Undskylde means to apologise or to excuse, and its short imperative form Undskyld is one of the most useful words in all of Danish — it covers both "sorry" and "excuse me." This page sorts out the conjugation, the reflexive use undskylde sig, the preposition pattern undskylde for, and the crucial register difference between everyday undskylde and the more formal beklage.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Past | Past participle | Imperative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (at) undskylde | undskylder | undskyldte | undskyldt | undskyld! |
Undskylde is a weak verb of the -te / -t type: the past is undskyldte and the participle undskyldt. The stem ends in the consonant cluster -ld, which is exactly the kind of ending that selects the shorter -te past rather than -ede. Note the silent d in -ld-: the whole word is pronounced roughly "on-skewl," with the d not heard.
The everyday word: Undskyld
By far the most common form you will use is the bare imperative Undskyld — but it does not feel like a command. It is the all-purpose courtesy word meaning "sorry" (an apology) and "excuse me" (to get attention or squeeze past someone). One word, both jobs.
Undskyld, jeg kom for sent.
Sorry, I was late.
Undskyld, ved du, hvad klokken er?
Excuse me, do you know what time it is?
Undskyld mig et øjeblik.
Excuse me for a moment.
That last pattern, Undskyld mig, is how you excuse yourself — to step away, take a call, or get past. It takes a direct object (here mig).
Apologising for something: undskylde for
When you name what you are apologising for, the preposition is for: undskylde for noget. And when you apologise to a person, Danish uses the compound preposition over for — undskylde over for nogen, never undskylde til nogen. This is the spot where English "apologise to someone" leads learners astray.
Jeg vil gerne undskylde for forsinkelsen.
I'd like to apologise for the delay.
Han undskyldte over for hele klassen.
He apologised to the whole class.
The reflexive: undskylde sig
Undskylde sig means to excuse oneself — to offer an apology or an excuse, or to take one's leave politely.
Hun undskyldte sig og forlod mødet.
She excused herself and left the meeting.
Du behøver ikke at undskylde dig — det var ikke din skyld.
You don't need to apologise — it wasn't your fault.
The present perfect: har undskyldt
The perfect uses har plus the participle undskyldt.
Jeg har allerede undskyldt for det.
I've already apologised for it.
Undskylde vs. beklage: a register difference
Danish has a second verb in this territory, beklage (to regret, to be sorry about). The difference is largely one of register and stance:
- Undskylde (informal, everyday) = to apologise — you take responsibility and ask forgiveness. This is the personal, human "sorry."
- Beklage (formal) = to regret / express regret — often used by companies, officials, and in writing. It expresses sympathy or regret without necessarily admitting fault. Vi beklager ulejligheden = "We apologise for / regret the inconvenience" is the standard formal-letter phrase.
Vi beklager de gener, det måtte medføre.
We regret any inconvenience this may cause. (formal)
Undskyld, det var dumt af mig.
Sorry, that was stupid of me. (informal)
English keeps "apologise" and "regret" cleanly apart, and so the undskylde / beklage pair maps onto them fairly well — but the dividing line sits in a different place. English will happily say "I'm sorry" both to a friend and in a corporate apology; Danish would use Undskyld in the first and Vi beklager in the second. So the choice in Danish is less about how bad you feel and more about who is speaking and in what setting: a person owning up uses undskylde; an institution expressing regret uses beklage. Get the register wrong and you sound either coldly bureaucratic (saying Vi beklager to a friend) or oddly informal (a company saying Undskyld in an official notice).
The related noun is en undskyldning, which neatly means both "an apology" and "an excuse" — context decides which. This double meaning is itself a small insight into how Danish sees the act: the words you offer when you say sorry and the words you offer to explain away your behaviour are, at root, the same kind of thing.
Det var en dårlig undskyldning.
That was a poor excuse.
Useful collocations
| Danish | English |
|---|---|
| Undskyld! | Sorry! / Excuse me! |
| undskylde for noget | to apologise for something |
| undskylde over for nogen | to apologise to someone |
| undskylde sig | to excuse oneself |
| en undskyldning | an apology / an excuse |
A short dialogue
— Undskyld, jeg glemte at ringe til dig i går.
— Sorry, I forgot to call you yesterday.
— Det er helt i orden. Du behøver ikke at undskylde.
— It's totally fine. You don't need to apologise.
Common mistakes
❌ Han undskyldte til mig.
Incorrect — you apologise 'over for' a person, not 'til'.
✅ Han undskyldte over for mig.
He apologised to me.
❌ Jeg undskyldede for forsinkelsen.
Incorrect — undskylde takes the -te past: undskyldte.
✅ Jeg undskyldte for forsinkelsen.
I apologised for the delay.
❌ Vi undskylder ulejligheden.
Off-register for a formal notice — companies use beklage here.
✅ Vi beklager ulejligheden.
We apologise for the inconvenience. (formal)
❌ Jeg har undskyldet.
Incorrect — the participle is undskyldt, not undskyldet.
✅ Jeg har undskyldt.
I've apologised.
Key takeaways
- Undskylde is a weak -te verb: undskylde / undskylder / undskyldte / undskyldt.
- Undskyld is the everyday word for both "sorry" and "excuse me."
- You undskylde for the thing and undskylde over for the person — never til.
- Beklage is the formal counterpart (regret/apologise in official contexts).
- En undskyldning means both "apology" and "excuse."
For the wider system of Danish politeness and the absence of a plain word for "please," see courtesy expressions and the tak system.
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Start learning Danish→Related Topics
- Please, Thank You and SorryA1 — How politeness works in Danish — the missing word for 'please', the many faces of tak, the difference between undskyld, beklager and desværre, and the untranslatable værsgo.
- The Tak System: Thanks and ResponsesA2 — The full ecosystem around tak — how one little word covers thanks, 'yes please', whole rituals like tak for mad and tak for sidst, and how to answer when someone thanks you.
- BedeA2 — Full reference for the strong verb 'bede' (to ask for / request / pray), including the crucial 'bede om' vs 'spørge' split.