Sometimes small words can have a big meaning - and this is of course also the case in the Danish language. You have probably heard Danes say the words sådan, da and jo a million times, and maybe you have wondered about the meaning of them? Here is a guide to the basic meaning of the three words.
Sådan!
Sådan is a good Danish word to know as it’s used often, as a standalone, as well as in sentences.
- The most direct way to translate "sådan" to English would be “such” or “like this”, for example: “Men det kan ikke fortsætte sådan her” (It cannot go on like this) or "Sådan her vil jeg gerne have min kaffe" (I want my coffee like this).
- It is also used often as a one-word sentence as "well done". For example, if you’re trying to work out how something is done, when you finally get it to work, you may say: “sådan!”. Or if you want to acknowledge someone else's efforts when they have won a victory or completed a task, you can also use the word sådan! to acknowledge the person.
- Sådan is also used in the fixed expression "Sådan set" which is used as "actually" or "when you think about" - eg. in the sentence "hun har det sådan set OK, selv om hun er syg" (she is actually feeling ok, even though she is sick).
Da
The word da can mean a few things in Danish.
- It of course translates to “when”, when speaking of something that has happened before now, as in "Da jeg var lille...", and the general "when"
- It is also very often used like “of course”. So when Danes say “ja da”, they are placing emphasis on the “ja” and saying "yes of course"
- Da is also used as an expression of time "Lige da det skete..." which means "Just when it happened..."
- Da can be used as an expression for cause or reason, like because: "Jeg gik en tur, da jeg trængte til at få noget motion" which means "I went for a walk, because I needed to exercise".
Jo
Jo is another one of the little words that gets used often by Danes and is difficult to explain. After a while, it just comes naturally.
- It can mean “yes” in rebuttal, when responding to “ikke” in a question or statement, but it can also convey a sense of obviousness, for example "det er jo svært at svømme over Atlanterhavet", (it is indeed difficult to swim across the Atlantic Ocean) or to express surprise, for example “men den er jo rød” (but it is red!).
- Jo is also often used as a hesitant "yes" when you are not really convinced of your answer. In this context, the Danes tend to lengthen the sound of the letter o as in "Er du glad for gaven?" "Joooo" (Did you like the present? Yeahhhh) - in these cases jo can be seen spelled as joe, jow or joh.
- Jo can also be doubled - when Danes say jojo it is seen as an evident yes - but perhaps with an explanation. "Er du glad for dit job?". "jojo, men der er alt for travlt" (Do you like your job? Yes, but it is way too busy).