Danish has a beautifully economical way of hedging: instead of long phrases like "I think it's possible that...", it drops a single small adverb into the middle of the sentence. Han kommer ("He's coming") becomes Han kommer *måske" ("Maybe he's coming") or Han kommer *nok" ("He's probably coming") with one word. This page is a sentence-builder: a set of patterns you can pour your own words into, graded from "barely uncertain" to "I have no idea", plus the one placement rule that trips up every English speaker.
The uncertainty scale
Think of the core words as a dial from low confidence to high:
| Word | Rough meaning | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| måske | maybe, perhaps | ~50% — open either way |
| muligvis | possibly | ~50%, slightly more formal |
| vist | apparently / I believe / I gather | fairly sure, but reporting/hedged |
| nok | probably, no doubt | ~75% — leaning yes |
| sandsynligvis | probably, likely | ~80%, more formal than nok |
| vel | I suppose / surely (inviting agreement) | fairly sure, seeking confirmation |
måske — maybe (the workhorse)
Han kommer måske til festen.
Maybe he'll come to the party. (måske after the verb — the default position)
Vi tager måske til Berlin i weekenden.
We might go to Berlin this weekend.
vist — apparently / I gather (hedged report)
Vist says "this is my understanding, but I'm not vouching for it" — you heard it, you think so, you're not certain. It is not the adjective vis ("certain, wise"). (More at pragmatics/vist.)
Hun bor vist i Odense nu.
She lives in Odense now, I believe / apparently. (vist = my impression, not confirmed)
Det er vist for sent at ringe.
It's probably too late to call, I'd say. (hedged judgement)
nok — probably (leaning yes)
Nok expresses a confident-but-not-certain expectation. (Note: nok also means "enough" in other contexts; here it's the modal adverb. See pragmatics/nok.)
Det bliver nok regnvejr i morgen.
It'll probably rain tomorrow. (nok = I'm fairly confident)
Han har nok glemt det.
He's probably forgotten. (probable explanation)
vel — I suppose / surely (seeking agreement)
Vel hedges and fishes for the listener's confirmation — "...right?". (Full treatment at pragmatics/vel.)
Det er vel ikke så dyrt?
It's surely not that expensive, is it? (hedge + invite agreement)
Beyond single adverbs
mon — I wonder (the wondering particle)
Mon turns a question into a musing — "I wonder whether...". It's a question word that doesn't expect an immediate answer so much as float the doubt.
Mon han overhovedet har fået beskeden?
I wonder whether he's even got the message?
Mon ikke det går i orden?
I should think it'll work out, won't it? (mon ikke = 'surely it will', a soft optimistic guess)
Jeg er ikke sikker på, om... — I'm not sure whether...
The explicit full-clause hedge. Use om ("whether") for yes/no uncertainty.
Jeg er ikke sikker på, om vi når det.
I'm not sure whether we'll make it in time.
Jeg ved ikke rigtig, hvad jeg skal vælge.
I don't really know what to choose.
Det kan være, at... — it may be that...
Det kan godt være, at hun har ret.
It may well be that she's right.
The substitution table
Here is the builder. Keep the frame, swap the slot, change your confidence:
| Frame: Han kommer _ i aften. ("He's coming _ tonight.") | Reading |
|---|---|
| Han kommer måske i aften. | Maybe he's coming tonight. (~50%) |
| Han kommer nok i aften. | He's probably coming tonight. (~75%) |
| Han kommer vist i aften. | He's coming tonight, I gather. (hedged report) |
| Han kommer vel i aften? | He's coming tonight, I suppose? (seeking agreement) |
| Han kommer sandsynligvis i aften. | He'll most likely come tonight. (formal, ~80%) |
| Mon han kommer i aften? | I wonder if he's coming tonight? |
The placement rule (and the trap)
Danish main clauses obey V2: the finite verb is the second element. A sentence adverb like måske normally lands right after that verb: Han kommer måske. But you can front måske for emphasis — and the moment you do, V2 forces the verb in front of the subject. This is inversion, and English speakers forget it because English just says "Maybe he comes" with no reordering.
Måske kommer han i aften.
Maybe he's coming tonight. (måske fronted → verb 'kommer' comes BEFORE subject 'han' — inversion)
Common Mistakes
❌ Måske han kommer i aften.
Incorrect — fronted måske requires inversion; you can't keep subject-then-verb order.
✅ Måske kommer han i aften. / Han kommer måske i aften.
Maybe he's coming tonight. (either front måske and invert, or leave it after the verb)
❌ Hun er vis syg — using vis to mean 'apparently'.
Incorrect — vis is the adjective 'certain/wise'; the hedging adverb is vist (with -t).
✅ Hun er vist syg.
She's apparently ill / ill, I gather. (vist = hedged report)
❌ Jeg er ikke sikker at vi når det.
Incorrect — sikker needs the preposition på, and 'whether' is om, not at.
✅ Jeg er ikke sikker på, om vi når det.
I'm not sure whether we'll make it. (sikker på + om)
❌ Jeg tænker han kommer nok — using tænker for 'I think (opine)'.
Incorrect — for opinions Danish prefers tror or synes; tænke is 'to think (cogitate)'. And nok already carries the hedge.
✅ Jeg tror, han kommer. / Han kommer nok.
I think he's coming. / He's probably coming.
Key Takeaways
- Hedge with a single sentence adverb: måske (~50%), nok / sandsynligvis (probable), vist (hedged report), vel (I-suppose, seeking agreement).
- These adverbs sit after the finite verb in a main clause: Han kommer måske.
- Front one and you must invert: Måske kommer han, never Måske han kommer.
- For bigger doubts, reach for mon ("I wonder"), Jeg er ikke sikker på, om..., or Det kan være, at....
- Keep vist (adverb, "apparently") apart from vis (adjective, "certain").
Now practice Danish
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Start learning Danish→Related Topics
- Sentence Adverbs and Their Effect on Word OrderB1 — The class of adverbs that comment on the whole clause — ikke, jo, nok, vel, da, måske, heldigvis — and the precise slot they occupy in main vs subordinate clauses.
- Vel: Seeking AgreementB1 — The unstressed particle vel hedges a claim and invites agreement — the spoken equivalent of a raised eyebrow. How it differs from the ikke?-tag, where it sits, and the homograph it must not be confused with.
- Modal Verbs: An OverviewA2 — The six core Danish modals — kunne, ville, skulle, måtte, burde, turde — their present and past forms, and the iron rule that they take a bare infinitive with no at.
- Nok: Probability and ReassuranceC2 — The modal particle nok — 'probably / I expect / surely it'll be fine' — its confidence level between måske and helt sikkert, the reassuring 'Det skal nok gå', and how to keep it apart from the adverb nok meaning 'enough'.
- Vist: Hearsay and UncertaintyC1 — The modal particle vist signals that the speaker isn't fully certain or is relaying second-hand information — 'apparently', 'I think', 'I believe'.