ersatta

Ersätta is a Swedish verb meaning to replace or to compensate. It is used when one thing takes the place of another, or when someone is reimbursed for a loss or damage. In everyday language the two senses overlap, but the context usually clarifies whether substitution or compensation is meant.

Origins and cognates: The verb stems from Germanic roots and has close relatives in other Scandinavian languages—Norwegian erstatte and Danish erstatte—while German ersetzen and English to replace are its etymological cognates. The related noun er sättning means compensation, restitution, or replacement.

Forms and usage: The standard forms of the verb are: infinitive ersätta; present ersätter; past ersatte; supine ersatt. The passive forms include present er sätts and past er sattes. The imperative is ersätt. Note that the form ersatta is not a standard conjugation in modern Swedish; it is commonly seen as a misspelling or dialectal variant. The distinction between substitution (replace) and compensation (reimburse) becomes clear through context, and in practice both senses are common in legal, insurance, and business language.

Examples: In a product dispute, a company may ersätta a defective item by sending a replacement. In a loss or damage claim, a party may be obligated to ersätta the claimant for documented costs. The related noun ersättning denotes compensation, while the phrase ersättningsskyldighet refers to an obligation to compensate.

See also: ersättning, ersättningssystem, ersättningslagstiftning.