How to Ask Questions in Danish

Asking questions in Danish is, in one specific way, easier than in English: there's no "do-support". You don't say do you eat fish? — you just flip the subject and verb: Spiser du fisk?. That single rule unlocks most Danish questions.

Yes / no questions: just flip the verb

In a Danish statement, the order is Subject + Verb + Rest:

Du taler dansk. — You speak Danish.

To turn it into a yes/no question, swap subject and verb:

Taler du dansk? — Do you speak Danish?

That's the whole rule. No helper verbs, no "do". A few more examples:

• Han bor i København. → Bor han i København? (Does he live in Copenhagen?)
• Vi skal spise. → Skal vi spise? (Shall we eat?)
• Det regner i morgen. → Regner det i morgen? (Does it rain tomorrow?)

For learners coming from English, this is a relief — you skip the "do/does/did" you'd otherwise need.

Wh-questions: question word first, then the verb

For questions starting with "what", "where", "when" etc., the structure is:

Question word + Verb + Subject + Rest

The verb still comes in position 2, exactly like in regular V2 word order — the question word just takes position 1.

Examples:

• Hvad spiser du? — What are you eating?
• Hvor bor du? — Where do you live?
• Hvornår kommer toget? — When does the train come?

The seven question words

These are the words you'll hear constantly. Memorise them as a set.

Note that hvilken changes form based on the noun's gender and number — hvilken (common gender), hvilket (neuter), hvilke (plural). See adjective endings for the same pattern.

Practical question patterns

A handful of question patterns come up so often they're worth memorising as chunks:

• Hvad hedder du? — What's your name? (literally "what are you called")
• Hvor kommer du fra? — Where do you come from?
• Hvor længe har du været i Danmark? — How long have you been in Denmark?
• Hvad koster det? — How much does it cost?
• Hvornår åbner I? — When do you open?
• Hvor er toilettet? — Where is the toilet?
• Hvordan kommer jeg til...? — How do I get to...?
• Må jeg...? — May I...? (asks for permission; very polite)
• Kan du hjælpe mig? — Can you help me?
• Hvad mener du? — What do you mean?
• Hvad synes du? — What do you think?

Polite vs casual

Danish doesn't have a strong formal/informal divide — there's a polite De form, but it's almost extinct in everyday usage outside the royal family and very formal letters. You can use du with everyone, including strangers, your boss, and people much older than you. This trips up learners from German or French, but in Denmark it's the norm.

What softens a question instead is word choice and tone, not the pronoun:

• Kan du give mig...? — Can you give me...? (neutral)
• Vil du give mig...? — Would you give me...? (slightly more polite)
• Må jeg bede om...? — May I ask for...? (most polite)
• Kan du hjælpe mig? — Can you help me? (universal polite)

You don't need to memorise registers — just default to kan du or må jeg, smile, and you're fine in any situation.

Intonation: the part textbooks skip

In English, you signal a question with rising intonation at the end ("You're going? ↗"). In Danish, the word order does the heavy lifting — but you also rise on the last syllable. Less dramatic than English, but it's there.

For wh-questions, the intonation pattern is usually slightly falling at the end — same as in English ("Where is it.").

If you're not sure: word order matters most, intonation second. Get the order right and you'll be understood.

What's next

• For the broader grammar context of why Danish word order works this way, see the Danish Word Order guide.
• For more useful conversational phrases, see Essential Danish Phrases.
• To practise asking questions in real conversation flows, try our practice conversations.