hvordan

How

Level 1

Hvordan is the Danish word for 'how' when you are asking about in what way something is done or what state someone is in.

How It Works

Hvordan is an interrogative adverb used to ask about manner or condition. It is one of the essential wh-questions in Danish.

1. Manner and Method: Use it to ask how an action is performed.
Example: Hvordan gør man det? (How do you do it?)

2. State and Condition: Use it to ask about well-being or the quality of something.
Example: Hvordan har du det? (How are you?)

3. Word Order: The word order depends on the sentence type. In a direct question, the verb follows hvordan immediately (inversion). In indirect questions, the subject comes before the verb.
Direct: Hvordan [verb] staver [subject] man det?
Indirect: Jeg ved ikke, hvordan [subject] man [verb] staver det.

4. Hvordan vs. Hvor: A common mistake is using hvordan for degree. Use hvordan for 'in what way', but use hvor when 'how' is followed by an adjective or adverb (degree).
Correct: Hvor gammel er du? (How old are you?)
Incorrect: Hvordan gammel er du?

5. The 'eller hvordan?' Tag: In casual speech, Danes often add eller hvordan? to the end of a sentence to seek confirmation, similar to '...or what?'

Examples (5)

  1. Hvordan går det?

    How is it going?

    Word by Word: How goes it?

    This is the most common way to ask 'How are you?' or 'How is it going?' in Danish.

  2. Hvordan siger man "tak" på engelsk?

    How do you say "thanks" in English?

    Word by Word: How says one "thanks" on English?

    Used here to ask for a method or translation.

  3. Jeg ved ikke, hvordan han gjorde det.

    I don't know how he did it.

    Word by Word: I know not, how he did it.

    This shows 'hvordan' used in an indirect question.

  4. Hvordan smager maden?

    How does the food taste?

    Word by Word: How tastes the food?

    Asking about the state or quality of the food.

  5. Vi ses i morgen, eller hvordan?

    We'll see each other tomorrow, or what?

    Word by Word: We see-each-other in tomorrow, or how?

    An example of the common tag question 'eller hvordan?' used for confirmation.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'hvordan' to ask about degree (e.g., how old, how much).

    Hvordan gammel er du?
    Hvor gammel er du?

    In Danish, you must use hvor when 'how' is followed by an adjective or adverb to ask about degree.

  • Forgetting verb-subject inversion in direct questions.

    Hvordan du har det?
    Hvordan har du det?

    Danish requires the verb to be in the second position (V2 rule) in main clause questions.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

hvordanLevel 1How

Learn This First

To use 'hvordan' (how) effectively, you need to understand the basic structure of Danish questions and be familiar with the 'hv-' question word category.

Words in This Pattern

hvordan