Ways of saying ‘Thank You’ in Danish

Knowing how to say ‘thank you’ in Danish is useful in many situations and expresses politeness. In this blogpost, we will dive into how to say ‘Thank you’ in Danish as well as explain the different variations and how to use them. Enjoy!

The four main ways to say Thank you in Danish

Tak

Simply saying ‘Thank you’ or ‘Thanks’ in Danish is ‘Tak’

Mange tak

If you want to say ‘Thanks a lot’ or ‘Thank you very much’ it would be ‘Mange tak’ in Danish.

Tusind tak

‘Tusind tak’ literally means ‘Thousand Thanks’ and is used when you are really grateful for something.

Tak, i lige måde

We often encounter that people wish us a good day or a good weekend, where we would want to thank them and wish the same back. In Danish we do this by saying ‘Tak, i lige måde’, which translates to ‘Thank you, you too’.

Replying to a ‘Thank you’ in Danish

Det var så lidt

‘Det var så lidt’ literally translates to ‘It was so little’ and is the Danish way of saying ‘You’re welcome’. You would use this phrase in any occasion where someone is thank you specifically for something you have done or given them. 

Selv tak

When you want to thank the other person back, you would use ‘Selv tak’. 
Let’s say someone is thanking you for a good meeting in which the person was participating in himself. In this case, you would want to thank them aswell and would therefore use ‘Selv tak’

Thanking for specific times

Tak for i dag

‘Tak for i dag’ means ‘Thank you for today’ and is usually used as a final remark when ending a meeting both professionally and privately. If you want to add that it was nice in private and informal meetings you can add ‘Det var hyggeligt’, which translates to ‘It was nice/pleasant/cozy’.

Tak for i aften

‘Tak for i aften’ means ‘Thank you for this evening’ and would be used as a final remark when ening a meeting in the evening time. You can also add ‘Det var hyggeligt’ for private and informal meetings here.

Tak for i går

‘Tak for i går’ means ‘Thank you for yesterday’ and is used when you see a person whom you saw the day before for an informal occasion that was not an everyday occasion. If you saw a person you had dinner with, was at a party with or at a special event with, you would say ‘Tak for i går’. 

Tak for sidst

‘Tak for sidst’ means ‘Thank you last (time)’ and is used the same way as ‘Tak for i går’, except if more than a day passes for when you meet the other person. This period of time can be anything from a day to several weeks or sometimes even months. It can however get pretty akward if too long time has passed and the other person doesn’t really recall what you are refering back to. So stick to ‘Tak for sidst’ if it’s quite clear that you saw the other person at a more special occasion last. 

Thanking for food

Tak for mad

‘Tak for i mad’ means ‘Thank you for food’ and is a very common thing to say in Denmark, when you have had a dinner that someone cooked or ordered. You would say this at the end of the meal expressing your gratitude for the food and that you are finished. So wait till after the dessert before saying this phrase. You can also add ‘Det var lækkert’ which means ‘It was delicious’.

And the last few ways of saying ‘Thank you’ in Danish

Ja tak

‘Ja tak’ means ‘Yes thank you’ and is used for when you would like to accept something politely. It is the Danish way of saying ‘Yes please’. 

Nej tak

‘Nej tak’ means ‘No thank you’ and is used for when you would like to decline something politely.

Ellers tak

‘Ellers tak’ literally translated to ‘Otherwise thanks’ and is used for when you would like to decline something. It is the Danish way of saying ‘Thanks you, but no thank you’.