Tidsbestämt

Tidsbestämt is a Swedish adjective describing something that has a defined time frame. It indicates that the duration, start date and end date, or time period is predetermined in advance. The form changes with the noun’s gender: with en-words you use tidsbestämd (for example en tidsbestämd anställning), and with ett-words you use tidsbestämt (for example ett tidsbestämt kontrakt).

Common contexts for tidsbestämt are employment, contracts, licenses, permits, and project funding. In employment, a tidsbestämd anställning refers to a fixed-term employment contract. In contracts, a tidsbestämt kontrakt signals that obligations and rights are limited to a specified period. The term is also used for licenses or permits issued for a limited duration and for project-related arrangements where a defined end date applies. In all these cases, the arrangement ends when the specified period expires, unless it is renewed or extended by mutual agreement.

Usage notes and nuance: tidsbestämt and tidsbegränsad are related concepts and are sometimes used interchangeably in everyday language. Some style guides reserve tidsbestämt to emphasize that a specific time interval has been explicitly set, whereas tidsbegränsad can stress the overall time limit. In formal Swedish legal and bureaucratic texts, precise terminology matters, so readers should refer to the relevant law or regulation to understand the exact implications of a tidsbestämd/tidsbestämt arrangement.