Undgås

Undgås is a verb form used in Swedish (and related Nordic languages) to express that something should be avoided or is to be avoided. It is the passive present form of the verb undgå, which means to avoid, evade, or prevent. The construction is common in formal, safety-related, and regulatory language, as well as in risk assessments and guidelines.

In usage, undgås conveys that a risk, problem, or undesired outcome is not to occur and should be prevented by certain actions. For example: “Faran undgås genom att följa säkerhetsrutinerna,” meaning that the danger is to be avoided by following the safety procedures. The form can appear in sentences with modal or advisory nuance, such as “Faran bör undgås.” It is often found in official texts, manuals, and risk communications.

Conjugation and related forms: undgå is the infinitive. Present active is undgår, past is undgick, and the past participle is undgått. The passive present form is undgås, used when the focus is on the thing that should be avoided rather than the actor performing the avoidance. The active-past and passive constructions can be used interchangeably in many contexts to emphasize prevention or avoidance.

See also: undvika (to avoid in a more common, non-passive sense) for everyday language, and the Norwegian cognate unngå/unngå, which serves a similar function in risk and safety contexts.

Overall, undgås functions as a formal, risk-focused expression indicating that certain conditions or actions should be taken to prevent an undesired outcome.