Questions & Answers about Smørrebrød er dansk mad.
Why is dansk not written with an ending like danske or danskt?
In Danish, adjectives change depending on the noun they describe. The word for food, mad, is a common gender noun (an en word). When describing an indefinite en word, the adjective takes no extra ending. That is why it is just dansk and not danskt (used for et words) or danske (used for plurals or definite nouns).
The English translation says "open sandwiches" (plural). Is smørrebrød a singular or plural word?
When talking about the food category as a whole, smørrebrød is treated as a singular, uncountable noun (an et word, because it ends in brød). If you want to count individual sandwiches, you usually count the pieces, such as to stykker smørrebrød (two pieces of open sandwich).
What do the parts of the word smørrebrød actually mean?
It is a compound word made of smør (butter) and brød (bread). The extra -e- in the middle is just a linking sound that joins the two words to make them flow better when spoken, which is very common in Danish.
Why isn't there an article like en before dansk mad?
Just like in English, when you talk about an uncountable concept in a general sense, you drop the article. Mad (food) is uncountable in this context. Interestingly, if you were to add an article and say en mad, it changes the meaning slightly to refer to a single prepared slice of bread with toppings on it!