Hvad hedder du?
To ask "what is your name?" in Danish, use Hvad hedder du?
This phrase is used to ask someone for their name. Hvad hedder du? is the most common and natural way to ask this in spoken Danish.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase Hvad hedder du? literally translates to "What are you called?" because the verb hedder means "to be called".
Which one should you use?
Although Hvad er dit navn? is a grammatically correct way to say "What is your name?", it is less common than Hvad hedder du? in natural conversation.
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the question more formal or polite, you can replace the informal pronoun du with the formal De.
When do people say it?
When someone asks you this question, the standard way to respond is by using the verb hedder, such as in the phrase Jeg hedder [navn] (I am called [name]).
Did you know?
- Danish culture is generally very egalitarian, so using the formal De instead of du is now rare and often reserved for the royal family or very elderly people.
- In very old forms of Danish, the word du was written as thu, which is a direct relative of the archaic English word 'thou'. You are using a modern descendant of a word that sounds quite poetic to English ears.
- When responding to Hvad hedder du?, a Dane will almost never use the word for 'name' (navn) unless they are filling out an official form.
Examples in context
- Hvad hedder du?What is your name?
Example conversation
Mikkel and Sofie meet for the first time at a party.
- MikkelHej, hvad hedder du?Hi, what is your name?
- SofieJeg hedder Sofie, og hvad med dig?My name is Sofie, and what about you?
- MikkelJeg hedder Mikkel.My name is Mikkel.
- SofieHyggeligt at møde dig, Mikkel.Nice to meet you, Mikkel.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries du, hvad, CC BY-SA 4.0.
