Spille

Spille is a verb used in Norwegian and Danish that means to play. It covers activity in music, games, sports, and other forms of participation or performance. The verb is also used in phrases that express gambling, participating in a role, or acting in a scene.

Etymology and cognates: Spille belongs to the Germanic family of languages and is cognate with German spielen, Dutch spelen, and English play. The core sense in Norwegian and Danish centers on engaging in an activity for enjoyment, instruction, or competition.

Usage in Norwegian and Danish: In both languages, å spille describes playing a musical instrument (for example, å spille gitar in Norwegian, å spille guitar in Danish). It also denotes taking part in games or sports (å spille fotball) and acting or performing a part (å spille en rolle). The phrase å spille på can mean to gamble on something or to rely on an assumption in a playful or speculative sense.

Conjugation and forms: Norwegian present tense is spiller (jeg/du/han/hun/vi/de spiller). Past tense is spilte, and the past participle is spilt. Danish present tense is spiller, with past tense spillede and past participle spillet. These forms allow standard tense construction with auxiliary verbs.

Examples: Hun spiller gitar. De spiller fotball. Hun spiller en rolle i stykket. Han spiller på et nytt instrument.

See also: Related verbs in Nordic languages, as well as the noun spill meaning a game or performance in Norwegian, and spil in Danish.