lære

Lære is a verb used in Norwegian and Danish with the core meanings to learn and to teach. In everyday use it covers both acquiring knowledge or skills and the act of imparting them to others. When used intransitively, as in “jeg lærer norsk,” it means to learn something. When used transitively, with a direct object, it means to teach someone something, as in “jeg lærer deg å kjøre bil” or the compound “lære bort.”

The verb has common inflected forms. In Norwegian Bokmål, present tense is “lærer” (jeg lærer), past tense is “lærte,” and the past participle is “lært,” used with the auxiliary “har” to form perfect: “har lært.” The imperative is “lær!” A related noun is “lærer,” meaning “the teacher,” with definite form “læreren.” In Danish the verb has a parallel system of forms.

Lære also occurs in productive phrases such as “lære seg” (to learn something by oneself) and “lære bort” (to teach someone). The noun “læring” denotes the process or act of learning, while “undervisning” refers to teaching or instruction more generally.

Etymology traces lære to Old Norse læra, with cognates in other Scandinavian languages (for example Swedish lära). The core sense remains linked across the languages: acquiring knowledge and skills, and the related role of teaching.

Usage notes include the distinction between learning (lære) and teaching (lære bort), the reflexive use “lære seg,” and the common complement of objects such as languages, skills, or crafts.