Grammar / Capitalisation
语法 · Grammar
Store og små bogstaver · 大小写规则 · Capitalisation
From proper nouns to pronouns and titles — the key rule: Danish capitalises far less than English. · 核心规律：丹麦语比英语大写得少得多。
1. 专有名词 · Proper nouns → capitalise
People, geographical names, institutions/companies, planets & stars are capitalised.
人名、地理名称、机构与公司、行星与恒星 — 首字母大写。
人名 People
Frederik, Jensen, Marie.
Particles like von, van, la are lower case when not at the start of a sentence, e.g. la Cour · von, van, la 等介词不在句首时小写，如 la Cour
机构/行星 Institutions/planets
Folketinget, Microsoft, Mars.
solen/månen/jorden (sun/moon/earth) may be capitalised or not · solen/månen/jorden 大小写均可
2. 国籍与语言 · Nationalities & languages → lower case
Unlike English, language and nationality words are lower case — treated as ordinary adjectives/nouns.
与英语不同！语言和国籍在丹麦语里被当作普通形容词/名词，小写。
✗ 英语思维 English habit
Jeg taler Dansk.
✓ 丹麦语 Danish
Jeg taler dansk.
en dansker (a Dane · 一个丹麦人), svensk (Swedish · 瑞典的)
3. 尊称代词 · Honorific pronouns (Tiltalepronomener)
必须大写 Always capital
De, Dem, Deres, I
formal you / you (object) / your / you (plural) · 您 / 您（宾格）/ 您的 / 你们
必须小写 Always lower
du, dig, din, jer, jeres
you / you (object) / your / you (plural, object) / your (plural) · 你 / 你（宾格）/ 你的 / 你们（宾格）/ 你们的
Deres Majestæt
陛下 · Your Majesty — 王室尊称必须大写
4. 标题与书名 · Titles & book/film titles
Book/film titles: first word always capitalised; for long titles, only capitalise the first word. Job titles are usually lower case even in direct address.
书名/电影名：首词必须大写；长标题建议只大写首词。职位头衔即使在称呼对方时通常也小写。
direktør Olsen, professoren
Director Olsen, the professor — job titles are lower case · 奥尔森经理，教授 — 职位词小写
5. 时间与度量衡 · Time, months, units → lower case
| 类别 Category | 丹麦语 Danish | 说明 Note |
|---|---|---|
| 语言 Languages | Jeg taler dansk. | lower case · 小写 |
| 星期 Weekdays | Det er mandag. | always lower case (unlike English) · 始终小写（与英语不同） |
| 月份 Months | Vi er i marts. | always lower case · 始终小写 |
| 学术头衔 Academic degrees | Han er ph.d. | lower case (unless sentence-initial) · 小写（除非句首） |
| 方位 Directions | Han bor i nord. | direction words are lower case · 方位词小写 |
| 化学元素 Chemical elements | Fe, H, O | element symbols are capitalised · 元素符号大写 |
6. 特殊案例：Folketinget · the Danish Parliament
特指丹麦议会 The institution
Folketinget
Capitalised when referring to the specific Danish parliament · 指代具体的丹麦议会时大写
泛指议会 Generic noun
et folketing
Lower case as a common noun (referring to any parliament generically) · 作普通名词（泛指任何议会）时小写
Ombudsmanden (the Parliamentary Ombudsman): capitalised when referring to the institution, lower case when referring to the specific person holding the office. · Ombudsmanden（议会监察专员）：指代机构时大写，指代具体担任该职的人时小写。
💡 Key takeaway: when in doubt, default to lower case — unless it's a proper name or a special pronoun (De, Dem, Deres, I). · 拿不准时默认小写，除非是专有名词或特殊尊称代词。