SKAL VI VÆRE DUS?

When I lived in Denmark – I immigrated 1966 – you either said DE or DU to people.

To translate DE OR DU to English, both words would mean YOU, so it might be confusing – and to some even irritating,  to learn the difference in meaning of the Danish DE AND DU.

DE is when you spoke to a person you have some distance from, either because you were not a close friend or family member, or somebody to whom you showed respect or the person had a different “Social Standing” 

f.ex. Student - teacher. Relationship.  We would address all our classmates with DU, but we would address all the teachers with a DE.

You would say DU to any of your family members or close friends, but if you were working you would address your boss or your co-workers with DE. DEM OR DERES.

CLOSE FRIENDS WERE ALWAYS DUS

Here I am - 1968 in Medicine Hat, Manitoba

 with my baby Harly and my daughter Linda (with the Canadian flag)

 and my friends:

from left: John Hvidkjœr, Gregers Hvidkjœr, Ceta Hvidkjœr.

 The girl in the front in the middle is Nina Hvidkjœr.

WE WERE ALL DUS

If you got to know somebody well, you would ask the person:  Skal vi vœre DUS?=  “Can we be DUS?, meaning can we start to say DU to each other instead of DE?

Sometimes people would go to a Restaurant or Café where they could Drikke DUS = They would order a drink, clink the glass and “drink to” that they now were DUS.

When you became DUS with somebody, you would be on a more intimate personal level.

I understand that things started to change in the early 70^th and that everybody in Denmark now say DU to each other, except maybe when they address Royalty.

Vibeke Lindhardt

25 June 2017

vibekesonja.blogspot.com

IF YOU NEED HELP WITH YOUR DANISH GENEALOGY, I CAN HELP YOU REMOTELY.

Visdom37@gmail.com