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Colour your tongue! Posted by on May 28, 2016 in Vocabulary

(Photo by Morten Oddvik at Flickr, CC License.)

(Photo by Morten Oddvik at Flickr, CC License.)

Can you imagine a day without farver (colours)? It’s no wonder that many language courses are quick to introduce a few colours. Here are the basic ones in Danish – can you guess the meaning of the words?

1 rød

2 blå

3 gul

4 grøn

5 brun

6 orange [oRANGSHeh]

7 lilla

8 sort

9 hvid [veeth]

10 grå

Yes, that’s right: red – blue – yellow – green – brown – orange – lilac – black – white – grey. Except for gul and sort, I guess they’re somewhat transparent for an English speaker. Another common word is lyserød which means ”light red” or ”pink” – you’ll even hear some Danes using the English word pink with a Danish twist (so it sounds like ”penk”).

Se min kjole (Look at my dress) is a children’s song which uses a lot of colour words:

Se min kjole, den er grøn som græsset
Look at my dress, it’s green like the grass
alt hvad jeg ejer, det er grønt som den.
all that I own is green like it.
Det er fordi, jeg elsker alt det grønne
that’s because I love everything green,
og fordi en jæger er min ven.
and because a hunter is my friend.

Se min kjole, den er blå som havet (the ocean)
alt hvad jeg ejer, det er blåt som den.
Det er fordi, jeg elsker alt det blå
og fordi en sømand (sailor) er min ven.

Se min kjole, den er rød som rosen (the rose)
alt hvad jeg ejer, det er rødt som den.
Det er fordi, jeg elsker alt det røde
og fordi et postbud (postman) er min ven.

Se min kjole, den er hvid som sneen (the snow),
alt hvad jeg ejer, det er hvidt som den.
Det er fordi, jeg elsker alt det hvide
og fordi en møller (miller) er min ven.

Se min kjole, den er sort som kullet (the coal),
alt hvad jeg ejer, det er sort som den.
Det er fordi, jeg elsker alt det sorte
og fordi en skorstensfejer (chimney sweep) er min ven.

I’ve left out the first and the last verses (you can read them here). Maybe you’ve remarked that the word blå, unlike the other colour words used here, never gets an e ending attached. But let’s save the grammar talk for another post! 🙂

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About the Author: Bjørn A. Bojesen

I was born in Denmark, but spent large parts of my childhood and study years in Norway. I later returned to Denmark, where I finished my MA in Scandinavian Studies. Having relatives in Sweden as well, I feel very Scandinavian! I enjoy reading and travelling, and sharing stories with you! You’re always welcome to share your thoughts with me and the other readers.


Comments:

  1. Christopher:

    Fordi, not forbi. Forbi means past, fordi means because.

    • Bjørn A. Bojesen:

      @Christopher @Christopher Tak! It’s been fixed. I’ve seriously no idea how that slipped into the post. 🙂