Archive for 'Vocabulary'
Most Danish Words Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on May 31, 2018
Which words or phrases are the ”most Danish”? Of course, such a spørgsmål (question) is very hard to answer… Besides, there are so many to pick! Below are my (current) candidates for the prize – do you (dis)agree? øl [url] (beer). Of course, not every Dane drinks beer… But in the home country of the…
Trees of Denmark Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on May 16, 2018
Bøgen er sprunget ud! (The beech has come into leaf!) It’s always a great begivenhed (happening) when Denmark’s national tree gets its first blade (leaves) after the long, leafless vinter season. Skove (forests) all across the realm turn breathtakingly lysegrøn (light green), hvide anemoner (white anemones) bloom between the rødder (roots – rod in the…
Hello Interjections! Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Apr 30, 2018
Ouch! Hitting your finger with a hammer hurts, and the interjection ouch helps you let out a bit of the pain and frustration. Yes! and um… are also interjections, small words that we use to express a feeling. They’re like their own miniature sentences, loaded with meaning. (The meaning of Yes! could be ”I’m so…
Talking about food Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jan 28, 2018
Mmm, lækkert! 🙂 People everywhere in the world like to eat mad (food) and talk about it, and Danes are certainly no exception! Eating together with natives can be a great opportunity to hone your language skills, so let’s take a look at some useful things to say uden mad i munden (”without food in…
Danish Homonyms Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Nov 30, 2017
Good Knight! What would ordspil (puns) be without homonyms – words that sound the same, yet have quite different meanings? Og så var der den om… harpespilleren der var streng. (And then there was the story about… the harpist who was strict/a string!) Here’s a list of some danske homonymer. You never know when you’ll…
5 Senses in Danish Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Oct 24, 2017
In order to learn Danish you need to keep both ører (ears) and øjne (eyes) open. To get the full cultural oplevelse (experience), however, you have to engage alle dine fem sanser (all your five senses). Høresans (sense of hearing) or hørelse [hur-l-seh]. Hører du hvad jeg siger? [hur do va yi seeor] (Do you…
Matching words to make them stick Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Aug 27, 2017
Which is most important when learning a new language – grammar or words (vocabulary)? Well, most native speakers will forgive you if you make a grammatical mistake or two. Without basic words, however, you can only point and smile. Here is a neat trick to increase your vocabulary: Learn micro-phrases with two or three words…