Sidde means "to sit" — but more precisely it means "to be in a seated position," a state, not the act of sitting down. This distinction is the whole story of the verb, and it is invisible to English speakers, because English "sit" cheerfully covers both "I sit at this desk every day" (state) and "Please sit" (the action of taking a seat). Danish splits these: the state is sidde, the change into that state is sætte sig. On top of that, sidde is one of the four posture verbs Danish recruits to build its everyday progressive — jeg sidder og læser ("I'm sitting reading / I'm reading"). Both points are core A2 material.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Past (datid) | Past participle |
|---|---|---|---|
| (at) sidde | sidder | sad | (har) siddet |
Sidde is a strong verb: the past tense changes the vowel rather than adding an ending — sidder → sad (compare English sit → sat, the same Germanic ablaut). The past participle is siddet, with the double d and -et.
Sidde across the tenses
Present — sidder:
Hun sidder altid ved vinduet i toget.
She always sits by the window on the train.
Past — sad:
Vi sad og snakkede i timevis.
We sat talking for hours.
Present perfect — har + the participle siddet. Sidde takes har, not er, because it describes a state rather than a movement from one place to another.
Jeg har siddet i møder hele dagen.
I've been sitting in meetings all day.
Imperative — sid!:
Sid stille, mens jeg klipper dit hår.
Sit still while I cut your hair.
The posture-progressive: sidder og + verb
Danish has no separate "-ing" progressive like English. To say "I am (in the middle of) doing something," it pairs a posture verb — sidde, stå (stand), ligge (lie), or gå (walk) — with og and the main verb. Sidder og is the most common of these. The posture verb describes your body; the second verb describes the activity:
Jeg sidder og læser avisen.
I'm reading the newspaper. (literally: I sit and read)
Hvad sidder du og laver?
What are you (sitting there) doing?
This is not literal — jeg sidder og venter ("I'm waiting") works even if the precise posture is irrelevant; the construction has grammaticalised into a general progressive. But choose the posture verb that fits: a person standing in a queue står og venter, someone in bed ligger og læser. Using sidder implies seated.
Sidde vs sætte sig: state vs change
This is the pair to burn into memory. Sidde = be seated (you are already down). Sætte sig = sit down (you move into the seat). It mirrors the ligge (lie) / lægge sig (lie down) and stå (stand) / stille sig (go and stand) pairs exactly: the plain verb is the resulting state, the reflexive partner is the change of position.
Sæt dig ned, så sidder vi og snakker lidt.
Sit down, then we'll sit and chat a bit.
In that one sentence you see the change (sæt dig ned — take a seat) followed by the resulting state (sidder — being seated). They are not interchangeable: you cannot sidde into a chair from standing, and once you are settled you do not sætte dig again.
Common collocations and fixed expressions
| Expression | Meaning |
|---|---|
| sidde og + verbum | be (in the middle of) doing (progressive) |
| sidde fast | be stuck |
| sidde ned | be sitting / be seated (as opposed to standing) |
| sidde inde med | possess (knowledge, information) |
| blive siddende | stay seated, remain sitting |
Nøglen sidder fast i låsen.
The key is stuck in the lock.
Bliv endelig siddende — jeg henter selv kaffen.
Do stay seated — I'll get the coffee myself.
A short dialogue
– Hvor er Mette? – Hun sidder ude i haven og læser. – Så sætter jeg mig ud til hende.
– Where's Mette? – She's sitting out in the garden reading. – Then I'll go and sit out there with her.
Notice the contrast across the exchange: Mette sidder (is already seated, the state, with the og læser progressive), while the speaker sætter sig (is about to take a seat — the change).
Common mistakes
❌ Jeg vil sidde på stolen nu.
Wrong if you mean 'I'll sit down now': sidde is the state of being seated, not the act of taking a seat.
✅ Jeg vil sætte mig på stolen nu.
Correct: sætte sig is the change of position — to sit down.
❌ Jeg sidder læser en bog.
Wrong: the posture-progressive needs og between the two verbs.
✅ Jeg sidder og læser en bog.
Correct: sidder og læser = 'I'm reading.'
❌ Vi har sad her i en time.
Wrong: sad is the past tense; the perfect needs the participle siddet.
✅ Vi har siddet her i en time.
Correct: har siddet = 'have been sitting.'
❌ Hun sidde ved vinduet.
Wrong: the present tense needs the -er ending.
✅ Hun sidder ved vinduet.
Correct: sidder for every subject in the present.
Key takeaways
- Sidde = be seated, a state. The action of sitting down is sætte sig — like ligge/lægge sig and stå/stille sig.
- It's a strong verb: sidder – sad – har siddet. The perfect takes har (state, not motion).
- Sidder og + verb is Danish's everyday progressive: jeg sidder og venter = "I'm waiting." The og is obligatory.
- Pick the posture verb that matches the body: seated → sidder, standing → står, lying → ligger.
For the action-side partner of this verb, see sætte; for the lie/lay parallel pair, see lægge; and for the progressive construction in depth, see the present progressive.
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.
- LæggeA2 — Full reference for lægge ('to lay / put down') — principal parts, all core tenses in natural sentences, the reflexive lægge sig ('lie down'), and the strict transitive/intransitive split against ligge that every English speaker has to master.
- 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.
- The ImperativeA1 — How to give commands, requests and suggestions in Danish — the bare-stem imperative, polite softeners, and the idiomatic 'don't' with lad være med at.