Hej Allesammen,
In Danish, the little word “man” is very common. It doesn’t mean “man” (like a person who isn’t a woman). Instead, it’s used when you talk about people in general — kind of like “one,” “you,” or “people” in English.
For example:
- Man kan altid tage bussen i København. (“You/people can always take the bus in Copenhagen.”)
- Man siger, at dansk er svært. (“They say / People say that Danish is difficult.”)
It’s a very useful word for daily conversation, especially when you don’t want to specify exactly who does something.
Discussion Prompt:
Think about your own life abroad — if you had to give one piece of advice to someone moving to your country, how would you say it using “man” in Danish?
For example: “I Portugal skal man smage pastel de nata.”
(“In Portugal, one should taste pastel de nata.”)
Share your own sentences with “man” and let’s see what advice we can collect from all over the world!
I look forward to reading your answers in the comment section below.
Alison, OLS Community Manager - Danish