Danish Language Blog

Så er det efterår! (Then it’s autumn!) Before the sofa swallows you, here is a reminder to keep moving… Man kan bevæge sig på mange forskellige måder. (One can move in many different ways.) Legs and feet make it possible at gå, at løbe, at hoppe, at sparke (to walk, to run, to jump, to…

Although this is an apolitical blog, it’s hard to ignore that there has been a lot of talk about Denmark this month – or rather about Greenland. Without going into politics (which I’ll leave for others), I thought this might be a decent moment to re-highlight the Danish-Greenlandic connections a bit. 🙂 In 2019, Grønland…

Hvor er det varmt i dag! (How hot it is today!) Like many other European countries, Denmark was recently hit by a hedebølge [hethebolyeh] (heatwave) with temperaturer exceeding 30 grader (°C). Fortunately, Danes have many remedies to cool down – one of them being the sød og syrlig (sweet and freshly sour) dessert known as…

As a Danish-learner recently pointed out to me, ”to think” is tricky in Danish – especially if English is your first language. Look in a dictionary, and you’ll find at least three different translations: at tænke, at tro, at synes. The thing is, even in English ”to think” is a wide concept with many shades…

A hare [ha-a] jumping mysteriously across the street in front of you.  A ræv (fox) stealing your sausages at the beach barbecue party. A pindsvin (hedgehog) going for a moonlit stroll. As urban as Denmark is, the country has a lot of wildlife. 🙂 The Vikings believed in Ratatosk, an egern [e-yern] (squirrel) that was…

Hvad arbejder ud med? (What’s your job?) Many people enjoy talking about their job, and Danes are no exception! 🙂 Gear up the conversation with some work-related vocabulary – and don’t be put off by the ocassional brok (complainings), which is often just a way to vent some Danish irony… – Jeg er tjener /…

Beklager, jeg taler ikke engelsk! (Sorry, I don’t speak English!) Although I normally wouldn’t recommend lying, the previous phrase might come handy if you’re a beginner & want to practice your dansk! 🙂 Otherwise there is a big probability (!) that the Danes you meet will answer you in their excellent English… Let’s talk about…