bedre

Bedre is a word used in Danish and Norwegian meaning "better." It is the comparative form of the adjective meaning good, and it functions as both an attributive adjective and an adverb in judgments of quality or condition.

In Danish and Norwegian, bedre forms the comparative degree of god/godt and is widely used to express improvement or a higher degree of goodness. Examples include phrases like "Det er bedre i dag" (It is better today) and "bedre enn aldri" (better late than never). The word can modify nouns in phrases such as "bedre resultater" (better results) or appear with verbs to express improvement, as in "Dette er bedre enn før" (This is better than before).

Etymology traces bedre to Old Norse betri, a comparative form related to other Scandinavian languages. It is cognate with Swedish bättre and Danish bedre, all sharing a common Germanic origin for the comparative degree of the word meaning "good."

Usage notes: the form is generally stable across the gender and number of nouns in Danish and Norwegian when used as a comparative. It remains a core term for expressing improvement, quality, and preference in everyday language. Beyond its linguistic use, bedre occasionally appears in idiomatic expressions and proverbs in the region, such as equivalents of “better late than never.”

See also: bedre, better (English), bättre (Swedish).