umgås

Umgås is a Swedish verb meaning to spend time with others in a social way. It describes informal, voluntary interaction with friends, family, or colleagues, often involving conversation, meals, shared activities, or simply being together. The term highlights everyday social life rather than formal meetings.

As a reflexive, intransitive verb, umgås is usually used with med to specify the company: umgås med vänner or umgås med grannar. Examples: “Vi umgås ofta med våra grannar på helgerna.” “Hon gillar att umgås med sina kollegor.” The past tense is umgicks (e.g., “Vi umgicks ofta när vi var yngre”), and the supine used with have is umgåtts (e.g., “Vi har umgåtts mycket.”).

The noun form, umgänge, refers to the social life or the circle of people one regularly spends time with. It can describe both a person’s social network and social occasions: “mitt umgänge består av gamla och nya vänner.” “Det nya umgänget har vuxit.” The term can also be used to discuss the quality or style of one’s social interactions.

Umgås covers activities both in person and online, reflecting contemporary routines. It remains a neutral, widely used verb that signals enjoying another person’s company without implying a specific activity, whether at home, in public, or through digital media.