelling. In over'sætte ("translate") the prefix over- is unstressed and the verb is written as one word; in the phrasal verb 'sætte 'over ("put/set across") the particle over is a separate, stressed word that comes after the verb.
| Form | Stress | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| over'sætte (one word) | prefix unstressed | translate (abstract) |
| 'sætte over (two words) | particle stressed | put across; put on (e.g. a kettle); ferry over |
Jeg sætter lige vand over til te, mens du oversætter brevet.
I'll just put some water on for tea while you translate the letter.
Færgen satte os over til Sverige på tyve minutter.
The ferry took us across to Sweden in twenty minutes.
The over- prefix family
Oversætte belongs to a productive family of verbs where the unstressed prefix over- adds a sense of "across, beyond, too much, or transferring." Recognising the prefix helps you guess meanings — and reminds you that, like oversætte, several of these are strong because their base verbs are strong (-tage, -give, -se).
| Verb | Base | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| oversætte | sætte | translate |
| overtage | tage (strong) | take over |
| overgive sig | give (strong) | surrender |
| overse | se (strong) | overlook, miss |
| overdrive | drive (strong) | exaggerate |
Jeg overså desværre din besked og oversatte den forkerte fil.
I unfortunately overlooked your message and translated the wrong file.
Useful collocations
A handful of phrases recur enough to learn whole:
- oversætte fra X til Y — translate from X into Y
- lade noget oversætte — have something translated (by someone else)
- en autoriseret oversætter — a certified/sworn translator
- en fri / direkte oversættelse — a free / literal translation
- det taber sig i oversættelsen — it gets lost in translation
Vi fik kontrakten oversat af en autoriseret oversætter.
We had the contract translated by a certified translator.
The word-for-word pitfall
A practical warning about the activity itself: translating word for word from English into Danish (or back) usually produces something a native speaker would never say. Idioms, prepositions and word order rarely map one-to-one. Oversætte the meaning, not the surface.
Man kan ikke oversætte ord for ord — så bliver det forkert.
You can't translate word for word — it comes out wrong.
Common mistakes
❌ Jeg oversættede teksten i går.
Wrong — the past is not weak: it's oversatte (æ→a), not 'oversættede.'
✅ Jeg oversatte teksten i går.
Correct: the sætte-class past oversatte.
❌ Jeg har oversatte hele bogen.
Wrong — that's the past tense used as a participle. The participle is oversat.
✅ Jeg har oversat hele bogen.
Correct: har oversat = 'have translated.'
❌ Hun oversætter fra dansk i engelsk.
Wrong preposition — the target language takes til, not i.
✅ Hun oversætter fra dansk til engelsk.
Correct: oversætte fra ... til ...
❌ Kan du oversætte vand over til te?
Wrong verb — putting a kettle on is the phrasal sætte over, not oversætte.
✅ Kan du sætte vand over til te?
Can you put water on for tea?
❌ Jeg oversetter brevet nu.
Wrong orthography — it's oversætter with æ, not 'oversetter.'
✅ Jeg oversætter brevet nu.
Correct: oversætter, with the æ.
Key takeaways
- Oversætte inflects like sætte: oversætter – oversatte – oversat, with the æ → a shift; one form per tense, every subject.
- The perfect takes har: har oversat.
- Frame: oversætte fra (source) til (target); language names are lower-case.
- Nouns: en oversættelse (translation), en oversætter (translator).
- Stress decides meaning: written-together over'sætte = translate; separated 'sætte over = put/ferry across. Translate the sense, never word for word.
Now practice Danish
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Start learning Danish→Related Topics
- SætteA2 — The verb sætte — to put, place or set (in a seated/upright position) — its reflexive sætte sig 'sit down', and the sætte/stille/lægge placement triad, with full principal parts and tenses.
- Phrasal Verbs and ParticlesB1 — Danish verb + particle combinations, the stress rule that distinguishes a separable phrasal verb from a verb + preposition, and the most common particles and their meanings.
- Mis-stressing Compounds and Phrasal VerbsB2 — Why English speakers put the wrong stress on Danish compounds and phrasal verbs, and the two-part fix: compounds stress the first element, phrasal verbs stress the particle — with the slå op / opslag contrast as the model case.
- 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.