Pas på dig selv, og kør forsigtigt!

They are imperatives, the form used for commands, advice, and encouragement.

• passe → pas
• køre → kør

So the sentence uses two imperatives:

• Pas på dig selv = take care of yourself
• kør forsigtigt = drive carefully

In Danish, the imperative is often just the verb stem.

Because Danish usually leaves out the subject in the imperative, just like English often does.

Compare:

• English: Drive carefully!
• Danish: Kør forsigtigt!

You could add du in some contexts for emphasis, but that is not the normal neutral way to say it. The plain imperative without a subject is the standard form.

Because passe på is a fixed expression. You should learn it as a unit.

It can mean things like:

• be careful
• watch out
• take care of

So here, pas på dig selv is not just pas plus a random preposition. It is the verb phrase passe på.

Dig means you as an object, and selv adds the idea of yourself.

So:

• dig = you
• dig selv = yourself

In this phrase, pas på dig selv is the most natural, idiomatic way to say take care of yourself. If you left out selv, it would usually sound less complete in this kind of goodbye or caring remark.

Because forsigtigt is functioning as an adverb, not an adjective.

• forsigtig = careful
• forsigtigt = carefully

Here it modifies the verb kør, so Danish uses the adverb form:

• Hun er forsigtig = She is careful
• Hun kører forsigtigt = She drives carefully

A very common pattern in Danish is that the adverb looks like the -t form of the adjective.

That is the normal word order.

In a simple imperative, Danish usually puts the verb first and then the adverb:

• Kør forsigtigt
• Tal langsomt
• Kom hurtigt hjem

You can move the adverb for emphasis in some contexts, but kør forsigtigt is the neutral, natural order.

Not necessarily. Many people would also write:

Pas på dig selv og kør forsigtigt!

The comma before og here is mostly a stylistic pause separating the two pieces of advice. So if you see it with or without the comma, that is not something to worry too much about as a learner.

As written, it is most naturally addressed to one person, because of dig selv.

If you are speaking to more than one person, you would normally say:

Pas på jer selv, og kør forsigtigt!

Notice:

• dig selv = yourself, singular
• jer selv = yourselves, plural

The imperative verbs pas and kør do not change.

It is a normal, everyday way to speak and is usually understood as informal/neutral modern Danish.

If you wanted a very formal version, you could in theory use Dem:

Pas på Dem selv, og kør forsigtigt!

But in modern Danish, that kind of formality is much less common than in some other languages. Most of the time, the original version is what you will hear.

Yes, very natural.

It sounds warm, caring, and practical. A Danish speaker might say it when someone is leaving, especially if that person is going somewhere by car.

Also, pas på dig selv is broader than just physical danger. It can sound emotionally caring too, a bit like saying:

• take care
• look after yourself

Adding kør forsigtigt makes the situation more specific: the person is driving, so the speaker is wishing them a safe trip.