besöka means "to visit" — a place, an institution, or a person. It is built from the prefix be- plus the verb söka ("to seek"), and like söka it belongs to Group 2 with a -te past. The one thing to remember beyond the conjugation: besöka is the slightly more formal, more written word, and for the everyday "drop by and see a person" Swedes usually reach for hälsa på instead.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| besöka | besöker | besökte | besökt | besök | Group 2 (-te) |
This is a Group 2 verb, so the forms differ from the Group 1 default. The present takes -er (besöker), not -ar. The past takes -te — because the stem besök- ends in the voiceless consonant k — giving besökte, not besökade. The supine ends in -t (besökt), not -at. And crucially the imperative is the bare stem besök (drop the infinitive -a): Besök oss! ("Visit us!"). All of this is inherited directly from söka (söker, sökte, sökt).
Use 1: besöka a place
The most natural home for besöka is visiting places — museums, cities, websites, institutions. Here it takes a plain direct object, no preposition.
Vi besökte ett museum i Stockholm.
We visited a museum in Stockholm. besökte + direct object, no preposition.
Hur många besöker den här sajten varje dag?
How many people visit this website every day? besöker — present, voiceless -er ending.
Påven ska besöka flera städer i sommar.
The Pope will visit several cities this summer. besöka fits the formal, news-register context.
Jag har aldrig besökt Norge.
I've never visited Norway. har besökt — the perfect, supine in -t.
Use 2: besöka a person (more formal)
You can use besöka with a person, and it isn't wrong — it just sounds a touch more formal or written than the everyday alternative.
Läkaren besöker patienterna varje morgon.
The doctor visits the patients every morning. A neutral, slightly formal use with people.
Vi besökte en gammal vän på sjukhuset.
We visited an old friend at the hospital. Correct, but in casual speech many would say hälsade på.
besöka vs hälsa på
Both can mean "visit a person," but they live in different registers:
- besöka — neutral to formal, common in writing, news, and official contexts. Takes a plain object: besöka en vän.
- hälsa på — the warm, everyday colloquial choice for visiting people. Note the på: hälsa på en vän.
For places, besöka is the natural verb and hälsa på doesn't apply. For people in casual conversation, hälsa på usually wins.
Vi ska hälsa på mormor i helgen. (informal)
We're going to visit grandma this weekend. (informal) Everyday speech prefers hälsa på for people.
Delegationen besökte fabriken på fredagen. (formal)
The delegation visited the factory on Friday. (formal) besöka suits the written, official register.
The related noun: ett besök
The noun is ett besök ("a visit"), and a visitor is en besökare.
Tack för ett trevligt besök!
Thanks for a lovely visit! ett besök — the noun, neuter gender.
Common Mistakes
❌ Vi besökade museet.
Incorrect — besöka is Group 2, so the past is besökte (-te), not the Group 1 *besökade.
✅ Vi besökte museet.
We visited the museum.
❌ Jag besökar ofta mina föräldrar.
Incorrect — Group 2 present takes -er: besöker, not *besökar.
✅ Jag besöker ofta mina föräldrar.
I often visit my parents.
❌ Jag har besökat Norge.
Incorrect — the supine is besökt (-t), not *besökat.
✅ Jag har besökt Norge.
I've visited Norway.
❌ Besöka oss snart!
Off — the imperative drops the -a: Besök oss snart! (bare stem besök).
✅ Besök oss snart!
Visit us soon!
❌ Vi besökte på vår vän.
Incorrect — besöka takes a plain object, no på: besökte vår vän. The på belongs to hälsa på.
✅ Vi besökte vår vän.
We visited our friend.
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Start learning Swedish→Related Topics
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