binde (to tie/bind) | Norwegian Grammar

binde ("to tie, to bind") is a strong verb of the i–a–u family, sharing a root with English bind / bound. You meet it literally (tying shoelaces, binding a sheaf, fastening a load) and figuratively (a promise that binds you, ingredients that bind a sauce, a binding agreement). Its two spelling traps sit in the past forms: the preterite bandt keeps a d before the t, and the supine bundet swaps the vowel to u.

Conjugation

Class: strong, ablaut i–a–u. Auxiliary: ha.

Tense / mood	Norwegian	English
Infinitiv	å binde	to tie / to bind
Presens	binder	tie(s), bind(s)
Preteritum	bandt	tied, bound
Perfektum	har bundet	have/has tied, bound
Pluskvamperfektum	hadde bundet	had tied, bound
Futurum	skal/vil binde	will tie / bind
Imperativ	bind!	tie! / bind!
Presens partisipp	bindende	binding (adjective)
Perfektum partisipp	bundet	bound, tied (adjective)

💡

Two traps in one verb. First, the preterite is bandt — note the silent-feeling d before the t (it's ba-n-d-t, not bant). Second, the supine swaps the vowel to u: bundet. So the three key forms are binder · bandt · bundet, and the perfect-tense adjective bundet ("bound") is identical to the supine.

The ablaut and the English cognate

binde runs the three vowels i → a → u, exactly like finne and vinne:

i: binde, binder, bind!
a: bandt
u: bundet

The English cousin is bind / bound / bound. The shared ancestry is plain — and notice that English "bound" preserves the same u-coloured past that Norwegian shows in bundet. As usual, English merged its two past forms into one ("bound"), while Norwegian keeps preterite (bandt) and supine (bundet) distinct. If you have learned finne/fant/funnet, the only new thing here is that extra d in bandt.

Kan du binde skoa mine? Jeg får det aldri til selv.

Can you tie my shoes? I can never manage it myself.

Han bandt hesten til gjerdet og gikk inn i butikken.

He tied the horse to the fence and went into the shop.

Vi har bundet oss til en toårskontrakt, så det er ingen vei tilbake.

We've tied ourselves to a two-year contract, so there's no going back.

Using the supine in the perfect

After har / hadde, only the supine bundet is correct — never the preterite bandt. English speakers slip here because "bound" does double duty; Norwegian does not.

Hvem har bundet denne sløyfa? Den sitter bom fast.

Who tied this bow? It's stuck completely fast.

Da vi kom, hadde de allerede bundet sammen alle pakkene.

When we arrived, they had already tied all the parcels together.

binde + particle and figurative uses

binde is productive with particles, and several combinations are everyday vocabulary:

binde sammen — to tie together, connect, link. Used literally (bundles) and figuratively (a bridge that connects two towns, a theme that ties a book together).
binde fast — to tie down, fasten, secure (so something can't move or come loose). Bind lasten godt fast = "fasten the load well."
binde opp — to tie up, or figuratively to commit/use up (resources, capital, time). Pengene er bundet opp i huset = "the money is tied up in the house."
bindende (adjective) — binding, obligatory. Et bindende tilbud = "a binding offer."

Den nye broa binder de to bydelene sammen.

The new bridge connects the two districts.

Husk å binde fast sykkelen — det forsvinner mange her.

Remember to lock the bike down — a lot of them go missing around here.

Påmeldingen er bindende, så ikke meld deg på hvis du er usikker.

The registration is binding, so don't sign up if you're unsure.

binde vs knytte

Norwegian has a near-synonym, knytte (a regular weak verb: knytter / knyttet / har knyttet), and the two overlap but are not interchangeable.

knytte is the default for tying a knot — laces, ties, ribbons. Knytte slipset ("tie the tie"), knytte skoa ("tie one's shoes") are the most natural choices.
binde leans toward binding something so it is held, fastened or restrained — tying an animal up, binding a sheaf, and crucially all the figurative senses (a contract that binds you, money that is bound up).
Figuratively, knytte means to forge/establish a link: knytte kontakter ("make contacts"), knytte bånd ("form bonds"). Here binde would be wrong.

Hun knyttet slipset foran speilet før intervjuet.

She tied the tie in front of the mirror before the interview.

Vi prøver å knytte kontakter i bransjen.

We're trying to make contacts in the industry.

Common Mistakes

❌ Han bindet hesten til treet.

Incorrect — binde is strong; the preterite is bandt, not the weak bindet

✅ Han bandt hesten til treet.

He tied the horse to the tree.

❌ Jeg har bandt sløyfa for stramt.

Incorrect — bandt is the preterite; after har use the supine bundet

✅ Jeg har bundet sløyfa for stramt.

I've tied the bow too tightly.

❌ Pengene er bandet opp i fond.

Incorrect — the past participle / supine is bundet (u-vowel), not bandet

✅ Pengene er bundet opp i fond.

The money is tied up in funds.

❌ Kan du binde slipset mitt?

Marginal — for tying a tie or laces, knytte is the natural choice

✅ Kan du knytte slipset mitt?

Can you tie my tie?

Key Takeaways

binde / binder / bandt / har bundet / bind! — strong, i–a–u, like English bind/bound.
Spelling traps: preterite bandt (keep the d: ba-n-d-t) and supine bundet (u-vowel).
After har / hadde always use the supine bundet, never bandt.
Learn the particle verbs whole: binde sammen, binde fast, binde opp, and the adjective bindende.
Use knytte for tying knots (laces, ties) and for forging links (knytte kontakter); use binde for fastening/restraining and the figurative "tied up / binding" senses.

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