då

See also: daa and Appendix:Variations of "da"

Bavarian

Alternative forms

• (alternative Spelling) do
• (Northern) dou

Etymology

Cognate with German da.

Pronunciation

• (Central) IPA^(key): /ˈd̥ɔː/
• Rhymes: -ɔː

Adverb

då

1. (local) here, there
2. (temporal) then; so; at that moment

See also

Bavarian adverbs of place and direction

	adverbs
	from	to	here	there
place	her	hi	då/dou	dort/duart
inside	eina	eini/-e, nei	herin	drin
outside	aussa/assa	aussi/-e, assi, naus	heraust	draussn
up	auffa/affa	auffi/-e, affi, nauf	herobn	drobn
down	åwa	åwi/-e, nå, åi	herunt	druntn
forth	fiara	fiari/-e	vorn	davor
behind	hinta, hintra	hinti/-e, hintri/-e	hintn	dahinta
over here	umma	ummi/-e	herent	drent, entn
over there	dåna	dåni/-e	herdånt	hidånt
closer	zuara	zuari/-e

Danish

Etymology

From Old Danish da, from Old English da, from Proto-West Germanic *daihā, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)-.

Noun

då c (singular definite dåen, plural indefinite dåer)

1. a doe

   Coordinate term: hind

Declension

Declension of då

common gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	då	dåen	dåer	dåerne
genitive	dås	dåens	dåers	dåernes

References

• “då” in Den Danske Ordbog

Norwegian Bokmål

Common hemp-nettle (Galeopsis tetrahit).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /doː/, [doː]
• Rhymes: -oː
• Hyphenation: då

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Norse (akr)dái (“a kind of weed”), related to dá (“stupor; unconsciousness”) and dø (“to die”). The compound akrdái contains akr (“field”), also the source of åker (“field”).

Torp explains the connection with insensibility by the plant's resemblance to a nettle without its sting. The precise plant denoted by the Old Norse word is uncertain, however; Heizmann suggests a poisonous field weed, possibly darnel (Lolium temulentum).

Cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk då and Swedish dån (“hemp-nettle”).

Alternative forms

• (alternative spelling) dåe

Noun

då m (definite singular dåen, indefinite plural dåer, definite plural dåene)

1. (botany) a hemp-nettle; a plant of the genus Galeopsis

   Det vokste då mellom potetplantene. ― Hemp-nettles were growing among the potato plants.

   • 2005, Heidi E. Heggen, Jan Netland, Espen Haugland and Helge Sjursen, editor, Plantevern i fôrvekster: Integrert bekjempelse‎^[1], Oslo: Landbruksforlaget, →ISBN, page 55:

     Unntaket kan være hvis det er mye konkurransesterkt ugras som meldestokk, då og klengemaure på arealet.

     An exception may arise if there are large amounts of highly competitive weeds such as fat hen, hemp-nettle and cleavers in the area.

2. (botany) the hemp-nettle genus, Galeopsis; a genus of annual plants in the mint family

   Då hører til leppeblomstfamilien. ― The hemp-nettle genus belongs to the mint family.

   • 2026 August 2, Per Sunding, John Magne Grindeland, “då”, in Store norske leksikon‎^[2], retrieved 10 October 2026:

     I tillegg er sideflikene på underleppa butte hos då, mens de er spisse eller mangler hos tvetann.

     In addition, the lateral lobes of the lower lip are blunt in hemp-nettles, whereas in dead-nettles they are pointed or absent.

Usage notes

• Bokmålsordboka gives masculine inflection. NAOB also records feminine gender.

Derived terms

• bleikdå (“downy hemp-nettle (Galeopsis segetum)”)
• dundå (“red hemp-nettle (Galeopsis ladanum)”)
• guldå (“large-flowered hemp-nettle (Galeopsis speciosa)”)
• kvassdå (“common hemp-nettle (Galeopsis tetrahit)”)
• mykdå (“hairy hemp-nettle (Galeopsis pubescens)”)
• smaldå (“narrow-leaved hemp-nettle (Galeopsis angustifolia)”)
• vrangdå (“bifid hemp-nettle (Galeopsis bifida)”)

Etymology 2

A male fallow deer (Dama dama).

Ultimately from Old English dā (“doe; female deer”).

Under a proposed Germanic analysis, the Old English word continues Proto-West Germanic *daihā (“female deer; hind”), from Proto-Germanic *daihǭ. A further connection with Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- (“to suck; to suckle”) has been proposed. The deeper origin remains disputed; a Celtic origin is instead given by Det Norske Akademis ordbok.

