Stå op is two verbs hiding in one phrase. With the particle op, the strong verb stå ("stand") means either "get up (out of bed)" — a change of position — or "be standing / be upright" — a state. The split matters enormously at B2, because the two senses take different perfect auxiliaries: the change-of-position sense builds its perfect with være (Jeg er stået op), while most other uses lean on have. Get the auxiliary right and you sound native; get it wrong and you've said something subtly off.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Past | Past participle | Imperative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (at) stå op | står op | stod op | stået op | stå op! |
Stå is a strong verb: the past stod and participle stået are formed by vowel change and an irregular ending, not by adding -ede or -te. The particle op sits after the conjugated verb in a main clause (Jeg står op klokken syv) but hugs the verb in the infinitive and participle (at stå op, stået op).
Sense 1: "get up (out of bed)" — change of position
This is the everyday meaning: leaving your bed, rising in the morning. Because it describes a change of state or position (from lying to upright, from asleep-in-bed to up-and-about), its perfect takes være, not have.
Jeg står op klokken seks hver morgen.
I get up at six every morning.
Hun stod op før alle de andre.
She got up before everyone else.
Jeg er først lige stået op — giv mig fem minutter.
I've only just gotten up — give me five minutes.
Sense 2: "be standing / be upright" — a state
Here stå op describes a position someone or something holds: standing rather than sitting, or kept in an upright position. This is a state, and when it forms a perfect it usually takes have (har stået) — though in everyday speech you'll more often hear the plain present or past.
Der var ikke flere stole, så vi måtte stå op hele koncerten.
There were no chairs left, so we had to stand the whole concert.
Bøgerne skal stå op på hylden, ikke ligge ned.
The books should stand upright on the shelf, not lie flat.
Han har stået op i toget hele vejen fra Odense.
He's been standing on the train the whole way from Odense.
Notice the contrast: stå op (be standing/upright) sits opposite sidde (sit) and ligge (lie). The "get out of bed" sense, by contrast, contrasts with staying in bed or sleeping.
The imperative: stå op!
The imperative is simply stå op! — "get up!" / "stand up!". It's an everyday command, neutral to slightly brisk depending on tone.
Stå op nu, du kommer for sent i skole!
Get up now, you'll be late for school!
Stå op, når dommeren kommer ind i retssalen.
Stand up when the judge enters the courtroom. (formal context)
stå op vs vågne vs rejse sig
English collapses several distinct actions into "get up" and "wake up". Danish keeps them apart, and choosing wrongly is the central B2 trap here:
- vågne — to wake up = to become awake. Your eyes open; you're conscious. You can be awake (vågen) while still lying in bed. (See verb-reference/vagne.)
- stå op — to physically get up out of bed and start the day. You leave the bed.
- rejse sig — to stand up from a sitting or lying position — at a table, from a chair, off the ground. This is reflexive (rejse sig), not stå op.
Jeg vågnede klokken seks, men jeg stod først op klokken syv.
I woke up at six, but I didn't actually get up until seven.
Da chefen kom ind, rejste alle sig.
When the boss came in, everyone stood up (from their seats).
Hun vågnede tidligt, lå og læste lidt og stod op en time senere.
She woke up early, lay reading a bit, and got up an hour later.
Idiomatic and figurative uses
Stå op feeds a few set expressions worth recognizing:
Han er ikke til at stå op imod.
There's no standing up to him / he's unbeatable. (stå op imod = stand up against)
Jeg stod tidligt op for at nå toget.
I got up early to catch the train.
Common Mistakes
1. Using vågne when you mean "get out of bed". English "I get up at seven" is stå op, not vågne — waking and rising are separate events in Danish.
❌ Jeg vågner klokken syv og tager på arbejde.
Off — vågner is only 'become awake'; for leaving the bed and starting the day you want står op.
✅ Jeg står op klokken syv og tager på arbejde.
I get up at seven and go to work.
2. Using have for the "get up" perfect (should be være). This is the headline error at B2.
❌ Jeg har lige stået op.
Wrong auxiliary — a change of position takes være.
✅ Jeg er lige stået op.
I've just gotten up.
3. Using stå op for rising from a chair (should be rejse sig). Stå op is bed-or-upright; leaving a seat is rejse sig.
❌ Han stod op fra stolen og gik.
Unnatural — for getting up from a chair, Danish uses rejse sig.
✅ Han rejste sig fra stolen og gik.
He got up from the chair and left.
4. Stranding the particle wrong in subordinate clauses. In a subordinate clause the adverb (e.g. ikke) comes before the finite verb, but op stays attached after it.
❌ ...fordi jeg op ikke stod i tide.
Word order is scrambled — op follows the verb.
✅ ...fordi jeg ikke stod op i tide.
...because I didn't get up in time.
Key Takeaways
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Start learning Danish→Related Topics
- StåA2 — Full reference for the strong verb stå ('to stand'), and the daily idiom der står for 'it says (in writing)'.
- VågneA2 — How to use the everyday verb vågne (to wake up) — its forms, its være-perfect, and how it differs from stå op.
- Have vs Være in the PerfectB2 — Danish builds the perfect with two auxiliaries — default har, but er for motion-to-a-goal and change-of-state when you mean the resulting new location or state.
- Reflexive VerbsA2 — Inherently reflexive Danish verbs that always need sig/mig/dig — glæde sig, skynde sig, sætte sig, føle sig, gifte sig, more sig, lægge sig — and how they differ from reciprocals.