Ingen må snyde.

no one

Breakdown of Ingen må snyde.

• måtte: must
• snyde: to cheat

Questions & Answers about Ingen må snyde.

What does ingen mean here?

Here, ingen means no one / nobody.

In Danish, ingen can also mean none depending on context, but in Ingen må snyde, it is the subject of the sentence, so it means no one.

• Ingen = no one / nobody
• må = may / is allowed to
• snyde = cheat

So the structure is literally something like No one may cheat.

Why is it må and not kan?

Because må is about permission, while kan is usually about ability.

• må = may, be allowed to, be permitted to
• kan = can, be able to

So:

• Ingen må snyde = No one is allowed to cheat
• Ingen kan snyde = No one can cheat (because it is impossible or they are unable to)

That is an important difference. In this sentence, the idea is a rule or prohibition, not ability.

What form of verb is må?