Breakdown of Goddag, hvor skal jeg sætte frimærket?
jeg
I
hvor
where
skulle
to have to / must / to be going to
goddag
hello (formal), good day
Questions & Answers about Goddag, hvor skal jeg sætte frimærket?
Why use sætte here instead of lægge or stille for the word "put"?
Danish uses highly specific verbs for placing objects. Stille is used for standing things upright, and lægge is for laying things down flat. Sætte is used when you are attaching, fixing, or sticking something to a surface, which is exactly what you do when you put a stamp on an envelope.
Why is skal translated as "should" here instead of "must" or "will"?
When asking for instructions, directions, or a decision from someone else, Danish naturally uses skal. While skal can mean "must" or indicate the future tense, in this context it translates perfectly to the English "should". If you used burde (the literal translation of "should/ought to"), it would sound strangely philosophical, as if you were asking about the moral obligation of where to place the stamp.
How is the word frimærket constructed?
It is a compound noun made of fri (free) and mærke (mark or label), with the neuter definite ending -t attached to make it "the stamp". Historically, a frimærke proved that the postage was already paid by the sender, meaning the letter was "free" for the recipient to accept.