You - man, du or I ?

You translates into three different words: du, I and man. Du adresses one person, I adresses more persons:

  • Peter, er du enebarn? (Peter, are you an only child?)
  • Anne og Anna, er I tvillinger? (Anne og Anna, are you twins?)

  • The Danish pronoun man has no real equivalent in English. It carries the meaning of one, the general person, but would usually translate into you (singular). Man is the pronoun for ethical rules and general descriptions, permissions, prohibitions and instructions:

  • Man bør ikke servere alkohol for børn. (You/one should not serve alcohol to kids)
  • Man må ikke køre bil uden kørekort. (You're not allowed to drive without a license.)
  • I Danmark må man gerne gifte sig med sin kusine. (In Denmark it's legal to marry your cousin.)
  • Man tænder kaffemaskinen på den røde knap. (You switch on the coffee machine by pressing the red button.)


  • Choose Du, I or man in the drop down list.
    - Arbejder her?
    - Ja, men vi har ikke tid. Kan ikke spørge en anden?

    - Undskyld, men må ryge her?
    - Ja, men det er ikke sundt! skulle hellere holde op.