Danish Vocabulary

From UniLang Wiki

Contents

Greetings and Basic Phrases

  • Hej - Hello, Hi
  • Dav(s) - Hello, Hi
  • Goddag - Good day, Hello
  • Godmorgen - Good morning
  • God eftermiddag - Good afternoon
  • Godaften - Good evening
  • Godnat - Good night
  • Velkommen (til...) - Welcome (to...)
  • Hej - Goodbye
  • Hej hej - Bye-bye
  • Farvel - Goodbye
  • Tak - Thank you
  • Tak skal du have - Thank you very much
  • Mange tak - Thank you very much
  • Tusind tak - Thank you very much
  • Jeg beder - pronounced be'r; You're welcome
  • Selv tak - No worries/Don't mention it
  • Undskyld mig - Excuse me
  • Værsgo - Here you are; also: Come to the table
  • Velbekomme - May the meal please you (definitely a cultural thing!)
  • Tak for mad - Thanks for the meal
  • Herre/Hr. - Mr.
  • Frue/Fru - Mrs.
  • Frøken/Frk. - Miss
  • Fr. - Ms.
  • Hvordan har du det? - How are you?
  • Hvordan har ... det? - How is ... ?
  • Hvordan går det (med dig/han/etc.)? - How are you/is he/etc.?
  • Hvad hedder du? - What's your name?
  • Hvor kommer du fra? - Where are you from?
  • Hvad er klokken? - What time is it?
  • Hvad skulle det være? - Can I help you? (in a shop)

Numerals

Simple

Simple list without ordinal numbers and alternative spellings.

  • 1: en
  • 2: to
  • 3: tre
  • 4: fire
  • 5: fem
  • 6: seks
  • 7: syv
  • 8: otte
  • 9: ni
  • 10: ti
  • 11: elleve
  • 12: tolv
  • 13: tretten
  • 14: fjorten
  • 15: femten
  • 16: seksten
  • 17: sytten
  • 18: atten
  • 19: nitten
  • 20: tyve
  • 21: enogtyve
  • 22: toogtyve
  • 23: treogtyve
  • 24: fireogtyve
  • 25: femogtyve
  • 30: tredive
  • 40: fyrre
  • 50: halvtreds
  • 60: tres
  • 70: halvfjerds
  • 80: firs
  • 90: halvfems
  • 100: ethundrede
  • 101: ethundredeén
  • 110: ethundredeti
  • 1,000: ettusinde
  • 10,000: titusinde
  • 100,000: ethundredetusinde
  • 1,000,000: en million
  • 5,000,000: fem millioner

Advanced

Advanced list with ordinal numbers and alternative spellings.

The neuter form of 'en' is 'et'.
Numerals between 21 and 99 are formed like 'enogtyve' - 'oneandtwenty'.
The numerals 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 are most commonly spelled without '-indstyve'.
The ordinal numbers 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th, 80th and 90th are spelled both with and without '-indstyvende', it depends on the person using it.
'Et' before 'hundrede' and 'tusinde' is optional.
Numerals and ordinal numbers are seperated by hyphen, and alternative spellings by slash.

  • 1: en - første
  • 2: to - anden
  • 3: tre - tredje
  • 4: fire - fjerde
  • 5: fem - femte
  • 6: seks - sjette
  • 7: syv - syvende
  • 8: otte - ottende
  • 9: ni - niende
  • 10: ti - tiende
  • 11: elleve/elve - ellevte/elvte
  • 12: tolv - tolvte
  • 13: tretten - trettende
  • 14: fjorten - fjortende
  • 15: femten - femtende
  • 16: seksten - sekstende
  • 17: sytten - syttende
  • 18: atten - attende
  • 19: nitten - nittende
  • 20: tyve - tyvende
  • 21: enogtyve - enogtyvende
  • 22: toogtyve - toogtyvende
  • 23: treogtyve - treogtyvende
  • 24: fireogtyve - fireogtyvende
  • 25: femogtyve - femogtyvende
  • 30: tredive/tredve - tredivte/tredvte
  • 40: fyrre/fyrretyve - fyrrende/fyrretyvende
  • 50: halvtreds/halvtredsindstyve - halvtredsende/halvtredsindstyvende
  • 60: tres/tresindstyve - tressende/tresindstyvende
  • 70: halvfjerds/halvfjerdsindstyve - halvfjerdsende/halvfjerdsindstyvende
  • 80: firs/firsindstyve - firsende/firsindstyvende
  • 90: halvfems/halvfemsindstyve - halvfemsende/halvfemsindstyvende
  • 100: ethundrede/ethundred - nummer ethundrede/nummer ethundred
  • 101: ethundrede(og)én/ethundred(og)én - nummer ethundrede(og)én/nummer ethundred(og)én
  • 110: ethundrede(og)ti/ethundred(og)ti - nummer ethundrede(og)ti/nummer ethundred(og)ti
  • 1,000: ettusinde/ettusind -nummer ettusinde/nummer ettusind
  • 10,000: titusinde/titusind - nummer titusinde/nummer titusind
  • 100,000: ethundredetusinde/ethundredtusind - nummer ethundredetusinde/nummer ethundredtusind
  • 1,000,000: en million - en millionte
  • 5,000,000: fem millioner - fem millionte

Expressing Time

Expressing time in Danish is not very difficult once you recognize the pattern. We'll start with the basics.

  • klokken... = ... o'clock
    • klokken et = 1 o'clock
    • klokken syv = 7 o'clock
  • Klokken er... = It is ... o'clock.
    • Klokken er et. = It is 1 o'clock.
    • Klokken er syv. = It is 7 o'clock.

Whereas English uses a very simple system with 1 reference point, that of the main hour (ex. seven-thirty/half past seven, one-forty-five/quarter to 2), Danish uses two reference points: the main hour and the half hour. Such as:

  • klokken et (one o'clock)
  • halv to (half past one) [Note that it is NOT halv over et NOR halv i to]

However, the terminology used when using these two reference points are split by the quarter-hour. Therefore:

  • If the time is between the main hour and the first quarter, then we have:
    • fem minutter over et = 1:05
    • ti minutter over et = 1:10
      • (Do not leave out the word minutter)
    • kvart over et = 1:15
  • If the time is between the first quarter and the half hour, then we have:
    • ti minutter i halv to = 1:20
    • fem minutter i halv to = 1:25
  • If the time is between the half hour and the third quarter, then we have:
    • fem minutter over halv to = 1:35
    • ti minutter over halv to = 1:40
  • If the time is between the third quarter and the next full hour, then we have:
    • kvart i to = 1:45
    • ti minutter i to = 1:50
    • fem minutter i to = 1:55

Days of the Week

Ugens dage
(Days of the week)
mandag Monday
tirsdag Tuesday
onsdag Wednesday
torsdag Thursday
fredag Friday
lørdag Sunday
søndag Sunday

Note that the days of the week are not capitalized in Danish.

Months

Måneder
(Months)
januar January
februar February
marts March
april April
maj May
juni June
juli July
august August
september September
oktober October
november November
december December

Note that months too are not capitalized in Danish.

Seasons

Årstider
(Seasons)
forår spring
sommer summer
efterår fall/autumn
vinter winter
In older Danish texts, spring is called vår and fall is called høst.
These older versions are cognate with the terms currently used in Norwegian and Swedish (vår and høst/höst)
Main Page >> Languages >> Danish >> Danish Vocabulary
Personal tools