betyda is the everyday verb for "to mean" in the sense of what a word or sign signifies — Vad betyder det här ordet? ("What does this word mean?"). It has a second, equally common life meaning "to matter, to be important" — Du betyder mycket för mig ("You mean a lot to me"). It is mildly irregular: although it looks like a regular Group 2 verb, its past and supine are the short forms betydde – betytt. This is one of the three Swedish verbs that English collapses into "mean," so half the work is keeping it apart from mena and innebära.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| betyda | betyder | betydde | betytt | (betyd — rare) | Irregular (short supine betytt) |
The present betyder is perfectly regular. The catch is the past betydde, with a doubled d and a short vowel — not the long-stem betydade you would expect from a regular -ade verb — and especially the supine betytt, which drops the -d- entirely. Learners who treat it as fully regular over-correct to betydade (past) and betydat (supine); both are wrong. An imperative betyd is theoretically possible but almost never used: you don't order something to mean something.
Vad betyder ordet 'fika'?
What does the word 'fika' mean? betyder — present.
Symbolen betydde 'fara' i den gamla skylten.
The symbol meant 'danger' on the old sign. betydde — past.
Den resan har betytt otroligt mycket för mig.
That trip has meant incredibly much to me. har betytt — perfect, short supine.
Use 1: a word's meaning — Vad betyder …?
The core use is asking or stating what something signifies: a word, a sign, an abbreviation, a gesture. The frame Vad betyder …? is one of the first questions a learner needs, and the answer typically uses betyder too: Det betyder ….
Förlåt, vad betyder 'lagom' på engelska?
Sorry, what does 'lagom' mean in English? The classic learner question.
Den röda lampan betyder att maskinen är på.
The red light means the machine is on. betyda for what a signal signifies.
Vad betyder förkortningen 'osv'?
What does the abbreviation 'osv' mean? betyda with abbreviations.
Use 2: to matter, to be important
The second sense is "to matter / to be important / to mean a lot." Here betyda takes a person or thing as subject and usually a för-phrase: betyda mycket för någon ("mean a lot to someone"). This is warm, emotional Swedish, common in cards, speeches and everyday affection.
Du betyder allt för mig.
You mean everything to me. betyda = matter, with för.
Det skulle betyda mycket om du kom.
It would mean a lot if you came. betyda in a conditional, sense 'matter'.
Pengar betyder mindre för henne än fri tid.
Money matters less to her than free time. betyda contrasting importance.
Use 3: betyda vs mena vs innebära — the three-way split
English "mean" hides three different Swedish verbs. betyda = what a word or sign signifies (Vad betyder ordet?). mena = what a person intends (Vad menar du? — "What do you mean / what are you trying to say?"). innebära = what a situation entails as a consequence (Vad innebär det? — "What does that involve?"). Use the subject as your cue: a word → betyda, a person → mena, a situation → innebära.
Ordet betyder 'hund' — men jag menar inte att du är en hund!
The word means 'dog' — but I'm not saying you're a dog! betyda (word) vs mena (person's intent) side by side.
Vad menar du egentligen?
What do you actually mean? A person's intention → mena, never betyda.
Det betyder inte att det är lätt.
That doesn't mean it's easy. Here betyda shades toward 'imply'; innebära would also work for consequence.
Common Mistakes
❌ Vad menar ordet 'fika'?
A word can't 'mena' (intend) — for a word's meaning use betyda: Vad betyder ordet 'fika'?
✅ Vad betyder ordet 'fika'?
What does the word 'fika' mean?
❌ Det betydade mycket för mig.
Incorrect past — betyda is irregular with the short form betydde, not betydade.
✅ Det betydde mycket för mig.
It meant a lot to me.
❌ Det har betydat mycket.
Wrong supine — use the short form betytt, not betydat.
✅ Det har betytt mycket.
It has meant a lot.
❌ Vad betyder du? (intending 'what do you mean?')
This asks 'what do you signify?' — to ask a person's intention use mena: Vad menar du?
✅ Vad menar du?
What do you mean?
Now practice Swedish
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Swedish→Related Topics
- Using the Verb ReferenceA2 — How to read the single-verb reference cards and the principal-parts citation system that underpins them. Every Swedish verb is cited as a short chain — infinitive – present – preteritum – supine – (past participle) — because every other form is derivable from those parts. This page decodes one weak verb (tala – talar – talade – talat) and one strong verb (skriva – skriver – skrev – skrivit – skriven), explains the conjugation-group labels (1/2/3/4), and gives a key to everything on a card.
- mena (to mean, intend)A2 — mena means 'to mean, intend' in the sense of a person's intention — Vad menar du? ('What do you mean?'), Jag menade inte så ('I didn't mean it that way'). It is a regular Group 1 verb (mena – menade – menat), gives mena allvar ('be serious'), and contrasts with betyda (signify) and innebära (entail).
- innebära (to mean, entail)B2 — innebära means 'to mean, entail, imply (as a consequence)' and is inne- + bära, so it keeps bära's strong ablaut: innebära – innebar – inneburit. It answers Vad innebär det? ('what does that involve?') and is distinct from betyda (signify) and mena (intend).
- Irregular High-Frequency Verbs (vara, ha, göra, veta)A1 — A handful of everyday verbs are fully irregular and must be learned one by one: vara (är/var/varit), ha (har/hade/haft), göra (gör/gjorde/gjort), veta (vet/visste/vetat), säga (säger/sade~sa/sagt), lägga (lägger/lade~la/lagt), bli (blir/blev/blivit). These seven carry a huge share of all speech, so learn them first — including the present (är, not *varar; vet, not *vetar) and the colloquial sa/la pasts that dominate spoken Swedish.