Glæde sig is the everyday Danish way to say you are looking forward to something — and there is no neat one-word English equivalent. It is a reflexive verb: the pronoun (mig, dig, sig, os, jer) is part of the construction and agrees with the subject. Combined with the preposition til, it gives glæde sig til ("to look forward to"), which you will use constantly to talk about holidays, weekends, visits, and anything you are excited about. The bare stem glæde also exists as a non-reflexive verb meaning "to please / gladden someone" — keep the two apart.
Principal parts
| Form | Danish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | (at) glæde sig | to look forward / be glad |
| Present | glæder sig | looks forward / is glad |
| Past | glædede sig | looked forward / was glad |
| Past participle | glædet sig | looked forward / been glad |
| Imperative | Glæd dig! | Look forward to it! |
The reflexive pronoun is obligatory and agrees with the subject
Just like skynde sig, this verb cannot appear without its reflexive pronoun, and the pronoun must match the subject:
| Subject | Verb + reflexive | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| jeg | glæder mig | I look forward |
| du | glæder dig | you look forward |
| han / hun | glæder sig | he / she looks forward |
| vi | glæder os | we look forward |
| I | glæder jer | you (pl.) look forward |
| de | glæder sig | they look forward |
As with all Danish reflexives, sig belongs to the third person only. For jeg and vi you use mig and os; the common beginner slip jeg glæder sig mixes a first-person subject with a third-person pronoun.
Jeg glæder mig til weekenden.
I'm looking forward to the weekend.
Vi glæder os til at se jer igen.
We're looking forward to seeing you again.
Glæde sig TIL — the key construction
The meaning "look forward to" requires the preposition til. After til you can put a noun, or at + infinitive for an activity:
- glæde sig til + noun — jeg glæder mig til ferien (I'm looking forward to the holiday)
- glæde sig til at + infinitive — jeg glæder mig til at rejse (I'm looking forward to travelling)
Dropping til is a frequent error, because English "I look forward to X" hides the preposition inside an idiom. In Danish til is load-bearing — without it the sentence falls apart.
Børnene glæder sig til jul.
The children are looking forward to Christmas.
Hun glæder sig til at begynde på sit nye arbejde.
She's looking forward to starting her new job.
Glæder du dig til sommerferien?
Are you looking forward to the summer holiday?
Glæde sig OVER — to be glad ABOUT something
Without til, the reflexive glæde sig shifts meaning to "be glad / take joy in," and it pairs with over for the thing you are glad about. The til version looks ahead; the over version reacts to something already true.
Vi glæder os over, at det endelig er blevet forår.
We're glad that it's finally become spring.
Han glædede sig over de mange gæster.
He was delighted by all the guests.
Plain glæde — to please someone (non-reflexive)
There is also a transitive, non-reflexive glæde meaning "to please / gladden someone." Here the verb takes a direct object (the person made happy), not a reflexive pronoun. Compare the pair:
Det glæder mig at høre, at du har det bedre.
It pleases me to hear that you're feeling better.
Din gave glædede hende meget.
Your present pleased her a great deal.
Past: glædede sig
Vi glædede os til turen i ugevis.
We looked forward to the trip for weeks.
Present perfect: har glædet sig
Jeg har glædet mig til det her hele året.
I've been looking forward to this all year.
Common collocations
- glæde sig til + noun — to look forward to something
- glæde sig til at + infinitive — to look forward to doing something
- glæde sig over noget — to be glad about / take joy in something
- glæde sig vildt / virkelig — to look forward to it like crazy / really
- det glæder mig — "I'm glad" / "Pleased to meet you" (fixed)
Jeg glæder mig vildt til koncerten på lørdag.
I'm incredibly excited about the concert on Saturday.
A natural exchange
— Glæder du dig til ferien? — Ja, jeg glæder mig helt vildt! Vi skal til Italien. — Hvor heldig! Jeg glæder mig på dine vegne.
— Are you looking forward to the holiday? — Yes, I can't wait! We're going to Italy. — How lucky! I'm happy for you.
Common mistakes
❌ Jeg glæder til weekenden.
Wrong — the reflexive pronoun is missing; glæde here must be reflexive.
✅ Jeg glæder mig til weekenden.
I'm looking forward to the weekend.
❌ Jeg glæder mig weekenden.
Wrong — 'look forward to' needs til before the noun.
✅ Jeg glæder mig til weekenden.
I'm looking forward to the weekend.
❌ Vi glæder sig til at se jer.
Wrong pronoun — vi takes os, not sig.
✅ Vi glæder os til at se jer.
We're looking forward to seeing you.
❌ Jeg glæder mig at rejse.
Wrong — between glæde sig and the infinitive you need til at, not just at.
✅ Jeg glæder mig til at rejse.
I'm looking forward to travelling.
❌ Det glæder mig mig at se dig.
Wrong — the non-reflexive 'it pleases me' takes only one mig, the object.
✅ Det glæder mig at se dig.
It's a pleasure to see you.
Key takeaways
- Glæde sig is reflexive: the pronoun (mig, dig, sig, os, jer, sig) is obligatory and agrees with the subject.
- For "look forward to," you need glæde sig til — the til cannot be dropped.
- Before an infinitive, use til at: glæde sig til at gøre noget.
- Reflexive glæde sig = the subject's own joy; non-reflexive glæde nogen = to please someone else.
Now practice Danish
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Start learning Danish→Related Topics
- Reflexive VerbsA2 — Inherently reflexive Danish verbs that always need sig/mig/dig — glæde sig, skynde sig, sætte sig, føle sig, gifte sig, more sig, lægge sig — and how they differ from reciprocals.
- Talking About Feelings and StatesA2 — How Danish reports how you feel — the have det frame for general wellbeing, the være frame for specific states, the reflexive jeg keder mig, and why feeling cold is jeg fryser, not jeg er kold.
- Skynde sigA2 — Full reference for skynde sig ('to hurry') — an inherently reflexive verb whose sig is obligatory and agrees with the subject, with all core tenses, the imperative Skynd dig!, and the common collocations.
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- Danish Verbs: An OverviewA1 — A big-picture map of the Danish verb system — no person agreement, one present and one past form per verb, compound perfects, the passive, and modals.