svarte

Svarte is a term encountered in Norwegian where it functions as a finite verb form meaning “answered.” It is the simple past tense of the verb svare (to answer). In written and spoken Norwegian, svarte appears when describing a completed act of replying, for example in narration or reported speech.

The form is used across standard varieties of Norwegian, including Bokmål and Nynorsk, though the exact spelling and conjugation may vary slightly with dialect. It should be distinguished from related words such as svart, which is the adjective meaning “black” or “dark.” Some readers may encounter and confuse the two forms if not attentive to context, but they belong to different parts of speech and refer to different concepts.

In addition to its role as a verb form, svarte can appear as a capitalized proper noun in some Scandinavian contexts, where it may be used as a surname or as part of a place name. Such use is comparatively rare and depends on local naming conventions.

Usage notes:

- In Swedish, the past tense of svara is svarade, so svarte is not standard there.

- When translating, render svarte as “answered” or “replied,” depending on the sentence context.

Overall, svarte is best understood as the past-tense verb form in Norwegian, with occasional occurrence as a proper noun in specific names.