# Danish: Sgu



## frugihoyi

What does this mean


----------



## madshov

I think there is no direct translation of the word 'sgu' in English. It is considered impolite and/or offensive to use in the Danish language. In most cases I believe 'damn' is the closest word in English. Hope it helps!


----------



## frytki

I would translate 'sgu' with bloody or something similar. It is used to kind of emphasize something, e.g. "det er sgu da løgn" (~that's a bloody lie). 
It's a mild swearword (; contraction of 'så Gud') and it can express a bit of irritation or anger.


----------



## Sepia

frytki said:


> I would translate 'sgu' with bloody or something similar. It is used to kind of emphasize something, e.g. "det er sgu da løgn" (~that's a bloody lie).
> It's a mild swearword (; contraction of 'så Gud') and it can express a bit of irritation or anger.


 
Interesting that you define that as "mild". It is "God" used in vain - definitely a violation of one the 10 Commandments. I thought that was the worst it could get. 

Which swear-words would not be mild, according to you?

And why do Danes and Swedes swear a lot more than the Germans or the French do? Any historical or sociological reason that anyone can point out?


----------



## frytki

Sepia said:


> Interesting that you define that as "mild". It is "God" used in vain - definitely a violation of one the 10 Commandments. I thought that was the worst it could get.
> 
> Which swear-words would not be mild, according to you?



Maybe I was too subjective when I said that 'sgu' is mild. I'm not a religious person and hence such a word doesn't bother me at all. So I guess generally the non-religious swearwords would be worse in my opinion, but it also comes down to usage. 
But even among more religious people who don't swear in general, if they slip and do swear then it's usually 'sgu' I hear them say. It's possible people don't think about where the word originates from when they use it. But 'sgu' is definitely one of the most used swearwords in Denmark.


----------



## BoTrojan

In general, I would be very careful and reluctant when trying to use slang in your non-native languages.  In my experience, slang is up there with prepositions and idioms in general in terms of things that are hardest to master when learning another language.  Just think of examples of hearing non-native English speakers try to use slang or cuss words in English ... think of how funny it sounds when they almost invariably get it wrong, even if it's only slightly off.  Well, that's you in Danish when you do the same thing.  

The above "translation" is actually exemplary of my point.  It's true that "sgu" can mean "bloody" or "darned" or "damned."  But you'd rarely be able to substitute the one for the others 1:1, directly translated.  If you tried to, you'd end up just sounding silly to natives in all likelihood. 

So the best way to start if you really want to be able to use the word is to use it within idiomatic expressions that your know to be correct.  Here, don't worry so much about the literal translation of "sgu" but rather the context in which the idiomatic phrase as a whole is used.  A few sure fire examples:

"Det er sgu da loegn!"  ("That's a damned lie!" or, in some contexts "no way!")
"Det ved jeg sgu ikke!" ("Damned if I know!" or "I don't friggin' know!")
"Det kan du sgu da godt" ("You most certainly can [do that]!")

Native Danes ... what other useful idioms are there in which you find the expression "sgu?"


----------



## frugihoyi

BoTrojan said:


> In general, I would be very careful and reluctant when trying to use slang in your non-native languages. In my experience, slang is up there with prepositions and idioms in general in terms of things that are hardest to master when learning another language. Just think of examples of hearing non-native English speakers try to use slang or cuss words in English ... think of how funny it sounds when they almost invariably get it wrong, even if it's only slightly off. Well, that's you in Danish when you do the same thing.
> 
> The above "translation" is actually exemplary of my point. It's true that "sgu" can mean "bloody" or "darned" or "damned." But you'd rarely be able to substitute the one for the others 1:1, directly translated. If you tried to, you'd end up just sounding silly to natives in all likelihood.
> 
> So the best way to start if you really want to be able to use the word is to use it within idiomatic expressions that your know to be correct. Here, don't worry so much about the literal translation of "sgu" but rather the context in which the idiomatic phrase as a whole is used. A few sure fire examples:
> 
> "Det er sgu da loegn!" ("That's a damned lie!" or, in some contexts "no way!")
> "Det ved jeg sgu ikke!" ("Damned if I know!" or "I don't friggin' know!")
> "Det kan du sgu da godt" ("You most certainly can [do that]!")
> 
> Native Danes ... what other useful idioms are there in which you find the expression "sgu?"


