Tegnes

Tegnes is a present passive verb form used in Danish and Norwegian Bokmål. It is the passive form of the verb tegne, meaning to draw. Tegnes indicates that the drawing is performed by someone else or by an unspecified agent, and is commonly used when describing artworks, diagrams, maps, or illustrations that have been created by a person or group. An example is "Billedet tegnes af kunstneren," meaning "The picture is drawn by the artist."

Across Danish and Bokmål, tegnes is standard in formal and descriptive writing. In Norwegian nynorsk, the corresponding present passive form is teiknast, while the active present is teiknar and the infinitive is teikne. An example in nynorsk is "Biletet teiknast av ein kunstnar."

Etymology and related forms: The verb tegne derives from Old Norse teikna and is cognate with Swedish teckna and other Germanic forms. The related noun tegning means drawing, and teikning is the nynorsk noun form.

Usage notes: Tegnes emphasizes the action as performed by an agent rather than the subject itself, which is typical of passive constructions in the Scandinavian languages. When the agent is unknown or general, a passive construction is common; when the agent is specified, a phrase such as av kunstneren or av ein kunstnar is used.