Tak for sidst! Det var længe siden. Hvad så?

Danes use Tak for sidst when they meet or message someone after having seen them before. It is a very common social formula, especially after:

• a dinner
• a party
• a meeting
• a date
• a visit
• any previous shared occasion

It does not literally mean only thanks for last time in a narrow sense. In real use, it often functions like a warm acknowledgment of your last meeting, something like:

• Nice seeing you last time
• Thanks for the last time we met
• Good to see you again after last time

It is extremely natural in Danish and sounds polite and friendly.

No. Tak for sidst only works if you have met the person before.

If this is your first meeting, it would sound strange, because sidst refers to a previous occasion. So you need some earlier shared event or meeting for the phrase to make sense.

Sidst means last, most recently, or the last time depending on context.

In Tak for sidst, it refers to the last time we saw each other. Danish often leaves that part unstated because it is understood from the situation.

So the phrase is short and idiomatic. A learner may expect something longer, but Danish is happy with just sidst here.

Both can exist, but they are not exactly the same in tone.

• Det er længe siden = It has been a long time
• Det var længe siden = It had been a long time or It was a long time ago / It had been ages

In conversation after seeing someone again, Det var længe siden often looks back from the moment of reunion: before we met just now, a long time had passed.

So the past tense can feel very natural because the speaker is treating the long gap as something that lasted up until this meeting.

In everyday speech, both versions may be heard depending on context and personal style.

Yes, very much so. Længe siden is a common expression meaning a long time ago or a long time since.

Examples:

• Det er længe siden. = It has been a long time.
• Jeg så hende for længe siden. = I saw her a long time ago.
• Hvornår har du sidst været der? Det er længe siden for mig. = When were you last there? It has been a long time for me.

So learners should try to remember længe siden as a chunk, not just as two random words.

Here det is a kind of general subject, like it in English expressions such as:

• It was a long time
• It is raining
• It is late

Danish often uses det in the same way. It does not point to a specific object. It just fills the subject position in a natural Danish sentence.

Hvad så? is a very common informal phrase. In this context, it usually means something like:

• So, what’s up?
• How are things?
• What’s new?
• So then?

It is a casual way to keep the conversation going after the greeting.

The exact meaning depends a lot on tone and situation. It does not always ask for one specific piece of information. Often it simply invites the other person to talk.

Yes, it is definitely informal and conversational.

You would use it with:

• friends
• classmates
• coworkers you know reasonably well
• family
• other casual situations

It may be too casual for very formal situations. If you want something more neutral or polite, you could ask something like:

• Hvordan går det?
• Hvordan har du det?
• Hvad laver du for tiden?

But among friends, Hvad så? is completely normal.

Yes, it can, depending on tone.

Friendly tone:

• Hvad så? = What’s up?

Sharp or impatient tone:

• Hvad så? = Well?
• So?
• What now?

So the phrase itself is not rude, but intonation matters a lot. In your sentence, after Tak for sidst! Det var længe siden., it sounds friendly and natural.

Because this is very natural spoken Danish. Danes often use short, compact expressions in conversation, especially in greetings and small talk.

This sequence:

• Tak for sidst!
• Det var længe siden.
• Hvad så?

sounds like relaxed, everyday speech. A native speaker does not need to spell out every detail, because the social context makes the meaning clear.

Yes. All three parts can work very well in a text message, especially between people who know each other.

For example, a message like this would sound natural:

• Hej! Tak for sidst. Det var længe siden. Hvad så?

In writing, people may also shorten or loosen punctuation, but the expressions themselves are completely normal in texts.

A learner should know that natural Danish pronunciation is often less clear-cut than the spelling suggests.

Roughly:

• Tak sounds a bit like tag with an a closer to the vowel in father
• for is often reduced in fast speech
• sidst has a soft Danish d, not a strong English d

The biggest challenge is that spoken Danish often reduces sounds, so the phrase may come out more smoothly and less distinctly than an English speaker expects.

The best approach is to learn it as one spoken chunk:

• Tak for sidst

rather than pronouncing each word very separately.

Yes, very well. Together they sound like a natural reunion opener:

• Tak for sidst! = friendly acknowledgment of the last meeting
• Det var længe siden. = comment that it has been a while
• Hvad så? = invitation to continue the conversation

So this is exactly the kind of thing Danes might say when they run into someone they have not seen for some time.