Bedeutung
to treat someone with unfriendliness
Kultureller Hintergrund
Danes value 'hygge' and consensus. Giving the cold shoulder is a way to express disagreement without causing a scene, which is often seen as 'u-dansk' (un-Danish). Flat hierarchy in Denmark means that even a boss can receive the cold shoulder from employees if a decision is unpopular. If you act superior, the 'Law of Jante' suggests the community will humble you, often by ignoring your achievements (the cold shoulder). In Danish TV series like 'The Bridge', characters often use silence and the cold shoulder as a power move during interrogations.
Use 'møde' for the victim
If you want to sound more native when you are the one being ignored, use 'Jeg mødte en kold skulder'. It sounds more descriptive of the experience.
Watch the gender
Remember 'skulder' is 'en' (common gender). Saying 'det kolde skulder' is a very common learner mistake that immediately marks you as a non-native.
Bedeutung
to treat someone with unfriendliness
Use 'møde' for the victim
If you want to sound more native when you are the one being ignored, use 'Jeg mødte en kold skulder'. It sounds more descriptive of the experience.
Watch the gender
Remember 'skulder' is 'en' (common gender). Saying 'det kolde skulder' is a very common learner mistake that immediately marks you as a non-native.
Passive-Aggression
In Denmark, this idiom is often associated with passive-aggressive behavior. Use it carefully as it can imply the person ignoring you is being immature.
Teste dich selbst
Udfyld det manglende ord i sætningen.
Efter de skændtes, valgte hun at give ham den ______ skulder.
Idiomet er 'den kolde skulder'.
Hvilken sætning er korrekt?
Vælg den rigtige brug af idiomet:
Man 'giver' eller 'får' den kolde skulder i ental.
Match situationen med den rigtige reaktion.
Din kollega er sur på dig og svarer ikke på dine mails. Hvad gør han?
At ignorere mails er et klassisk eksempel på den kolde skulder.
🎉 Ergebnis: /3
Visuelle Lernhilfen
Aufgabensammlung
3 AufgabenEfter de skændtes, valgte hun at give ham den ______ skulder.
Idiomet er 'den kolde skulder'.
Vælg den rigtige brug af idiomet:
Man 'giver' eller 'får' den kolde skulder i ental.
Din kollega er sur på dig og svarer ikke på dine mails. Hvad gør han?
At ignorere mails er et klassisk eksempel på den kolde skulder.
🎉 Ergebnis: /3
Häufig gestellte Fragen
10 FragenNo, this is strictly for human (or human-like) social interaction. For a computer, you would say 'den er gået i baglås' or 'den driller'.
Usually 'den' (the). You use 'en' (a) only if you are describing the *kind* of shoulder, like 'Jeg blev mødt af en meget kold skulder'.
It's not rude to say it, but it describes a rude behavior. You are calling out their unfriendliness.
The opposite would be 'at tage imod med åbne arme' (to receive with open arms) or 'at give en varm velkomst'.
Only if you are describing a past challenge you overcame. Don't use it to describe the interviewers!
It can be an organization, like 'Banken gav mig den kolde skulder', meaning they rejected your application without much help.
'Vise' (show) is slightly more formal and often used in writing, while 'give' is the standard for spoken Danish.
No, because 'skulder' is common gender, the adjective must be 'kold' (or 'kolde' in definite form). 'Koldt' is for neuter nouns.
Yes! In Swedish it is 'ge kalla handen' (give the cold hand) or 'kalla skuldra', and in Norwegian it is 'gi den kalde skulderen'.
The idiom implies a sustained period of time, not just a single moment of ignoring someone.
Verwandte Redewendungen
at fryse nogen ude
synonymTo freeze someone out
at vende det døve øre til
similarTo turn a deaf ear
at se gennem nogen
similarTo look through someone
at tage imod med åbne arme
contrastTo welcome with open arms
