Words for the news and public debate
Debates about politics and society lean on a handful of words that look much like their English cousins:
| Danish | English | typical phrase |
|---|---|---|
| politisk | political | en politisk beslutning |
| sektoren | the sector | den offentlige / private sektor |
| global | global | et globalt problem |
| repræsentere | to represent | repræsentere folket |
| kriminaliteten | crime (as a whole) | kriminaliteten falder |
| misbruge | to abuse, to misuse | misbruge sin magt |
Global takes -t with neuter nouns and -e in the definite and plural. Politisk, like most adjectives with the suffix -isk, takes no -t, so the same form also works as an adverb:
| The climate crisis is a global problem. | Klimakrisen er et globalt problem. |
| She is very politically active. | Hun er meget politisk aktiv. |
Den offentlige sektor
In Denmark you work either i den offentlige sektor (the state, the regions, the municipalities) or i den private sektor:
| She works in the public sector. | Hun arbejder i den offentlige sektor. |
Kriminaliteten: crime as a whole
En forbrydelse is one crime. Kriminaliteten is crime as a phenomenon, the thing that rises and falls in statistics. It often takes the definite form where English uses no article:
| Crime has fallen in recent years. | Kriminaliteten er faldet i de senere år. |
| As far as crime is concerned, the figures are good. | Hvad angår kriminaliteten, er tallene gode. |
Misbruge is to use something wrongly: power, trust, alcohol.
| You have abused my trust. | Du har misbrugt min tillid. |
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