Archive by Author
The Job Question Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Apr 30, 2019
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 /…
Talking about Languages Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Mar 31, 2019
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…
Head, knee, toe Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Feb 28, 2019
Without a physical body, learning Danish would be kind of hard. Not only do we use our tongue and lips to pronounce words – we also use our lunger (lungs) to breathe while we speak, our ears to listen, our hands to explain stuff… Let’s look at kroppen (the body). There’s a nice children’s song…
Describing Looks Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jan 31, 2019
Hvordan ser han/hun ud? (How does he/she look like?) You might not carry around photos of everyone you know in din mobil (your mobile phone), so now and then you’ll need ord (words) to describe somebody’s udseende (appearance, literally ”out-looking”). Høj, lav, stor, kraftig, lille, tyk, tynd (tall, short, big, strongly built, small, thick/stout, thin)…
Peter’s Christmas Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Dec 25, 2018
Jeg glæder mig i denne tid – nu falder julesneen hvid – så ved jeg, Julen kommer. (I’m happy in this season – now the Christmas snow is falling white – then I know, Christmas is coming.) So begins Peters Jul (Peter’s Christmas), an old children’s book that still colours the way Danes view Christmas……
When is your birthday? Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Nov 23, 2018
Asking about somebody’s fødselsdag [FOSLsdaay] (birthday) might not be the first thing you do. Still, when the topic does pop up, it’s good to be prepared! 🙂 Otherwise, the knowledge of how to say datoer (dates) could come handy when planning … dates. Hvornår har du fødselsdag? Or, if you’re talking to ”you guys”: Hvornår…
Shopping in Denmark Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Oct 31, 2018
No matter how much dåsemad (canned food) you bring from home, sooner or later you’ll need to do some shopping in Danmark. Fortunately, this is normally straightforward and easy – you don’t need to prutte med priserne (bargain) or discuss a lot with the shop people in butikken (the shop). But be prepared for witty…