Tag Archives: politeness
Just do it! Giving orders in Danish Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on May 31, 2017
Bring my bag! Call the dog! Sometimes, there’s little time to be høflig (polite), and we need to give somebody a direct ordre (order). In English, we simply use the dictionary form of the verb (go! wait! shut up!) In Danish, it’s almost just as easy to make the bydeform (imperative, literally ”bidding form”). 🙂…
Being Polite in Danish Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Apr 26, 2015
”Two fries and a cheeseburger!” If you hear someone saying this, they might be a forgetful Dane. Danish, you see, has no proper word for please. This has given birth to the idea that Danes are less høflig (courteous, polite) than other people. Well, actually, Danish has various ways of expressing høflighed (courteousness): • tak…