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Archive for 'Vocabulary'

100 Most Common Written Words in Danish Posted by on Oct 31, 2013

Is it possible to learn Danish in 3 months? The popular ”alternative life-style guru” Tim Ferriss thinks so. Well, if you spent 3 months doing nothing but studying grammar and going to Danish bars, then maybe… In my experience, though, a language is more like a tree that is gradually spreading its branches in your…

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Going Social Posted by on Sep 30, 2013

In Denmark, most folks are online, and to many people sociale medier (social media) like Facebook are just as important as brød or mælk. I don’t know if Danes are heavier Facebook-brugere (FB users) than for example Californians, but I imagine that we do spend more time in front of our computere and smartphones (or smarttelefoner) than…

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Hello Goodbye! Posted by on May 29, 2013

Having your first conversation in a foreign language is always a feat. If you know how to say ”hello” and ”goodbye”, you have the tools to break the ice – and to sneak away, if the whole thing gets too embarrassing! Hej! is the normal way to say ”hi!” It sounds pretty much like English…

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How to get directions from a dropped letter Posted by on May 10, 2013

When you want to tell the world where you are, prepositions come handy: I’m in the garden; we’re on the beach. (And so it is in Danish: Jeg er i haven; vi er på stranden.) However, very often some kind of adverb can do the job as well: I’m home; we’re out. Jeg er hjemme…

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Words From The Easter Egg Posted by on Mar 31, 2013

It’s påske (Easter)! Last year I told you about the various dag/e (day/s) of Easter in Denmark. Let’s look at some words associated with this important højtid (festival, literally ”high-time”): kirke (”KEERkeh”, church). As a rule, Denmark is not a very religious country. However, even the typical Danish tvivler (doubter) might fall in love with…

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What time is it? Posted by on Oct 28, 2012

I dag [ee da-y] (today) Denmark went from sommertid (summer time) to vintertid. 12 o’clock became 11 o’clock, as every ur (watch) had to be adjusted by one hour. But in what direction? To solve this eternal problem, the Danes have a saying: In spring, you put your havemøbler (garden furniture) frem (forward, out in…

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Familien Posted by on Oct 20, 2012

What would we be without a familie (family)? Even though an increasing number of Danes choose to live alene (alone), most people live together with at least one of their familiemedlem/mer (family member/s). Let’s take a look at the relevant words: mor mother (remember the sound of the Danish R? Small children cry ”mo-a!”) far…

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