Learn Hardcore Swedish: Kom ihåg att låsa dörren när du går. - Remember to lock the door when you leave.

Because Kom ihåg is the imperative of the verb phrase komma ihåg (“to remember”). You use the imperative to give instructions or requests. Kommer ihåg is present tense (“remember(s)”) and is not used for commands: e.g., Jag kommer ihåg det (“I remember it”).

What is ihåg? Is it a standalone word?

Ihåg is a fixed particle historically meaning “memory,” and today it’s almost only used in the verb phrase komma ihåg (“to remember”). It isn’t used by itself as a normal noun. There’s also a slightly old-fashioned verb ihågkomma with the same meaning, and a noun like kom‑ihåg‑lapp (“reminder note”).

Do I need att before låsa? Can I say “Kom ihåg låsa dörren”?

Yes, you need att: Kom ihåg att låsa dörren. Here att is the infinitive marker (“to”). In casual speech many people pronounce att like å, and some dialects even say och (“and”) in place of att, but in standard Swedish writing you should keep att.

How do I say “Remember not to lock the door”? Where does inte go?

Put the negation inside the infinitive phrase: Kom ihåg att inte låsa dörren. Don’t say “låsa inte” after the verb in an infinitive: that’s ungrammatical here. A more common positive reminder is Glöm inte att låsa dörren (“Don’t forget to lock the door”).

Why is it dörren with -en? When would I use dörr?

Swedish marks definiteness with a suffix. En dörr = “a door” (indefinite), dörren = “the door” (definite). In this context it’s a specific, understood door (e.g., the front door), so dörren is natural. Plurals: dörrar (“doors”), dörrarna (“the doors”).

Does när du går mean “when you walk” or “when you leave”?

Here när du går means “when you leave/go.” Gå can mean “walk,” but it’s also widely used for “leave.” If you want to be explicit about stepping outside, you can say när du går ut, or när du går hemifrån (“when you leave home”).

Do I need ska for future time (när du ska gå)?

No. Swedish often uses present tense in när-clauses for future events: när du går is fine. När du ska gå is also possible but adds a sense of “when you’re about to leave/are scheduled to leave.”

Should there be a comma before när du går?

Not in the original order: Kom ihåg att låsa dörren när du går (no comma). If you put the subclause first, a comma is normally used: När du går, kom ihåg att låsa dörren.

Where does inte go with komma ihåg in normal statements?

The negation splits the verb and the particle: Jag kommer inte ihåg det (“I don’t remember it”). Compare: Jag kommer ihåg det (no negation). Don’t say “kommer ihåg inte.”

Is the imperative Kom ihåg… polite in Swedish? Are there softer options?

The imperative isn’t inherently rude in Swedish; it’s common in instructions. To soften it, you can say:

Glöm inte att låsa dörren.
Lås gärna dörren när du går.
Kan du låsa dörren när du går, tack? or Var snäll och lås dörren när du går.

How do I pronounce att, å, and ö here?

att (the “to” marker) is often pronounced like å in everyday speech; in careful speech you may hear a clear “att.”
å (as in ihåg and låsa) sounds like the vowel in “law,” but usually shorter.
ö (as in dörren) is like the vowel in English “fur,” but with rounded lips.

Can I rephrase it as “När du går, kom ihåg att låsa dörren”? Any word-order rules to watch?

Yes, that rephrasing is natural. If you front a subclause in Swedish, you typically use a comma before the main clause. With imperatives the verb already comes first, so there’s no extra inversion to worry about here.

Is “Minns att låsa dörren” acceptable?

It’s understandable but not idiomatic. Minnas is mainly “to remember/recall (something that happened),” not “remember to (do something).” Prefer Kom ihåg att låsa dörren or the negative reminder Glöm inte att låsa dörren.

Could I just say “Lås dörren när du går”? How does that differ in tone?

Yes: Lås dörren när du går is a direct instruction (“Lock the door when you leave”). Kom ihåg att låsa… frames it as a reminder, which can sound a bit softer. Both are perfectly natural.