This is the conjugation reference for bli, "to become / to get." If være describes how things are, bli describes how things change — it is the change-of-state verb. It also pulls triple duty: it expresses a future "be" (det blir fint i morgen), it means "stay / remain" (bli her!), and it is the auxiliary of the bli-passive (døra blir åpnet = "the door is opened"). Learning bli well is learning two systems at once: the copula and the passive.
Principal parts
Bli is a strong verb with a vowel change in the past. Note the spelling: preterite ble (one e), supine blitt (double t).
| Infinitive | Present | Preterite | Perfect (har + supine) | Imperative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| å bli | blir | ble | har blitt | bli! |
| to become / get | become(s) / get(s) | became / got | have become | become! / stay! |
One form per tense for all persons: jeg blir, du blir, de blir; jeg ble, vi ble. The perfect is har blitt — and yes, ha, not være, even though "become" is a change-of-state verb (see verb-reference/ha).
Jeg blir trøtt av all denne lesingen.
I'm getting tired from all this reading.
Det ble sent i går kveld.
It got late last night.
bli = become / get (change of state)
This is the core sense, and the heart of the contrast with være. Være names a state; bli names the transition into it. English blurs this with "be" and "get," but Norwegian keeps a clean line:
Han er lege. → Han blir lege til våren.
He is a doctor. → He's becoming a doctor in the spring.
Hun har blitt voksen siden sist jeg så henne.
She's grown up since I last saw her.
bli = the future "be"
For predictions and future states — especially weather, plans, and outcomes — Norwegian uses blir where English uses "will be." It frames the future as something that comes to be:
Det blir fint vær i helga, sier meteorologen.
The weather will be nice this weekend, the forecaster says.
Møtet blir på mandag i stedet.
The meeting will be on Monday instead.
bli = stay / remain
A separate, very common sense: bli (often bli igjen) means to stay or remain somewhere rather than leave:
Bli her, jeg er straks tilbake.
Stay here, I'll be right back.
De fleste gjestene ble til midnatt.
Most of the guests stayed until midnight.
Context disambiguates "become" from "stay," but the imperative bli! almost always means "stay!"
bli as the passive auxiliary
Norwegian has two passives. The bli-passive — bli + past participle — describes an event: something happening to the subject. (Norwegian also has an -s passive, covered on verbs/bli-passive, which leans more toward general rules and habits.) The participle here agrees with nothing; it's the fixed -et/-t form:
Døra blir åpnet klokka ni hver morgen.
The door is opened at nine every morning.
Vinduet ble knust under stormen.
The window was smashed during the storm.
Pakken har blitt sendt i dag.
The package has been sent today.
This maps neatly onto English: blir = "is/are (being) [done]," ble = "was/were [done]," har blitt = "has/have been [done]." The trap is omitting bli and trying to build a passive out of være alone — see Common Mistakes.
The imperative: bli
The command bli is the bare stem. On its own or with igjen, it means "stay":
Ikke gå ennå — bli litt til!
Don't go yet — stay a little longer!
Common Mistakes
❌ Jeg er trøtt av å lese (meaning 'I'm getting tired').
Incorrect — a change of state needs bli, not være.
✅ Jeg blir trøtt av å lese.
I'm getting tired from reading.
❌ Døra er åpnet klokka ni (as an event passive).
Incorrect — the eventive passive needs the auxiliary bli.
✅ Døra blir åpnet klokka ni.
The door is opened at nine.
❌ Det ble blitt sent.
Incorrect — don't stack ble + blitt; use ble for the simple past.
✅ Det ble sent.
It got late.
❌ Hun har bli voksen.
Incorrect — the supine is blitt, with a double t.
✅ Hun har blitt voksen.
She's grown up.
❌ Han er lege til våren (meaning he changes profession).
Incorrect — for becoming something, use bli.
✅ Han blir lege til våren.
He's becoming a doctor in the spring.
Key Takeaways
- bli / blir / ble / blitt, imperative bli — note ble (one e) and blitt (double t).
- bli is the change-of-state partner to være: state = være, transition = bli.
- It also serves as the future "be" (det blir fint) and as "stay / remain" (bli her).
- It is the auxiliary of the bli-passive (bli
- participle) — and even here the perfect is har blitt, not er blitt.
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Start learning Norwegian→Related Topics
- The bli-PassiveB1 — How to form the periphrastic bli + past participle passive (ble åpnet, blir valgt, har blitt bygd) and why it — not the s-passive — is the default for specific events.
- være vs bli: Be vs BecomeA2 — Use være for a state that already holds and bli for any change of state, future state, or passive — the single most useful copula distinction in Norwegian.
- være (to be)A1 — The complete conjugation of Norwegian's most important verb — present er, preterite var, supine vært, imperative vær — a fully suppletive copula whose forms never change for person.
- ha (to have)A1 — The full conjugation of ha — present har, preterite hadde, supine hatt, imperative ha — Norwegian's verb of possession and, crucially, the one and only auxiliary for every compound tense.