Thank you
tak is thanks. Danes say it often — for the food, for help, for a nice evening. To make it stronger, say mange tak (many thanks) or tusind tak (a thousand thanks).
| Thanks a lot! — You're welcome. | Mange tak! — Selv tak. |
When someone hands you something, the polite reply is tak skal du have — literally thanks you shall have.
You're welcome, and here you are
The answer to tak is selv tak — you're welcome, literally thanks yourself.
værsgo has no exact English word. You say it when you give something to someone, or invite them to start: here you are, help yourself, go ahead.
| Here you are! Here is the coffee. | Værsgo! Her er kaffen. |
Saying no politely
nej tak is no thank you. A plain nej to an offer sounds rude in Danish.
| No thank you, I am not hungry. | Nej tak, jeg er ikke sulten. |
Sorry
undskyld means both sorry and excuse me — use it to apologise or to get someone's attention. The friendly reply is det gør ikke noget — never mind, no problem.
| Excuse me, where is the station? | Undskyld, hvor er stationen? |
| Sorry! — Never mind. | Undskyld! — Det gør ikke noget. |
okay and selvfølgelig (of course) round off the set:
| Do you speak Danish? — Yes, of course. | Taler du dansk? — Ja, selvfølgelig. |
