Every language runs on a small set of pre-assembled phrases that nobody builds from scratch — you reach for them whole, the way you reach for a tool. "To be honest", "it depends", "when all's said and done": these are the joints a conversation turns on. Danish has its own inventory, and the trouble is that almost none of them translate word for word. If you assemble them from the dictionary, you get something a Dane will understand but never say. This page collects the most frequent fixed conversational phrases, grouped by the job they do, so you can learn them as units.
Hedging and qualifying a claim
These phrases buy you room — they signal that what follows is an opinion, a condition, or an honest admission rather than a flat fact.
Det kommer an på — "it depends". Literally "it comes upon", which makes no sense decoded; take it whole. The thing it depends on follows with om ("whether") or a noun.
Kommer du i morgen? — Det kommer an på vejret.
Are you coming tomorrow? — It depends on the weather.
Det kommer an på, om jeg kan få fri.
It depends on whether I can get time off.
For at være ærlig — "to be honest". A preface that flags candour. Often shortened in speech to just helt ærligt ("honestly"), which carries a sharper, more exasperated edge — closer to "come on" (informal).
For at være ærlig synes jeg, det var en dårlig idé.
To be honest, I think it was a bad idea.
Helt ærligt, det kan du da ikke mene.
Honestly, you can't be serious. (informal — mild exasperation)
I hvert fald — "in any case / at least / anyway". One of the most frequent connectives in spoken Danish, used to fall back to something certain after hedging. Note the spelling: hvert with a silent h and fald (not falde).
Jeg ved ikke, om de kommer — jeg kommer i hvert fald.
I don't know if they're coming — I'm coming, at any rate.
Structuring an argument
These set up contrasts and conclusions. They are the skeleton of any explanation.
På den anden side — "on the other hand". Pairs with på den ene side ("on the one hand"), exactly as in English. Note side takes the common-gender article den, not det.
På den ene side er det dyrt; på den anden side holder det længere.
On the one hand it's expensive; on the other hand it lasts longer.
Når alt kommer til alt — "when all's said and done / at the end of the day". A summing-up phrase that introduces your bottom line. Word order is fixed; don't tinker with it.
Når alt kommer til alt, er det jo dig, der bestemmer.
When all's said and done, it's you who decides, after all.
Det vil sige — "that is / i.e." (often abbreviated dvs. in writing). Introduces a clarification or restatement (slightly formal in writing, neutral in speech).
Han er pensionist, det vil sige, han har god tid.
He's retired, that is, he has plenty of time.
Resignation and acceptance
A small family of phrases for shrugging off what can't be changed — very characteristic of Danish understatement.
Sådan er det bare — "that's just how it is". The bare ("just") is doing pragmatic work here, minimising any complaint (see bare). Flat, accepting, faintly weary.
Bussen er forsinket igen. Sådan er det bare om vinteren.
The bus is late again. That's just how it is in winter.
Det kan ikke være anderledes — "it can't be otherwise / nothing to be done". A step beyond sådan er det bare (slightly more formal).
Vi må vente til på mandag — det kan ikke være anderledes.
We'll have to wait until Monday — there's nothing for it.
Sådan er livet — "that's life / such is life". The all-purpose philosophical sigh.
Han fik ikke jobbet. Tja, sådan er livet.
He didn't get the job. Well, such is life.
Handing over and standing firm
Det er op til dig — "it's up to you". Op til ("up to") is the fixed preposition pair; using til dig alone won't carry the "your decision" sense.
Vil du have den røde eller den blå? Det er helt op til dig.
Do you want the red one or the blue one? It's entirely up to you.
Jeg mener det — "I mean it". Emphatic, used to insist you're serious. Stress falls on mener. Contrast with jeg mener alone (without det), which is a hedge — "I mean / I think" (see hedging).
Du skal hvile dig nu. Jeg mener det.
You need to rest now. I mean it.
Det var, jeg mener, omkring klokken tre.
