{"id":1296,"date":"2015-09-30T23:49:06","date_gmt":"2015-09-30T23:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/danish\/?p=1296"},"modified":"2015-09-30T23:49:06","modified_gmt":"2015-09-30T23:49:06","slug":"how-hard-is-danish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/danish\/2015\/09\/30\/how-hard-is-danish\/","title":{"rendered":"How Hard Is Danish?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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How hard is Danish actually? I\u2019d say it depends a lot on your native language (in addition to your tongue-twisting skills, of course!) If you\u2019re an English-speaker \u2013 good on you. Both languages come from the same Germanic roots, and there are loads of similarities, grammar-wise and vocabulary-wise:<\/p>\n

De har en kniv.<\/b> (They have a knife.)
\nNaboens ko giver god m\u00e6lk.<\/b> (The neighbour\u2019s cow gives [some] good milk.)<\/p>\n

Some things are even easier than in English, such as the present tense of verbs:<\/p>\n

Jeg l\u00f8ber.<\/b> (I\u2019m running.)
\nDu l\u00f8ber. <\/b>(You\u2019re running.)
\nHan l\u00f8ber hver onsdag.<\/b> (He runs every Wednesday.)<\/p>\n

\u2026or such as the way questions are made:<\/p>\n

L\u00f8ber du?<\/b> (Are you running?)
\nL\u00f8ber du tit?<\/b> (Do you often run?)<\/p>\n

Other things, of course, are harder. For example, Danish nouns have got two different genders, and for each new noun learnt you have to memorize whether it\u2019s an en<\/b> or et<\/b> word \u2013 and modify any adjective accordingly:<\/p>\n

Solen er r\u00f8d.<\/b> (The sun is red.)
\nHuset er r\u00f8dt.<\/b> (The house is red.)<\/p>\n

Here are a couple of things that Danes themselves struggle with:<\/p>\n

\u2022 final -er<\/b>. Like in British English, final Rs are rarely pronounced in Danish. They do, however, \u201dcolour\u201d the vowel next to them \u2013 compare tale<\/b> [tal-uh] (speech) and taler<\/b> [tal-o\u02b3] (speeches). The problem is when there\u2019s already a \u201dcolouring\u201d R before the final -er<\/b>! You just cannot<\/i> hear the difference between l\u00e6re<\/b> ([to] learn) and l\u00e6rer <\/b>(learns) or between k\u00f8re<\/b> ([to] drive) and k\u00f8rer<\/b> (drives). Many Danes mix such words up all the time! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\u2022 sin<\/b>. In theory, han tog hans hat<\/b> means \u201dhe took someone else\u2019s hat\u201d. \u201dHe took his own hat\u201d would be han tog sin hat<\/b>. The distinction between hans\/hendes<\/b> (his\/her) and sin<\/b> (his\/her own) has disappeared in many dialects, and some people are simply making wild guesses! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

During the next couple of months, I\u2019d like to help you overcome some of your Danish struggles. To that end, this blog needs your help! So, please take some time to drop a comment answering the following: In your experience, what is the most difficult part of learning Danish? What really makes YOU fret, sweat and despair?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

How hard is Danish actually? I\u2019d say it depends a lot on your native language (in addition to your tongue-twisting skills, of course!) If you\u2019re an English-speaker \u2013 good on you. Both languages come from the same Germanic roots, and there are loads of similarities, grammar-wise and vocabulary-wise: De har en kniv. (They have a…<\/p>\n

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