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Ordpar Norwegian–English dictionary

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bety

verbverb

to mean · to matter, to count

PronunciationUttale

betyˊ

EtymologyOpphav

fra lavtysk from Low German

Senses and Example SentencesBetydning og bruk

  1. stå for;
    symbolisereto symbolise, to stand for
    to stand for;
    to symbolisesymbolisere
    • hva betyr dette skiltet? what does this sign mean?
    • firkløver betyr lykke a four-leaf clover means good luck
    • hva skal dette bety? what is this supposed to mean?
  2. være ensbetydende med;
    føre til, innebære
    to be synonymous with;
    to lead to, to entail
    • dette betyr kroken på døra for hele prosjektet this spells the end for the whole project
    • et feiltrinn betyr døden one misstep means death
    • det behøver ikke å bety at arbeidet er dårlig it doesn't necessarily mean that the work is poor
  3. ha verdi eller innflytelse;
    spille en rolle
    to have value or influence;
    to matter
    • han har betydd mye for Norge he has meant a great deal to Norway
    • alle som betyr noe i norsk kulturliv, var der everyone who counts for anything in Norwegian cultural life was there
    • samarbeidet vil bety mye for oss the collaboration will mean a lot to us
    • som om det skulle bety noe as if that mattered
    • det betyr ingenting it doesn't matter