It was, I mean, around three o'clock. (hedging filler — note the difference)
Som sagt — "as I said / as mentioned". A back-reference that picks up a previous point. Literally "as said", with no subject — a fixed past-participle phrase.
Som sagt, jeg kan ikke nå det inden fredag.
As I said, I can't manage it before Friday.
A short dialogue
Watch how thickly these phrases pack into ordinary talk — almost every turn is anchored by one.
A: Skal vi tage på ferie til sommer? ("Shall we go on holiday this summer?") B: Tja, det kommer an på, om vi har råd. For at være ærlig er økonomien lidt stram. ("Well, it depends on whether we can afford it. To be honest, money's a bit tight.") A: På den anden side har vi ikke holdt ferie i to år. ("On the other hand, we haven't taken a holiday in two years.") B: Det er rigtigt. Når alt kommer til alt, er det dig, der trænger mest. Det er op til dig. ("That's true. When all's said and done, it's you who needs it most. It's up to you.") A: Så tager vi af sted. Jeg mener det! ("Then we're going. I mean it!")
Common Mistakes
1. Word-by-word transfer of det kommer an på. English speakers reach for det afhænger and then stall on the preposition, or worse, calque "it depends on" as det depender på. The idiomatic phrase is det kommer an på, with om before a clause.
❌ Det depender på vejret.
Incorrect — 'depender' is not a Danish word; this is a Romance-style calque.
✅ Det kommer an på vejret.
It depends on the weather.
2. Translating "honestly" as ærligt alone. The bare adverb ærligt means "honestly" only as a manner adverb ("he answered honestly"). As a conversational preface you need the whole frame for at være ærlig or the set phrase helt ærligt.
❌ Ærligt, jeg synes ikke om det.
Incorrect — bald adverb; sounds unfinished as a discourse opener.
✅ Helt ærligt, jeg synes ikke om det.
Honestly, I don't like it.
3. Wrong gender or order in på den anden side. It is den (common gender, agreeing with side), and the phrase is fixed. På det andet side is simply wrong.
❌ På det andet side er det billigere.
Incorrect — 'side' is common gender, so it must be 'den anden side'.
✅ På den anden side er det billigere.
On the other hand, it's cheaper.
4. Dropping op from det er op til dig. Without op, det er til dig means "it's for you" (a gift), not "it's your decision".
❌ Det er til dig at bestemme.
Reads as 'it's for you to decide' but lands oddly — the idiom needs 'op til'.
✅ Det er op til dig.
It's up to you.
5. Building når alt kommer til alt from scratch with English order. The Danish order is fixed and inverts the verb after the subordinate opener. Don't reassemble it.
❌ Når alt er sagt og gjort, det er dit valg.
Calque of 'when all is said and done' — wrong idiom and wrong word order (missing inversion).
✅ Når alt kommer til alt, er det dit valg.
When all's said and done, it's your choice.
Key Takeaways
Now practice Danish
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Danish→Related Topics
- Discourse Markers and FillersB2 — The little words that hold spoken Danish together — altså, jo, nå, øh, ikke, vel, jamen, og så, så, du ved — what each one signals and how they manage turns and hesitation.
- Please, Thank You and SorryA1 — How politeness works in Danish — the missing word for 'please', the many faces of tak, the difference between undskyld, beklager and desværre, and the untranslatable værsgo.
- Hedging and DowntoningB2 — How Danish softens assertions with lidt, vist, nok, sådan set, på en måde and other downtoners — and why 'direct' Danish is actually full of hedges, just particle-based ones.
- Agreeing and DisagreeingB1 — The everyday phrases for agreeing, disagreeing and contradicting in Danish — including the enig i/med split and jo, the special yes that answers a negative.
- Altså: Explanation and ExasperationB2 — The versatile altså spans the whole distance from logical connective ('so, therefore') through clarification ('I mean') to emotional exasperation ('honestly! come on!'). Position and intonation tell the senses apart.