Compare Danish då (“female fallow deer”) and English doe (“female deer”).

Noun

då m (definite singular dåen, indefinite plural dåer, definite plural dåene)

1. (literary, obsolete) a fallow deer, Dama dama

   En då beitet i skogbrynet. ― A fallow deer was grazing at the edge of the woods.

   Synonyms: dåhjort, dådyr

Derived terms

• dådyr (“fallow deer”)
• dåhjort (“fallow deer”)

Etymology 3

Inherited from Old Norse þá (“then; at that time”), from Proto-Germanic *þan (“then”). Compare the standard form da. The conjunction developed through the loss of er from þá er (“when; at the time that”) during the Middle Norwegian period.

Cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk då, Danish da, Swedish då, Icelandic þá, Faroese tá, German dann (“then”) and English then.

Adverb

då

1. (dialectal, nonstandard) alternative form of da: then.
   • 1935, Nordahl Grieg, “Act II, scene III”, in Vår ære og vår makt‎^[3], Oslo: Gyldendal:

     Då hørte vi plutselig et smell nere i sydøst og så flammen slå op.

     Then we suddenly heard a bang down to the southeast and saw the flames shoot up.

   • 2008 September 25, Ingelill Brattheim, “Ruster ikke”, in Bergens Tidende‎^[4]:

     — Ka då, Helge?

     “What, then, Helge?”

Conjunction

då

1. (dialectal, nonstandard) alternative form of da: when.
   • 1935, Nordahl Grieg, “Act II, scene V”, in Vår ære og vår makt‎^[5], Oslo: Gyldendal:

     Det hjalp så godt isted då du sang.

     It helped so much earlier when you sang.

Usage notes

• Used in written representations of dialectal speech. The corresponding standard Bokmål form is da.

References

• “då” in Store norske leksikon.
• “Daun” in Tysk-norsk ordbok, page 452; gives the Norwegian equivalent dåe.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /doː/
• In the third sense of the adverb, it should always be pronounced unstressed.

Etymology 1

From Old Norse þá, from Proto-Germanic *þan (“then”). Its use as a conjunction can be seen as taken from the Old Norse combination þá er (er being the actual conjunction).

Alternative forms

• da
• daa (obsolete spelling)

Conjunction

då

1. when (at a time in the past)

   Då morgonen kom, hadde vêret vorte betre.

   When the morning came, the weather had gotten better.

2. since, as (used to denote a reason)

   Synonym: ettersom

Adverb

då

1. then (at that time)

   Fyrst då kan me gjera noko med det.

   We can't do anything about it until then.

2. then (in that case)

   Då er eg redd det er lite me kan gjera.

   Then I am afraid there is little we can do.

3. (filler, intesifier) though, yet, then

   Synonyms: altso, no

   Det var då litt feil å gjera det, ikkje sant?

   It was a little bit wrong to do it then, wasn’t it?

   Kom no med oss då!

   Come with us!

   Du kunne ikkje finne dei i huset, men eg såg inn i skuret, so var dei der då

   You could not find them in the house, but I looked into the shed, and they were there apparently

Derived terms

• dåtid
• no og då

Etymology 2

kvassdå, the common hemp-nettle

From Old Norse ákrdái, whence also Swedish dån. Related to døy (“to die”).

Alternative forms

• dæ m or f, dæe m

Noun

då m (definite singular dåen, indefinite plural dåar, definite plural dåane)

2. a hemp-nettle

Derived terms

• dundå
• guldå
• kvassdå
• smaldå
• vrangdå

References

• “då” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Swedish

Alternative forms

• da (adverb; eye dialect)

Etymology

From Old Swedish þā, from Old Norse þá, from Proto-Germanic *þan (“then”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /doː/, [doː]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oː

Adverb

då (not comparable)

1. then; at that time
2. then; in that case
3. what about, how about

   Den där, då?

   What about that one?

Conjunction

då

1. when; at the same point in time as

   Vi sov då branden började.

   We were sleeping when the fire started.

2. (dated) since, as; by background of the case being that

   Då inget tvivel tycks råda om hans skuld, beslutar jag härmed...

   Since there seem to be no doubts about his guilt, I hereby decide...

Usage notes

• In the first use, it is far more common to use när than då, which is very rare in spoken language.
• In the second use, it is far more common to use eftersom; då may be perceived as archaic.

Derived terms

• hej då
• ändå

References

• “då”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “då”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “då”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)