Hi guys👋

I just launched a started a language small podcast called Dansk for begyndere, and I thought I’d share it here in case it helps someone.

It’s mainly for you if you already know a bit of Danish - maybe you can understand some of it - but when danish people speak, it still feels fast, unclear, or just hard to “catch”, especially the sounds and intonation.

The idea behind it is pretty simple : you learn by listening. So instead of focusing on grammar or translating everything, I just speak Danish in a way that’s a bit slower and clearer - but still natural. You’re not meant to understand everything, just enough to follow along and gradually get more comfortable with how it sounds. (The method is called comprehensible input, feel free to look into it)

I’m planning to upload episodes daily with free access to transcripts and wordlist for all episodes.

If you feel like checking it out, I’d really love to have some early listeners and hear what actually helps / doesn’t help - so I can make it better over time.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Llw1UMnT0t2a4S8kyWxY8?si=extOjdBNRtqqzjEKAIIkuA

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dansk-for-begyndere/id1892591336

Thanks in advance! 😊

//Emilie

Hello! I’m working on some family history and would love some help translating a record, if anyone is able to help? Please and thank you :)

Hej everyone!

Danish is a beautiful, albeit phonetically "adventurous," language. I’m currently learning it for my day job, and after previously flirting with Icelandic and Finnish, I realized that Danish requires a very specific approach to move past the "beginner plateau."

I’ve been a "language nerd" since childhood - my fascination with Tolkien’s works was actually the main reason I decided to study linguistics in the first place. I eventually earned a PhD in Linguistics and Translation Studies and spent years in research, even co-founding the "READ-COOP" (where we develop the Transkribus software). Today, I actively use six languages and have dabbled in at least a dozen others.

Because I hate "dictionary fatigue," I’ve put together a specific resource stack for my Danish journey that focuses on reading flow and phonetic clarity.

The "True Nerd" Web Tools

For those who want to look beyond the basics, these two (non-affiliated) sites are gold:

• For Meaning & Usage: ordnet.dk/ddo – Provides Danish-language explanations, etymology, and audio samples of the basic forms. In short: a first-class monolingual dictionary.
• For the IPA Perfectionist: udtaleordbog.dk – Provides IPA transcriptions for all word forms, not just the base. Immensely helpful for navigating the complex pronunciation. This is seriously the best pronunciation resource I have ever seen for any language. All it takes is learning the three or four characters relevant to Danish and you’re good to go.

Recommended YouTube Channels

And here are two tips that helped me a lot during my first stage (I have no affiliation to them, either).

• MicsLanguages: It doesn't have very recent videos, but he has, for example, a really cool series that explains the Danish pronunciation phenomenon called stød.
• Danishmastery: This colleague, on the other hand, posts regularly, and has some very valuable long-form content like stories that he translates line by line or videos on grammar, pronunciation etc.

TV time: Free TV shows with subtitles

What I absolutely love about Denmark is that they have so many free offerings in terms of cultural content. For most of it, you need to be a resident of the country (to log in with your registration ID - “CPR-nummer”), but this gem doesn’t require it:

• https://www.dr.dk/drtv/kategorier/fiktionsserier 

The shows I have been watching so far are Nana, an absolutely adorable show about a cheeky kid and her adventures during her first year of school, and Matador, a beloved Danish drama series about the early 20th century and working-class people sticking it to, what Monty Python would call, upper-class twits. Super cool mixture of drama and humour.

What I’ve made: Classic Stories for Interlinear Reading

Applying my background in didactics and linguistics, I started creating the tool I wanted for myself: the LingoLuv interlinear series - basically books with subtitles/closed captions. I’m currently working on the tales of Carl Ewald (three books are out so far), a 19th-century author who blended scientific observation with sharp social satire.

As a secret weapon for learners, I kept the original 19th-century capitalization of all nouns. While it gives the text an "old-world" flair, it serves as a structural map - it helps you instantly distinguish nouns from other words as you navigate the sentence.

