5. Danish Sayings

Der skulle have været revolution i torsdags, men så begyndte det at regne = We planned a revolution last Thursday, but then it started raining”

Lykken står bag den kække bi = Happiness stands behind the cheeky bee

Øvelse gør mester = practice makes master

Ingen roser uden torne (og ingen grise uden orne) = No roses without thorns (and no piglets without orns


Janteloven, a law written down in a book about a working in a ficive town called Jante. It goes however for a typically Danish town. It’s a rather negative law said to influence much of the Danish personallity.

  1. Du skal ikke tro, at du er noget.
  2. Du skal ikke tro, at du er lige så meget som os.
  3. Du skal ikke tro, at du er klogere end os.
  4. Du skal ikke bilde dig ind, at du er bedre end os.
  5. Du skal ikke tro, at du ved mere end os.
  6. Du skal ikke tro, at du er mere end os.
  7. Du skal ikke tro, at du duer til noget.
  8. Du skal ikke le ad os.
  9. Du skal ikke tro, at nogen bryder sig om dig.
  10. Du skal ikke tro, at du kan lære os noget.
  11. Du skal ikke tro, at vi ikke ved noget om dig

Here is an English translation:

  1. You should not think that you are something.
  2. You should not think that you are as much as us.
  3. You should not think that you are smarter than us.
  4. You should not imagine that you are better than us.
  5. You should not think that you know more than us.
  6. You should not think that you are more than us.
  7. You should not think that you are good for anything.
  8. You should not laugh at us.
  9. You should not think that anyone cares about you.
  10. You should not think that you can teach us anything.
  11. You should not think that we do not know anything about you.