Fortryde

Fortryde is a Danish verb meaning to regret or feel remorse about something one has done or failed to do. It expresses dissatisfaction with past choices or actions and often implies a wish that circumstances had been different.

In use, fortryde is commonly followed by a clause introduced with at or used with a direct statement. The present tense is fortryder (jeg fortryder, du fortryder, han fortryder, etc.). The past tense is typically formed with have plus the past participle, as in jeg har fortrudt det (I have regretted it). The simple past exists in older texts and certain dialects, but in contemporary Danish the present perfect is more common for past regret.

Origin and range: the verb is native Danish and is used across formal and everyday language. It covers remorse about a specific action, a decision, or a statement, and it can accompany admissions, apologies, or reflections on what one would have wished to be different.

Nuance and usage: fortryde can convey a stronger emotional sense of remorse than milder expressions of disappointment, and it often signals a turning point in how a person views a past event. It is commonly contrasted with other ways of expressing disappointment or regret in Danish, and it remains a frequent term in personal, political, and literary contexts.

See also: regret, remorse.