Learn Hardcore Danish: Prisen er god for mig.

So Prisen er god for mig means The price is good for me, not A price is good for me. If you wanted A price is good for me (which sounds odd in both languages), you would say En pris er god for mig.

Why does Prisen end in -en and not -et?

Danish nouns have two genders:

common gender (with en): en pris → prisen
neuter gender (with et): et hus → huset (a house → the house)

Pris is a common-gender noun, so:

Indefinite: en pris
Definite: prisen

That is why it’s Prisen, not Priset.

Could the sentence also be En pris er god for mig?

Grammatically yes, but it would sound strange without context, just as “A price is good for me” sounds odd in English.

You would use En pris er god for mig only in a very abstract or contrastive context, for example in a longer explanation. In normal situations talking about a specific price (in a shop, an offer, etc.), Danes say Prisen (the price), not En pris.

Why is it god and not godt or gode here?

In Prisen er god for mig, god is an adjective after the verb er (is). After er, adjectives usually appear in their base form:

Prisen er god. (The price is good.)
Tilbuddet er godt. (The offer is good. — tilbud is neuter)
Priserne er gode. (The prices are good. — plural)

The forms work like this:

god – common gender singular after a noun or after er
- en god pris, prisen er god
godt – neuter singular after a noun or after er
- et godt tilbud, tilbuddet er godt
gode – all plurals and also after a definite plural noun
- gode priser, priserne er gode

Since pris is common gender singular, god is the correct form.

Does god here mean “cheap”, “inexpensive”, or just “good”?

Literally it means good, but with pris it often implies that the price is favorable / reasonable / not too high, so the natural English translation is often:

The price is good for me.
≈ The price suits me / is okay for me / is reasonable for me.

If you want to directly say cheap, you can use:

billig = cheap / inexpensive (sometimes with a slightly negative nuance, like “cheaply made”)
- Prisen er billig. (The price is cheap.)

But en god pris is very common and usually positive: a good deal, a fair price.

Why is it for mig and not til mig?

Both for and til can translate as for or to, but they are used differently.

for mig here means from my point of view / in my situation
- Prisen er god for mig.
  → The price is good (when you consider me / my budget / my needs).
til mig is more like intended for me / directed at me
- Gaven er til mig. (The gift is for me.)
- Denne pris er kun til dig. (This price is only for you. – as a special offer to you)

So for an evaluation like good for me / suitable for me, you want for mig, not til mig.

Why is it mig and not jeg?

Danish, like English, has different forms for subject and object pronouns:

jeg = I (subject)
mig = me (object)

After a preposition like for, you must use the object form:

for mig = for me, not for jeg
just like in English you say for me, not for I.

So: Prisen er god for mig, never for jeg.

Can I also say For mig er prisen god? Is the word order okay?

Yes, that is correct Danish, just with a different emphasis.

Prisen er god for mig.
Neutral: you’re stating a fact about the price, then adding “for me.”
For mig er prisen god.
Emphasis on for mig: As far as I’m concerned / For me personally, the price is good.

Word-order-wise:

For mig is moved to the front (topicalization).
Danish still respects the V2 rule: the verb (er) stays in the second position:
- For mig (1st slot) – er (2nd) – prisen god (rest).

Both versions are natural; you pick based on what you want to highlight.

Could this sentence ever mean “The prize is good for me”?

Usually, pris means price, so Prisen er god for mig is naturally understood as:

The price is good for me.

Danish also uses pris in the sense of award/prize in some contexts, but the more typical word for a prize/award is:

præmie or pris used with clarifying context (like litteraturpris = literary prize).

Without context, Danes will almost certainly interpret Prisen er god for mig as talking about money / cost, not an award.

Is Prisen er god for mig something you’d actually say when shopping?

Yes, it can be used, but there are also other very common ways to comment on a price. For example:

Det er en god pris. – That’s a good price.
Prisen er fin. – The price is fine.
Det passer mig fint. – That works well for me. (about price, time, etc.)

If you specifically want to stress your own situation, Prisen er god for mig or For mig er prisen god works and sounds natural, especially if you’re comparing with your budget or other offers.

How do you pronounce Prisen er god for mig?

Approximate pronunciation (using English-like hints):

Prisen ≈ PREE-sen
er ≈ a short, relaxed air (often very reduced)
god ≈ go with a long o and a little catch (glottal stop) at the end
for ≈ for but often very weak, closer to fo
mig ≈ my (not “mig” like mig in English)

Very roughly: “PREE-sen air go fo my”, with er, for pronounced quite softly and quickly.