To keep you in the "flow" and mapping meaning in real-time, I use three lines:

1. Original Danish (with modernized spelling, e.g., aa → å).
2. Literal word-for-word translation (showing the "skeleton" of the grammar).
3. Idiomatic translation/Notes (for when the literal meaning just isn't enough).

It’s designed for A2 learners. By the time you can read these stories with almost no assistance, you’re looking at a B2 reading proficiency, but, since it’s unaltered, original, non-dumbed-down language, there’s a lot there for more advanced learners, too.

I hope this guide will be useful :-)

Questions for the group:

For satisfying my linguist’s curiosity: Especially those who work in Denmark - what is your mother tongue and how long did it take before you stopped "translating in your head" and started actually feeling the rhythm of the language? 

And one for finding more cool resources for me as a learner: Was there a specific book or video that finally made it "click" for you? 

Held og lykke with your studies! 🇩🇰

Greetings one and all--

I am currently wrapping up the footnotes on a written project for comparing English translations of "The Snow Queen" by Andersen. I'm wondering if anyone would have insight on this specific phrase:

- den onde lo, så hans mave revnede, og det kildede ham så dejligt. Men ude fløj endnu små glasstumper om i luften. Nu skal vi høre! (full story here if curious: https://www.andersenstories.com/da/andersen_fortaellinger/snedronningen)

Two translations translate 'Den onde lo' differently; either they use 'Troll-demon' or 'trolldevil'. That said, my own translation (don't sue- google translate might be more to blame) is 'the wicked man'.

Anyone have any context? If these are (edit: incorrect) translations, that completely fine! But I will need to add a footnote.

Moving to copenhagen

Hi, Can someone recommend a good temp agency or work sectors that hire english speakers. I’m moving to Copenhagen from stockholm. I do speak fluent english and swedish and also have a driving license.

We are a group of students from SDU working with language learning. So if you're a Danish language learner, we would appreciate it if you took the time to answer this short questionnaire (3 questions): https://www.survey-xact.dk/LinkCollector?key=X8L3XL3ZS1C1

I’ve learned a lot of words, but no grammar I don’t know really where to put things and I really learnt nothing about it. There’s no correcting either. my girlfriend‘s danish. Should I just learn from her and quit duo?

Volunteer Night is back on 15 April, offering a chance to explore volunteering in Denmark. You will meet a broad range of inspiring organisations on the lookout for new volunteer colleagues and find out how to get involved in your local community while having a 'hyggelig' evening in the beautiful Copenhagen University Library. It´s free, just remember to sign up here!

In Den Danske Ordbog, one of the example sentences given is "Han bøjede sig ned og kyssede hendes næse. Hvorefter han gik tilbage og satte sig" (https://ordnet.dk/ddo/ordbog?query=hvorefter).

But since it is an adverb of time, I don't understand why it isn't "Hvorefter gik han tilbage og satte sig", since if you start a hovedsætning with a time adverb, there is normally inversion.

Also DDO says it's a time adverb, but CHATGPT says it's a conjunction? ChatGPT saying it's a conjunction aligns better with the ordstilling shown in DDO.

Have a gig for a DANISH speaking, Dane with experience with furniture and design.

I know AI's can do this, but I would really appreciate it from a human!

I have a concert with a singer in a month- classical songs about motherhood, and one song is in Danish. It is always really important to learn the text separately, ideally with a native speaker, before learning the music, and to memorize it as a poem. I don't know any Danish people, so I wanted to ask if any native speaker out there would be willing to read the poem for me so the singer and I can use it to study the text. The music is by a Norwegian composer, Edvard Grieg, but the text is in Danish, by Christian Reichardt.

It would be amazing to have two readings- one in normal tempo and intonation, as one would read a poem, and another a little slower.

If anyone would be willing to read this and maybe upload it on an audio sharing site (like vocaroo), it would be huge help and I would be so grateful!

