övergången

Övergången is a Swedish noun that denotes the act, process, or period of changing from one state, condition, or phase to another. The word combines över-, meaning “across” or “over,” with gång, meaning “going” or “movement.” In everyday Swedish, övergången can refer to a wide range of transitions, from personal development to organizational change.

In public and policy discourse, the term is common in discussions about societal shifts, such as the transition to renewable energy, the transition to a digital economy, or the move from fossil fuels to low‑carbon systems. It is also used in education and administration to describe moves from one level or stage to another, for example the overgang between school years, or a transition period in policy implementation. Biologically or medically, it may describe developmental steps or changes in states within an organism.

In culture and media, Övergången has been used as a title or thematic focus to explore themes of change and passage. Such uses are context dependent and not tied to a single canonical meaning. See also: övergång, förändring, övergångsperiod, and related terms in Swedish that describe movement from one state to another.