Questions & Answers about Hvad er dit fornavn?
Why do we use dit instead of din here?
We use dit because navn (and therefore the compound word fornavn) is a neuter noun, also known as an et word (et navn). In Danish, the word for "your" must match the gender of the noun it belongs to. Since it's an et word, you use dit. If it were an en word, you would use din.
How does the word fornavn break down, and how do I say "last name"?
Fornavn is made up of for (which means "before" or "front") and navn ("name"). To say "last name," you just swap out the prefix for the word meaning "after" (efter) to make efternavn.
If I want to be polite to a stranger, do I still use dit?
Yes, usually! In modern Denmark, people almost always use the informal dit or din, even with strangers or older people. If you ever need to be extremely formal (like in very official letters), you would use the capitalized word Deres. The sentence would then be Hvad er Deres fornavn?