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Tag Archives: spelling

Danish for a Non-Dane Posted by on Feb 28, 2018

A while ago a British guy in Denmark, Barnaby, kindly sent me his thoughts about learning Danish as a foreigner. Although I didn’t actually interview him, I’ve tweaked his most important points into an interview’ish text in order to make it more readable. What’s tricky about learning Danish? Phrasal verbs are tricky. Why does ”Jeg…

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Danish Homonyms Posted by 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…

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Spelling your name in Danish Posted by on Jul 29, 2017

When you check in at a hostel or meet a new friend, you’re sometimes asked to spell your navn [naoon] (name). Fortunately, the Danish alfabet [alfaBEHT] is quite similar to the English one you already know. In case you forgot bogstaverne (the letters), here’s a crash course. The first pitfall: i and e. (I’ve heard…

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Meet the Monster Posted by on Oct 31, 2015

Uhyret er løs! (The monster is ”loose”!) After all that hygge, the time has come for some real uhygge (eeriness, literally ”un-hygge”). And that creepy monster is lurking in the dark, doing everything it can to prevent you from learning dansk! You want to get through Halloween alive? Godt så (good). First, you have to…

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The War of the Words Posted by on Nov 23, 2012

Whoa, the new edition of Retskrivningsordbogen has arrived! The Dictionary of Correct Writing, as the title translates in English, is the Holy Grail of journalists, teachers and just about everyone who uses the Danish Language. Edited by Dansk Sprognævn – the Danish Language Council – it contains the official spellings of those ord (words) that are considered a part of the…

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