Vise means "to show." It is a perfectly regular weak verb, which makes it easy to conjugate — but it carries one idiom every learner should pocket early: det viser sig at …, "it turns out that …," a phrase you will use constantly to report a surprising discovery. This page covers the plain verb, the reflexive vise sig, and that discourse idiom.
Principal parts
Vise is a weak -te verb: it forms its past with -te and its participle with -t, no vowel change.
| Form | Danish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | (at) vise | (to) show |
| Present | viser | show(s) |
| Past | viste | showed |
| Past participle | vist | shown |
| Imperative | vis! | show! |
The present perfect uses har: jeg har vist. The participle vist is also a homograph of an adverb — more on that below.
Vise = to show
In its plain transitive use, you show something to someone. Danish typically puts the person first (often without a preposition) and the thing second.
Kan du vise mig vej til stationen?
Can you show me the way to the station?
Hun viste os billeder fra ferien.
She showed us photos from the holiday.
Vis mig lige, hvordan maskinen virker.
Just show me how the machine works.
The imperative vis! is common and friendly: Vis mig dit kørekort ("Show me your driving licence").
Vise sig — to turn out / to appear
With the reflexive pronoun, vise sig means "to show oneself," and by extension "to appear," "to turn up," or "to turn out (to be)." (For how reflexive pronouns work generally, see reflexive verbs.)
Solen viste sig endelig efter frokost.
The sun finally came out after lunch.
Han viste sig aldrig til mødet.
He never showed up to the meeting.
Det viste sig at være en god beslutning.
It turned out to be a good decision.
Det viser sig at — "it turns out that"
This is the high-value phrase to memorise as a unit. Det viser sig at … (present) or det viste sig at … (past) introduces a fact you have just discovered, often a surprising one. It is the everyday Danish equivalent of "it turns out (that) …".
Det viser sig, at vi er nabofamilier.
It turns out we're neighbours.
Det viste sig, at toget var aflyst.
It turned out the train had been cancelled.
Det har vist sig at være meget sværere end forventet.
It has turned out to be much harder than expected.
A homograph trap: vist the participle vs vist the adverb
The participle vist ("shown") is spelled exactly like the adverb vist, which means "apparently / probably / I think." They are unrelated in meaning, so let context decide.
Han har vist mig sit nye hus.
He has shown me his new house. (participle: 'shown')
Han er vist ikke hjemme.
He's apparently not home. (adverb: 'apparently')
Notice the giveaway: the participle pairs with har/have (a perfect tense), while the adverb vist sits as a sentence adverb expressing uncertainty.
Across the tenses
| Tense | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| Present | Jeg viser dig rundt. | I'll show you around. |
| Past | Jeg viste dig rundt. | I showed you around. |
| Present perfect | Jeg har vist dig rundt. | I've shown you around. |
Common collocations
- vise vej — show the way
- vise rundt — show around (a place)
- vise sig — turn up / appear / turn out
- det viser sig, at … — it turns out that …
- vise interesse / hensyn — show interest / consideration
- vise sig frem — show off
Vil du vise de nye gæster rundt i huset?
Would you show the new guests around the house?
A short dialogue
— Hvor blev Maria af? — Hun viste sig aldrig. Det viste sig, at hun havde skrevet den forkerte dato i kalenderen.
— What happened to Maria? — She never showed up. It turned out she'd written the wrong date in her calendar.
Common mistakes
❌ Det beviser sig, at toget var aflyst.
Wrong verb — 'bevise' means 'prove'; the idiom is 'vise sig'.
✅ Det viste sig, at toget var aflyst.
It turned out the train had been cancelled.
❌ Solen viste efter frokost.
Wrong — 'appear/come out' needs the reflexive 'sig'.
✅ Solen viste sig efter frokost.
The sun came out after lunch.
❌ Jeg har viste dig billederne.
Wrong — the perfect uses the participle 'vist', not the past 'viste'.
✅ Jeg har vist dig billederne.
I've shown you the photos.
❌ Kan du vise til mig vejen?
Wrong — 'vise' takes the person directly: 'vise mig vej'.
✅ Kan du vise mig vej?
Can you show me the way?
Key takeaways
- Vise is a regular weak verb: present viser, past viste, participle vist — one form per tense, every subject.
- Plain vise = show something to someone; reflexive vise sig = appear / turn up / turn out.
- Bank det viser sig, at … ("it turns out that …") as a fixed phrase, and keep the participle vist apart from the adverb vist ("apparently").
Now practice Danish
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Start learning Danish→Related Topics
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The Present TenseA1 — How to form the Danish present (add -r) and why one present form covers English's simple present, present continuous, and 'going to' future.
- 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.