{"id":2038,"date":"2021-07-31T11:46:44","date_gmt":"2021-07-31T11:46:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/danish\/?p=2038"},"modified":"2021-07-31T11:46:44","modified_gmt":"2021-07-31T11:46:44","slug":"danish-endings-and-beginnings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/danish\/2021\/07\/31\/danish-endings-and-beginnings\/","title":{"rendered":"Danish endings and beginnings"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Gen<\/strong>– means re<\/em>– and is very much alive in Danish! \ud83d\ude42 (Graphics by Clker-Free-Vector-Images<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a>; no copyright.)<\/p><\/div>\n

After some culture-related posts it\u2019s time to take another look at det danske sprog<\/strong> (the Danish language). \u201dAll Danish words seem to end in -er<\/strong>!\u201d my sister once ex-claimed1<\/a><\/sup>or was it -en? Anyway, the point she was trying to make should be clear. \ud83d\ude42<\/span>. And true enough, really many Danish words end in -er<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

\u2022 verbs in the present tense: k\u00f8ber, maler, smiler<\/strong> (buys, paints, smiles)<\/p>\n

\u2022 plurals of around 70 % of all nouns: kvinder, byer, s\u00e6tninger <\/strong>(women, cities, phrases)<\/p>\n

\u2022 certain nouns in the singular that typically describe som kind of agent (similar to the English ending -er<\/em>) or person: bager, maler, printer, svensker<\/strong> (baker, painter, printer, Swede)<\/p>\n

Similarly, as you\u2019ve probably noticed, lots of Danish words end in -e<\/strong>, in -et<\/strong>, in -ede<\/strong>, in -en<\/strong>, and in -s<\/strong>2<\/a><\/sup>again across grammatical categories, for example -s both denotes the genitive, the passive form of verbs, as well as some plurals (for example of words borrowed from English)<\/span>. What\u2019s kind of interesting or useful, though, is to have an awareness of the language\u2019s prefixes and suffixes. Prefixes are \u201dmicro words\u201d that are added in front of other words to create new meanings (like be-<\/em> in beloved<\/em>). Suffixes come at the end. Many words, both in English and Danish, contain a \u201dfossil\u201d prefix or suffix that once made perfect sense but now just causes confusion if you try to remove it: What on earth is a ginning<\/em> without its be-<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Typical Danish prefixes include:<\/p>\n

be-<\/strong>: lyse <\/strong>(to shine) > belyse<\/strong> (to throw light on) \u2013 and as a \u201dfossil\u201d in loads of common words<\/em>: betale, bes\u00f8ge, bestemme<\/strong> (pay, visit, decide)<\/p>\n

an-:<\/strong> s\u00f8ge <\/strong>(to search) > ans\u00f8ge<\/strong> (to apply) \u2013 and again mostly \u201dfossilised\u201d<\/em>: ansvar, ansigt, anbefale <\/strong>(responsibility, face, recommend)<\/p>\n

for-:<\/strong> forst\u00e5, forsvinde, forretning\u2026 <\/strong>(understand, disappear, business \u2013 yes, a very \u201ddead\u201d prefix in 2021!)<\/p>\n

mis- <\/strong>(implies something negative): misforst\u00e5, misundelse, mistro<\/strong> (misunderstand, envy, distrust)<\/p>\n

bi-<\/strong> (means \u201dextra\u201d): bismag, bijob, bist\u00e5<\/strong> (after-taste, extra job, to help\/\u201dstand by\u201d)<\/p>\n

gen-<\/strong> (means \u201dre\u201d \u2013 this prefix is alive and kickin\u2019!): gentage, genans\u00e6tte, genbruge<\/strong> (repeat, reemploy, reuse)<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve already given<\/a> you an in-depth look at suffixes \u2013 suffice to mention these two absolute classics3<\/a><\/sup>Honorable footnote mentions go to –skab<\/strong> as in galskab<\/strong> (madness) and –dom<\/strong> as in ungdom<\/strong> (youth)<\/span>:<\/p>\n

-else <\/strong>(typically creates nouns from verbs): f\u00f8lelse, v\u00e6mmelse, forelskelse, sp\u00f8gelse <\/strong>(feeling, disgust, infatuation, ghost)<\/p>\n

-hed<\/strong> (the Danish cousin of English -ness<\/em>): blindhed, forladthed, k\u00e6rlighed <\/strong>(blindness, the-state-of-being-left-behind = desertion, \u201dlovingness\u201d = love)<\/p>\n