Learn Hardcore Swedish: Du behöver inte oroa dig.

So oroa dig together corresponds to worry (yourself). Saying only oroa would feel incomplete here, because att oroa almost always needs that reflexive pronoun (mig/dig/sig/oss/er/sig) when it means “to worry (emotionally)”.

Why is it dig and not du?

Du and dig are two different forms of the pronoun you:

du = subject form (like English I / he / she / we)
dig = object (and reflexive) form (like English me / him / her / us)

Examples:

Du är trött. – You are tired. (du is the subject)
Jag ser dig. – I see you. (dig is the object)
Du behöver inte oroa dig. – You don’t need to worry. (du is the subject of behöver, dig is the reflexive object of oroa)

Because att oroa sig is reflexive, it always takes the object/reflexive form (mig, dig, sig, oss, er, sig) after it, not the subject form.

Why does inte come after behöver and before oroa?

Swedish has a fairly strict word order. In a main clause with a modal-like verb plus an infinitive, the pattern is:

Subject – Finite verb – Negation – Infinitive – (objects, etc.)

In this sentence:

Du = subject
behöver = finite verb (present tense of behöva)
inte = negation
oroa = infinitive
dig = reflexive object

So the standard order is:

Du behöver inte oroa dig.

Putting inte in another place (like before behöver or after dig) would sound wrong or at least very marked in standard Swedish.

Does behöver inte mean “don’t have to” or “must not”?

Behöver inte corresponds to English don’t need to / don’t have to, not must not.

Du behöver inte oroa dig.
= You don’t need to worry / You don’t have to worry.
(It’s not necessary for you to worry.)

If you want to say must not / should not worry (a prohibition or strong advice), Swedish would more naturally use:

Du ska inte oroa dig. – You shouldn’t worry.
Du bör inte oroa dig. – You ought not to worry.

Be careful:
Du måste inte oroa dig technically means you don’t have to worry, not you must not worry. So for native English speakers, behöver inte and måste inte both map to don’t have to, not to a strong “forbidden” sense.

Can I say Oroa dig inte instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say Oroa dig inte, but it’s a different structure and tone.

Du behöver inte oroa dig.
Declarative sentence: You don’t need to worry.
– States that worrying is not necessary; a bit more neutral/soft.
Oroa dig inte.
Imperative: Don’t worry.
– A direct instruction/encouragement, often a bit more immediate, like telling someone to calm down.

Both are common and natural. Context and tone decide which is better. In many situations, they can be used almost interchangeably.

Why isn’t there an att before oroa, like behöver inte att oroa dig?

Normally, Swedish uses att before an infinitive:

att läsa – to read
att skriva – to write

But some verbs function like modal verbs and usually drop att in front of the following verb. Behöva is one of them:

Du behöver läsa. (not behöver att läsa)
Du behöver sova.
Du behöver inte oroa dig.

So the pattern is:

behöver + infinitive (no att)

Adding att here (Du behöver att oroa dig) is ungrammatical.

Can I drop the du and just say Behöver inte oroa dig?

In standard Swedish, no – you normally need the subject du:

Du behöver inte oroa dig. ✅ (normal)
Behöver inte oroa dig. ❌ (feels incomplete/telegraphic)

Spoken Swedish may omit pronouns in very informal, fragment-like speech, but grammatically correct sentences in Swedish almost always have an explicit subject pronoun:

Jag är trött.
Vi går nu.
Du behöver inte oroa dig.

So if you’re learning, always include du here.

Is dig always used after oroa, or can it change?

The reflexive pronoun changes with the subject. The verb is att oroa sig, and sig is just the dictionary form. In real sentences, it becomes:

Jag oroar mig. – I worry.
Du oroar dig. – You worry.
Han/hon oroar sig. – He/She worries.
Vi oroar oss. – We worry.
Ni oroar er. – You (plural/formal) worry.
De oroar sig. – They worry.

With a helper verb like behöva, the pattern is the same but with the infinitive:

Jag behöver inte oroa mig.
Du behöver inte oroa dig.
Vi behöver inte oroa oss.

So dig is used only when the subject is du.

What’s the difference between dig and the spelling dej that I sometimes see?

Dig is the standard, correct spelling.

Dej is an informal, phonetic spelling that matches common pronunciation in many dialects. You’ll see dej in:

Song lyrics
Text messages
Very informal writing

But in proper writing (school, work, official texts, most books), you should use:

dig, mig, sig, sej, etc. → standard is dig, mig, sig, not dej, mej, sej

So for learning purposes: stick to dig.

How are behöver and oroa pronounced?

Very roughly in English-like sounds (Swedish has sounds English doesn’t, but this is close):

behöver ≈ beh-HUR-ver
- be – like “beh” in behave but shorter
- hö – like “hur” in murmur but with lips rounded
- ver – like “vair” but short and unstressed
Main stress is on -HÖ-: be-HÖ-ver.
oroa ≈ OO-roo-ah
- o – long “oo” as in food
- ro – “roo” (rolled or tapped r)
- a – short “a” like in sofa’s final sound

Together, naturally spoken:

Du behöver inte oroa dig.
≈ Doo beh-HÖ-ver in-teh OO-roo-ah day (very approximate)

If you’re serious about pronunciation, listening to native audio (e.g. Forvo or TTS) is much more reliable than English approximations.