 Hey those are some useful phrases, thanks.


----------



## Sepia

BoTrojan said:


> In general, I would be very careful and reluctant when trying to use slang in your non-native languages. In my experience, slang is up there with prepositions and idioms in general in terms of things that are hardest to master when learning another language. Just think of examples of hearing non-native English speakers try to use slang or cuss words in English ... think of how funny it sounds when they almost invariably get it wrong, even if it's only slightly off. Well, that's you in Danish when you do the same thing.
> 
> The above "translation" is actually exemplary of my point. It's true that "sgu" can mean "bloody" or "darned" or "damned." But you'd rarely be able to substitute the one for the others 1:1, directly translated. If you tried to, you'd end up just sounding silly to natives in all likelihood.
> 
> So the best way to start if you really want to be able to use the word is to use it within idiomatic expressions that your know to be correct. Here, don't worry so much about the literal translation of "sgu" but rather the context in which the idiomatic phrase as a whole is used. A few sure fire examples:
> 
> "Det er sgu da loegn!" ("That's a damned lie!" or, in some contexts "no way!")
> "Det ved jeg sgu ikke!" ("Damned if I know!" or "I don't friggin' know!")
> "Det kan du sgu da godt" ("You most certainly can [do that]!")
> 
> Native Danes ... what other useful idioms are there in which you find the expression "sgu?"


 

Well of course you can't use a literal translation for any of them. You could, however, substitute all of the with the f-word that we can't sing in C&W (according to Hank Williams jr.)

On the other hand, if I were translating a book or rewriting dialogue for a film from Danish into English or various other languages I am sure I would not even translate all of the swearing because you actually often have an overload of cursing in Danish. Not even the dialogue in "The Commitments" (famous Irish film ... know it?) reaches the curse-level of what you sometimes hear in a normal conversation in DK. 

And one little protest on the side:
What's wrong with foreigners wanting to understand the cursing and swearing they get to hear in their target language. Nobody here said they'd use that kind of language themselves - you just automatically assume that. I've also had language teachers refuse to give information about these aspects of a language "because that is not polite language". Well fine, how is a foreigner supposed to know when somebody is addressing in an inpolite manner if he doesn't understand?


----------



## Lemminkäinen

Moderator note: Please keep the discussion to the topic at hand, namely discussion of the word "sgu".


----------



## Andreas_Jensen

I'm at risk of being off topic now, I know  But I'll try to keep focused on "sgu"...

Personally I'm a Copenhagen (suburb) native (Ballerup for the informed) but I've lived 10 years in Jutland (again, Vejle, for the informed)... Luckily not anymore :-D My point with this story is that "sgu" and other swear words are used to a MUCH greater extent in the Capital than in other parts of Denmark. Where my "lingo" is perfectly acceptable to most Copenhageners lots of jutes find it downright offensive! Even in Århus I feel that they don't swear so much. So... True that Danes swear a lot but it really varies between regions and even people (especially religious people as "sgu" and most other Danish swear words carry religious connotations)... 

So be careful when using "sgu"... A Copenhagen dockworker might say it in every sentence...

"Hvad fanden? Jeg skal sgu da ikke hjem nu!? Klokken er sgu da kun 3! Han må sgu da ha' fis i kasketten ham klovnen, dér!... Jeg bliver sgu her!!!"     

(notice the "sgu da" combination) 

... But to other Danes (including people in Copenhagen with slightly more class than the dockworker mentioned above) this way of speaking is quite offensive and to people from more rural areas will probably seem very "Copenhagen" too...


----------



## nsv

The correct spelling is "s'gu" which is an abbreviation of "sågu" which in turn stems from "så Gud", ie. "by God".

NSV


----------



## Andreas_Jensen

nsv said:


> The correct spelling is "s'gu" which is an abbreviation of "sågu" which in turn stems from "så Gud", ie. "by God".
> 
> NSV


 
No, it isn't... Go to www.dsn.dk (dansk sprognævn) to look it up. It might have been spelled s'gu in older days, but as long as I have been able to spell properly (and that I remember), it has been spelled "sgu".


----------

