bestått

Bestått is the past participle of the Norwegian verb bestå and is used both as a stative adjective meaning “passed” and as the completed-participle form in perfect tenses. In everyday language, it expresses that someone has met a requirement by passing a test or course, as in Jeg har bestått eksamen (“I have passed the exam”). The same form can function attributively in written Norwegian, for example en bestått eksamen, though constructions with har bestått are more common in speech.

In education, bestått is frequently seen on transcripts and diplomas to indicate that a course or exam has been passed and that credits were earned. It is contrasted with ikke bestått or strøket (failing). Some institutions may present numeric grades alongside or instead of a passing/not passing designation.

Beyond exams, bestå can also mean “to consist of” or “to be composed of.” In this sense the past participle bestått appears in phrases like kurset har bestått av tre moduler (“the course has consisted of three modules”). The word is used in both Bokmål and Nynorsk Norwegian.

Etymology and usage notes: bestå originates in Norwegian with cognates in other Scandinavian languages, sharing the basic sense of completion in addition to the sense of passing an assessment. The form bestått is common in standard Norwegian grammar and official writing.