förändra

förändra is a Swedish verb meaning to change, alter, or modify. It is typically used transitively with a direct object: att förändra något means to change something. Intransitively it can appear in passive or pronominal forms: förändras means “is changed” or “changes.” The standard spelling is förändra; the variant föräNdra with a capital N is nonstandard and usually a stylistic choice rather than a separate term.

Common contexts include personal change, such as förändra sin livsstil (to change one’s lifestyle), policy or law changes, or physical transformations. The prefix för- often conveys turning something into a different state or adjusting its nature, and can appear in many compound verbs in Swedish.

Conjugation (illustrative forms): infinitive förändra; present förändrar; past förändrade; supine förändrat; past participle participle förändrat; present passive förändras; imperative förändra. Like many Swedish verbs, the perfect and pluperfect are formed with a auxiliary verb (har förändrat, hade förändrat).

Etymology and related forms: the verb is formed from the prefix för- attached to ändra (to change). It has cognates in other Scandinavian languages, such as Danish ændre and Norwegian endre. The common noun related to förändra is förändring, meaning change or alteration.

See also: förändring, ändra. Usage notes: förändra is a general-purpose verb for making something into a different state; it is distinct from related terms for more radical transformations (förvandla) and for minor tweaks or replacements.