{"id":1047,"date":"2014-02-27T21:14:21","date_gmt":"2014-02-27T21:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/danish\/?p=1047"},"modified":"2014-02-27T21:15:31","modified_gmt":"2014-02-27T21:15:31","slug":"the-little-words-you-always-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/danish\/2014\/02\/27\/the-little-words-you-always-need\/","title":{"rendered":"The little words you always need"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"communication\"<\/a>Are you listening?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No matter how much grammar you studied, no matter how perfect your pronunciation is\u2026 If you don\u2019t know how to say uh-huh<\/em> in the right way, you\u2019re lost. Why should the one who\u2019s entertaining you keep on talking, if you don\u2019t provide any feedback?<\/p>\n

Here are some words to help make your conversations run smoother:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 ja<\/strong>, jo<\/strong>, nej<\/strong>. Yes and no. Both ja<\/strong> and jo<\/strong> mean yes<\/em>. Jo<\/strong> is used to answer a negatively phrased question (\u201dIsn\u2019t she lovely?\u201d)
\n\u2022 okay<\/strong> is one of the most common words in Danish. It is pronounced and used more or less as in English \u2013 but even more extensively, I think! \ud83d\ude42 (For example, \u201do-kay?\u201d with a rising intonation often means really?!<\/em>)
\n\u2022 m<\/strong>(-m<\/strong>). \u201duh-huh\u201d. Take care with this one! Depending on how it\u2019s pronounced, it might mean either \u201dyes\u201d or \u201dno\u201d. The only way to really learn it is to keep listening to Danes talking\u2026
\n\u2022 n\u00e5?<\/strong> means \u201dall right?\u201d or \u201dokay, really?\u201d. It\u2019s very common. Without the question mark, n\u00e5<\/strong> means \u201dokay, I got it\u201d (in a sober way, without too much risky enthusiasm!)
\n\u2022 fint<\/strong> and fedt<\/strong> can be translated as \u201d(that\u2019s) fine\u201d, \u201dexcellent\u201d, \u201dall right\u201d\u2026 Fint<\/strong> is the traditional word, while fedt<\/strong> is newer and more \u201dslangy\u201d (it literally means \u201dfat\u201d).
\n\u2022 super!<\/strong> [soober] is another way of saying \u201dgreat!\u201d Some people use it a lot. \ud83d\ude42
\n\u2022 okay<\/strong>, lige pr\u00e6cis<\/strong> [lee prehSEEce], aha<\/strong>, jeg forst\u00e5r<\/strong> (\u201dI understand\u201d) are just some of the words you can use to say \u201dI see.\u201d
\n\u2022 wauw<\/strong> (or wow<\/strong>), det m\u00e5 jeg nok sige<\/strong> (\u201dthat I must indeed say\u201d), hold da op!<\/strong> (\u201dstop it!\u201d), sejt!<\/strong> (\u201dtough\u201d!), vildt!<\/strong> (\u201dwild\u201d!). These are just some of the words that can be used to express admiration or surprise (\u201dwow\u2026\u201d etc.)
\n\u2022 sp\u00e6ndende<\/strong> means \u201dexciting\u201d and is used quite a lot
\n\u2022 ej!<\/strong>, det er l\u00f8gn!<\/strong> [dehLOYN] (it\u2019s a lie!) cover various situations of disbelief
\n\u2022 ej!<\/strong>, ej, hvor \u00e6rgerligt <\/strong>(what a pity),\u00a0\u00f8v!<\/strong> (d@mn it!), shit!<\/strong>, din stakkel!<\/strong> (poor you!) show that you sympathize with the other person\u2019s difficulties
\n\u2022 \u00f8h\u2026<\/strong> and tja\u2026<\/strong> indicate hesitation or doubt. Use tjo<\/strong> in response to negative statements (\u201dWouldn\u2019t you lend me some money?\u201d)
\n\u2022 cool!<\/strong> means \u201dcool!\u201d<\/p>\n

And now, a little dialogue:<\/em><\/p>\n

Alts\u00e5, det er f\u00f8rste gang jeg er p\u00e5 ferie i K\u00f8benhavn.<\/strong>\u00a0Well, it\u2019s the first time I\u2019m on holiday in Copenhagen.
\nOkay.<\/strong>
\nJeg bor sammen med mine venner i et lille hotel t\u00e6t p\u00e5 R\u00e5dhuspladsen.<\/strong>\u00a0I live together with my friends in a little hotel close to R\u00e5dhuspladsen.
\nMm.<\/strong>
\nDer er bare en fantastisk udsigt!\u00a0<\/strong>The view there is just amazing!
\nFedt!<\/strong>
\nI g\u00e5r var en af mine veninder ved at falde ud af vinduet.\u00a0<\/strong>Yesterday, one of my female friends almost fell out of the window.
\nN\u00e5?<\/strong>
\nHun sagde der var en ufo p\u00e5 himmelen.<\/strong>\u00a0She said there was a UFO in the sky.
\nEj, det er l\u00f8gn!<\/strong>
\nMen s\u00e5 var det bare det bare en luftballon.\u00a0But then it was only a hot-air balloon.
\nN\u00e5.<\/strong>
\nRet vildt, ikke?<\/strong>\u00a0Quite \u201dwild\u201d, isn\u2019t it?
\nTjo\u2026<\/strong>
\nMin veninde kom desv\u00e6rre til at tabe sine briller ud af vinduet.\u00a0<\/strong>My friend unfortunately lost her glasses through the window.
\n\u00d8v!<\/strong>
\nJa, det er ret \u00e6rgerligt. Men ved du hvad? I aften skal vi op at flyve med luftballonen!\u00a0<\/strong>Yes, it sucks. But you know what? Tonight we\u2019re going on a trip with the balloon!
\nCool!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Are you listening? No matter how much grammar you studied, no matter how perfect your pronunciation is\u2026 If you don\u2019t know how to say uh-huh in the right way, you\u2019re lost. Why should the one who\u2019s entertaining you keep on talking, if you don\u2019t provide any feedback? Here are some words to help make your…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":1048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[293339,2267,293340],"class_list":["post-1047","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vocabulary","tag-feedback","tag-listening","tag-okay"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t