Omgående is a Swedish word which originally comes from the German word umgehend. Both terms mean ‘immediately’, in English.

Umgehend in turn comes from the German verb umgehen, which means to avoid, bypass or go around something. This has been imported into Swedish, too, as undgå (avoid). 

It’s possible omgående in the sense of ‘immediately’ in Swedish comes from the German phrase mit umgehender Post, which literally meant ‘with post that turns around’, which essentially meant a letter which was to be sent back as soon as possible.

This was translated as med omgående post in Swedish. This exact phrase has fallen out of usage – Swedes don’t send that many letters anymore, and anyone wishing to get a message across immediately would probably not send it via post anyway – although the word omgående is still used in official or formal settings.

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It’s often used when talking about some kind of action or measure which should be taken, like det kräver omgående åtgärder (it requires immediate measures) or lämna in handlingarna omgående (hand in the documents immediately).

It’s also commonly seen in job advertisements, either encouraging a potential applicant to apply immediately, or to inform them that the company is looking for someone who can start as soon as possible.

In a less formal situation, such as if you were telling a friend that you were about to get on the bus, something like strax would be a better choice.

Omgående also exists in Danish and Norwegian, where it has the same meaning.

Example sentences:

Vi söker en ny säljare. Start omgående!

We’re looking for a new salesperson. Start immediately!

Polisen vill prata med dig omgående.

The police want to talk to you straight away.