Breakdown of Hvad skal det være? — En kaffe, tak.
en
a / an (common)
kaffen
the coffee
tak
thanks, thank you
hvad skal det være
what can I get you?
Questions & Answers about Hvad skal det være? — En kaffe, tak.
Why does 'Hvad skal det være?' mean 'What can I get you?'
Literally, this translates to 'What shall it be?' (Hvad = what, skal = shall/must, det = it, være = be). It is the standard, polite phrase used by waiters or shop assistants in Denmark to ask for your order.
Why is være used here instead of er?
være is the dictionary form (infinitive) of 'to be'. It is used here because it directly follows the helping verb skal. Just like in English where we say 'shall be' instead of 'shall is', Danish uses a helping verb plus the dictionary form of the main verb.
I thought tak meant 'thank you'. Why is it translated as 'please' here?
Danish doesn't have a single, direct word for 'please'. Instead, Danes very often add tak (thanks) to the end of a request to make it polite. So, asking for En kaffe, tak functions exactly like saying 'A coffee, please'.
Can I use en with a liquid like kaffe?
Yes! While coffee is generally an uncountable noun, saying en kaffe is a common everyday shortcut for 'a cup of coffee', exactly as we do in conversational English.