Betalte

Betalte is the past tense form of the verb betale in Danish and Norwegian Bokmål, meaning paid. The infinitive is betale; the present tense is betaler; the past participle is betalt. The form betalte is used to describe a completed payment in simple past statements.

In Danish and Norwegian Bokmål, betale is a regular weak verb. The past tense is formed with the standard -te suffix, and the past participle is betalt. The verb commonly takes a direct object, as in Jeg betalte regningen (I paid the bill). For compound tenses, the auxiliary har is used: Jeg har betalt regningen (I have paid the bill). The construction betale for or betale til is common when specifying what is being paid or to whom the payment is made, e.g., betale for varen (pay for the item) or betale til sælgeren (pay to the seller).

Etymology and cognates: Betale and its forms originate from the Germanic family of languages. Related verbs include Dutch betalen, German bezahlen, and Swedish betala, all sharing the core meaning of “to pay.” The Scandinavian forms show parallel development with minor phonological differences, while English retains the related but distinct verb pay.

Usage notes: Betalte appears in everyday financial contexts, from invoices and receipts to news reports about payments. It is distinct from other tenses in expressing a completed action in the past. See also betaling (payment) and betalinger (payments) for related terms.