In Denmark only close friends and family use words like "kære", "søde", "skat" and "ven". If you hear it from a stranger, they are either being condescending or sleazy.
If you go to the West country, you will also hear 'dove' and 'my lover'. In London, you hear 'darling', 'sweetheart' and 'lovely' more. My impression is that it is mainly used for people you know and not so much amongst strangers.
However, people seem to call each other 'mate' in all sorts of situations. The Danish equivalent would be 'kammerat' - you would usually hear it when someone is misbehaving and being told of though - but it is a bit old school.
On 'Søde': Or, like my wax lady, VERY superficial... in the funny Jetset-Ole-Henriksen-way!
ReplyDeleteanother Danish equivalent to "mate" or even a direct translation is "makker"
ReplyDeleteYeah, superficial is a bad thing to be in Denmark. In London, people often prioritise to "get on with it" rather than to go deep on everything. Both approaches has advantages and disadvantages.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure if "makker" is used quite as frequently as "mate" but I find that the Danish word is used with a certain amount of sarcasm, usually. Perhaps like "matey".