Burde and Turde: Ought and Dare | Danish Grammar

These two modals round out the Danish modal family. Burde is the verb of advice and moral expectation — "ought to, should" — and it sits in a careful middle ground between a friendly recommendation and a hard command. Turde means "to dare," and it is one of the few modals an English speaker has no exact one-word match for. Both are irregular; learn their principal parts and the crucial burde have ("should have") construction, and your ability to give advice and talk about courage in Danish jumps a level.

Infinitive	Present	Past	Perfect
at burde	bør	burde	har burdet
at turde	tør	turde	har turdet

Both take a bare infinitive, no at — the modals overview rule holds.

Burde: advice and moral expectation

The present bør means "ought to / should." It expresses what is advisable, right, or expected — not what is compulsory. When you tell a friend du bør hvile dig, you are recommending rest, not ordering it. The force is gentle: a well-meant push, the voice of good sense or conscience.

Du bør hvile dig — du har arbejdet hele dagen.

You ought to rest — you've worked all day.

Man bør altid læse kontrakten, før man skriver under.

One should always read the contract before signing.

Vi bør nok ringe og sige, at vi bliver forsinkede.

We should probably call and say we'll be late.

That little nok ("probably") in the last example is a typical softener — Danes pile hedges onto bør to keep advice from sounding preachy.

Bør versus skal: recommendation versus obligation

This is the distinction English speakers blur, because English should and must both creep toward "ought." In Danish the line is sharper. Bør = "it would be good / right to" (advice you can decline). Skal = "you have to / are required to" (obligation, instruction, rule). Using skal where bør belongs turns gentle advice into a command.

Du bør spise mere grønt.

You ought to eat more vegetables. (friendly advice)

Du skal tage din medicin klokken otte.

You have to take your medicine at eight. (a firm instruction)

Gæster bør melde deres ankomst — men de skal vise legitimation.

Guests should announce their arrival — but they must show ID. (advice vs requirement)

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Pick the strength deliberately: bør recommends (you may still say no), skal obligates (you may not). Reaching for skal when you only mean a suggestion makes you sound bossy. For the full range of skal, see skulle.

"Should have...": burde have + perfect infinitive

This is the construction learners need constantly and rarely get taught. To say "you should have called" — advice about a past action that didn't happen — Danish uses the past modal burde plus a perfect infinitive (have + participle): du burde have ringet. It expresses regret or reproach about the past, exactly like English "should have / ought to have."

Du burde have ringet, da du blev forsinket.

You should have called when you got delayed.

Jeg burde have lyttet til dig.

I ought to have listened to you. (regret)

Vi burde aldrig have solgt huset.

We should never have sold the house.

The pattern is fixed: burde + have + past participle. Note that have here stays in the infinitive (it follows a modal), and it is the participle — ringet, lyttet, solgt — that carries the action. English speakers sometimes try burde ringede or burde har ringet; neither works. It is always burde have + participle.

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"Should have done X" = burde have + past participle: burde have ringet, burde have vidst, burde have sagt det. This past-regret formula is worth drilling until it's automatic — it appears in apologies, hindsight, and second-guessing all the time. The same shape works for the other modals: kunne have ("could have"), skulle have ("should/was to have"), ville have ("would have").

Turde: to dare

Turde means "to dare" — to have the courage to do something. The present is tør, which is also (confusingly, in writing) the word for "dries," so context matters. Turde appears most often in the negative — admitting you don't dare — and in questions.

Jeg tør ikke springe ud fra den høje vippe.

I don't dare jump off the high diving board.

Tør du sige det til chefen?

Do you dare say it to the boss?

Hun turde ikke fortælle dem sandheden.

She didn't dare tell them the truth. (past)

English "dare" is a defective, awkward verb ("I daren't / do I dare?"), and learners often try to bolt at onto its Danish counterpart. Resist: turde is a clean modal and takes the bare infinitive. Jeg tør ikke springe — no at, no to.

Common Mistakes

❌ Du skal hvile dig. (intending gentle advice)

Too strong — skal is an order ('you have to rest'), not a suggestion.

✅ Du bør hvile dig.

Correct — for advice you can decline, use bør.

❌ Du burde ringede, da du blev forsinket.

Wrong — you can't pair burde with a finite past verb.

✅ Du burde have ringet, da du blev forsinket.

Correct — 'should have' = burde have + past participle.

❌ Jeg tør ikke at springe.

Wrong — never put at after a modal, turde included.

✅ Jeg tør ikke springe.

Correct — turde + bare infinitive springe.

❌ Du bør tage din medicin klokken otte. (a doctor's strict instruction)

Too weak — a medical requirement isn't optional advice.

✅ Du skal tage din medicin klokken otte.

Correct — a firm instruction takes skal.

Key Takeaways

bør / burde / har burdet = "ought to, should" — advice and moral expectation, never a hard order.
bør recommends; skal obligates. Don't swap them — see skulle.
"Should have" = burde have + past participle: du burde have ringet. Drill this past-regret formula.
tør / turde / har turdet = "to dare," usually negated (jeg tør ikke...); takes a bare infinitive.
For the hypothetical and conditional uses these modals lean into, see the conditional.

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