Danish expression of the day: ellers tak

Most days you might think "ellers tak" to learning more new complicated Danish words. But this colloquial expression is a good one to know!

The Danish expression ellers tak is an incredibly common everyday phrase which perfectly captures the Scandinavian art of being polite but direct.

Literally translated, ellers means "otherwise" and tak means "thanks".

In practice it translates to “Thanks, but no thanks” or “I’ll pass”. However, these English translations can come across as almost aggressive, which is not an undertone which ellers tak has.

However, with the right emphasis, ellers tak can also be used as a sarcastic rejection to something which sounds unappealing, similar to how you in English might say “hard pass”.

This expression sadly doesn’t come with a fun, quirky backstory. It’s a natural, longstanding expression in the Danish language and has been a staple of conversational Danish for generations.

As mentioned, e llers tak is a term used frequently in everyday, colloquial Danish. It’s a good one to know, not just because confidence using it makes you sound more Danish, but also because it’s a polite, but slightly more colloquial way of softening a rejection and setting clear boundaries (compared to the common, more direct “ nej tak ”).

Person A: Vil du have et stykke kage mere? / “Would you like another slice of cake?”

Person B: Ellers tak, jeg er helt mæt! / “No thanks, I’m really full!”

Person A : Jeg kan godt hjælpe dig med at male stuen i weekenden, hvis du vil? / “I can help you paint the living room this weekend, if you want?”

Person B : Det er pænt af dig, men ellers tak. Jeg hygger mig faktisk med at gøre det selv. / “That's nice of you, but no thanks. I'm actually enjoying doing it myself.”

Person A : Skal vi tage ud og vinterbade? / “Should we go cold swimming?”