Learn Danish: Hun er selvstændig frisør. - She is a self-employed hairdresser.

In Danish, when you state someone's profession, nationality, or religion, you usually leave out the indefinite article (en or et). Because being a hairdresser is her role or job title, we just say er frisør. The adjective selvstændig acts as part of that job classification here.

If I said "Hun er en selvstændig frisør", would it mean the same thing?

Not quite! If you add en, the focus shifts from her job status to her personality. Hun er en selvstændig frisør sounds more like "She is a hairdresser who happens to be an independent or self-reliant person," rather than stating her official employment status as a business owner.

Does "selvstændig" always mean "self-employed"?

No, its core meaning is "independent" or "autonomous". When describing a person's character, it means they are self-reliant. However, in the context of work and business, selvstændig is the absolute standard term for being self-employed or a freelancer.

How would you say just "She is self-employed" without mentioning the job?

You would simply drop the profession and say Hun er selvstændig. In Danish, this functions perfectly as a standalone phrase to describe someone's employment status as a business owner or freelancer.