bort/borta

Away (Direction/location)

Level 1

Use bort for direction (going away) and borta for location (being away).

How It Works

In Swedish, it's important to distinguish between moving to a place and being at a place. The pair bort/borta is a perfect example of this.

1. Bort (Direction)
Use bort when you are talking about the action of moving away from the speaker or a reference point. It describes the journey or direction.

  • Jag måste gå bort nu. (I have to go away now.)
  • Kan du flytta bort bilen? (Can you move the car away?)

2. Borta (Location)
Use borta when you are describing the state of being in a location that is away from the speaker or a reference point. It locates the situation away from a reference point or expresses absence; the person need not be motionless.

  • Min chef är borta hela veckan. (My boss is away all week.)
  • Vi var borta på semester. (We were away on vacation.)

Ask whether you mean movement/removal away or an activity/state located away. Do not classify solely by the verb: walking can happen at a location. This same logic applies to other pairs like in/inne (in), ut/ute (out), and hem/hemma (home).

Expressions To Learn As Wholes
Längre bort and längst bort can name a location: Hon sitter längst bort i salen. Borta also occurs with motion occurring at a location, as in Barnen springer där borta. The destination/location distinction concerns the phrase, not a rigid list of motion and state verbs.

Bort can emphasize removal or loss: ta bort, kasta bort, glömma bort. Nycklarna är borta states that the keys are missing; it does not identify a distant place where they can be found.

Examples (5)

  1. Han går bort till affären.

    He is walking away to the store.

    Word by Word: He goes away to the-store.

    Bort till affären describes a direction toward the store away from the reference point. Går does not itself require bort in every sentence.

  2. Hon är borta på semester.

    She is away on vacation.

    Word by Word: She is away on vacation.

    Borta på semester describes being away on vacation. It does not imply that she is motionless.

  3. Vi måste åka bort härifrån.

    We have to travel away from here.

    Word by Word: We must travel away from-here.

  4. Nycklarna är borta!

    The keys are gone/missing!

    Word by Word: The-keys are away!

    A common use of 'borta' to mean that something is missing or has disappeared.

  5. Flytta bort stolen från bordet.

    Move the chair away from the table.

    Word by Word: Move away the-chair from the-table.

Common Mistakes

  • Using borta for the intended direction bort till.

    Jag går borta till parken. (Intended: I walk over to the park.)
    Jag går bort till parken.

    For this intended directional construction, use bort till parken. Gå can also occur with locational borta: Jag går där borta describes where the walking happens.

  • Using 'bort' for location.

    Han är bort idag.
    Han är borta idag.

    For the intended absence today, use Han är borta idag. This does not prohibit bort in all location expressions: Han är längst bort i salen is grammatical.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

bort/bortaLevel 1Away (Direction/location)

Learn This First

The distinction between 'bort' and 'borta' relies on the Swedish grammatical rule of separating direction (where to) from location (where at). This is a systematic feature of Swedish spatial adverbs, similar to the logic used in 'hit/dit' or 'hem/hemma'.

Words in This Pattern

bort