Being polite in other languages can be tricky! What might be considered polite in one country, might be seen as rude somewhere else. And then there are so many fixed expressions to remember…
When it comes to saying thanks in Danish, you may have noticed that the word for it – tak – is used in a whole lot of different contexts. So many, that it can be confusing – when do you use what form? Are people actually thanking you, or are they just trying to tell you that the conversation is over? This little guide on ways to say thanks in Danish will give you an overview of the many, many different uses of tak.
1. Thanking people
Let’s start with the most obvious ways of using tak to say thanks in Danish: when someone has done you a favor, given you something, paid you a compliment, or wished you a safe journey (the list goes on) and you want to show them you are thankful. The table below is ranked by intensity: Tak has no further emphasis, while tusind tak means that you are really, really thankful.
| Tak | Thanks |
| Tak for det | Thanks (for that) |
| Tak skal du have | Thank you (“You shall have thanks”) |
| Mange tak | Thank you very much |
| Tusind tak | Thank you very much (“a thousand thanks”) |
2. Asking for things, accepting, and rejecting
When asking for something – for example, when you are ordering at a café – one way to do so is saying what you want followed by “thanks” (because, as you may have noticed, there is no word for “please” in Danish):
| En kop kaffe, tak! | A cup of coffee, please! |
| Ja tak | Yes please |
| Nej tak/Ellers tak | No thanks/”thanks anyways” |
3. Signaling that something is over
A lot of thanking happens when activities end. Let me give you the examples first:
| Tak for i dag | Thanks for today |
| Tak for nu | Thanks for now |
| Tak for mad/kaffe/… | Thanks for food/coffee |
| Tak for en god samtale | Thanks for a good conversation |
Tak for i dag is something your co-worker might say to you when leaving after a day at work. It’s a polite way of saying that one is calling it a day, while expressing that the time together or the collaboration is appreciated.
Tak for nu signals that whatever was happening up till now is going to stop for a bit and probably continue soon. So it might be something you’d hear a TV presenter say before an ad break.
Tak for mad is something people say both when they actually received food from others, but they also just say it at the end of mealtimes to signal that the eating break is over.
And expressions like tak for en god samtale, again, show that the activity (in this case a conversation) is over now, while clarifying what activity was. So after a dance rehearsal, the instructor might say Tak for en god øver (“Thanks for a good rehearsal”).
4. Signaling that you enjoyed a recent activity
| Tak for i går! | Thanks for yesterday! |
| Tak for sidst! | Thanks for recently! |
This is very common practice in Denmark. When you see or contact someone for the first time after you enjoyed some kind of nice meet-up, like a party, a dinner, or an outing with, you say thanks for that activity, showing that you enjoyed and appreciated the time spent together.
5. Responding to thanks
There are many ways of responding when somebody thanks you.
| Selv tak! | You’re welcome/”Thanks yourself” |
| Det var så lidt! | You’re welcome/”It was so little” |
| Velbekomme! | You’re welcome |
Technically, they all mean “you’re welcome” in Danish, but they have different meanings. Selv tak implies that you are also thanking the person who just thanked you – this makes sense, for example, when you bought something from the other person, exchanged gifts, or swapped something (because both get something out of it). It can also be a reply to expressions like tak for i dag or tak for sidst, since you also want to say thanks for the day. Bottom line: when the thankfulness is mutual, selv tak is the way to go.
Det var så lidt is used when someone is thanking someone else for a favor. It simply has the meaning of “no problem” or “it’s no big deal”.
And velbekomme is used a lot in connection with food. When someone is thanking you for making or giving you food, velbekomme expresses that you hope the food will do you good. But it can also just mean “you’re welcome” – maybe in the sense of “may the food/the gift/… serve you well.
However, nowadays, all these expressions are used to express “you’re welcome”, no matter what the context is. That might explain why you may have heard a Dane respond with velbekomme or selv tak after you thanked them for holding the door open, even though you neither got food from them or did anything that would benefit them.
6. Thanking and paying it back
When someone wishes you something, for example a nice evening, or has paid you a compliment that you want to give back to them, you can respond with:
| Tak, (og) i lige made! | Thank you, likewise/the same to you! |
7. Other ways to use “tak”
| Tak for kaffe! | “Thanks for coffee!”/Oh dear! |
| Tak skæbne! | “Thanks fate”/Holy moly! |
| Tak for ingenting/Tak for lort | Thanks for nothing/”Thanks for crap!” |
It looks like Danes like to say thanks so much that there are a whole bunch of fixed expressions with the word tak in them. Tak for kaffe can’t just be used in the literal sense when you got your caffeine fix, but also as an exclamation when something impresses you and makes you go “whoa”. Tak skæbne is somewhat similar, but more intense! And while tak skæbne might be used in both positive and negative ways, tak for kaffe is usually a bit more negative. It should also be noted that these two are kind of old-fashioned and used with a bit of irony nowadays.
And finally, when you are not at all happy with what you got, an angry way to say thanks in Danish (maybe better not said out loud) is tak for ingenting or tak for lort.
And now you know how to say thanks in Danish!
Now you are familiar with all the different ways and situations to say thanks in Danish – ready to try them out and impress your Danish friends? 🙂
Bonus: if you want to see some examples of tak used in a dialog, check out this lesson on Swap Language!
Tak for nu!