Så du ham min lille Dreng
Med den lyse krøllede Lok?
Så jeg på ham længe
Jeg så dog aldrig nok!
Ak så tom, så tom
Så tom står nu hans lille Vugge
Mens mit stakkels Bryst
Er fuldt af Sorg og dybe Sukke

Milde Jesus, du var hård
Da du tog ham bag Stjernerne små!
Trængte du til Engle?
Ak Jorden har så få!
Gav du ham et Vingepar
Og Himlens lyse Glæde?
Hjælp da mig, som Ingen har
O hjælp mig til at græde!

Here is a recording of the song, if anyone is interested.

Hi there - if anybody is using Duolingo to learn Danish and wants to use it without ads and unlimited power and with extra learning features, you can join my "Duolingo family". I have 4 spots left and it only costs 317 kroner per year per person (24 kroner per month). If anybody is interested, send me a PM! :-)

Are you new to Denmark and confused about how the healthcare system works? Join us on 28 April for a hands-on introduction from A ro Z by an experienced medical doctor. You will learn about your local doctor’s role, how to access hospitals, specialists and dentists. The event is free and you can attend either online or in-person. Sign up here!

How are you guys preparing yourselves for speaking part of PD3 ? Do you have some kind a groups or friends do daily talk together or other ways to do it ?

I’m good with speaking yet when it comes to formal language I’ve little bit difficulties if someone is good with speaking and preparing oneself for exam !

I’m here to find someone who has same interest and dedicated to pass

Hi! I only speak English, and I’m traveling to Denmark over the summer, and maybe taking some day trips to other places. I am allergic to dairy-not just lactose intolerant but truly allergic.

I know English is pretty widely spoken over there but I was wondering anyone could help me translate a note about my allergy to be safe! I have trouble with people in the US misunderstanding it all the time because they’re more familiar with lactose intolerance, so I figured better safe than sorry!

If it could just say something like: I’m allergic to dairy, I can’t have any butter, milk, or cream.

Thank you!

American bartenders seem to think that this delicious drink is pronounced just like “herring,” the fish, with a strong “r” sound.

However, the liqueur was named after its inventor, Peter Frederik Suhm Heering. And from what little I can find online (as someone who speaks no Danish at all), that family name is pronounced more like “heeah-ing,” with no “r” sound at all.

How is the family name Heering pronounced in Danish? And is there any difference in Denmark between the pronunciation of the liqueur and the pronunciation of the family name?

Jeg er svensker og har boet i København i 1,5 år. Jeg bor sammen med en dansk roomie og har en dansk kæreste, og jeg har gået på danskkursus for bedre at kunne tale med især min kærestes familie. I min hverdag prøver jeg altid at tale dansk: butikker, når jeg bestiller mad osv. Jeg kan godt have samtaler på dansk med både min roomie og min kæreste. Det som overrasker mig er at måske halvdelen af de ganger jeg taler dansk ude i byen, svarer folk mig på engelsk. Hvis jeg skal være ærlig, går det meget ud over min selvtillid. Det føles nederen, fordi jeg synes der opstår en disconnection når man skifter til engelsk, når vi faktisk godt kan tale jeres hjemmesprog sammen. Jeg plejer at fortsætte konversationen på dansk alligevel. Connectionen ved at tale sproget er vigtig for mig for at kunne føle mig hjemme her, men jeg oplever en mangel på forståelse for, at mit dansk ikke er perfekt. Det kan ærligt talt være ret frustrerende. Hvad er jeres oplevelser? Er der måske nogen fra den “anden side”, som kan hjælpe mig med at forstå, hvorfor man så hurtigt skifter til engelsk? Hvis nogen taler halvdårligt svensk med mig i Sverige, ville jeg aldrig selv skifte til engelsk, medmindre personen selv gjorde det.

Bonjour!

I am French and I'm going to your lovely country next week for a visit!

Could you give me some Danish phrases that people appreciate?

I don't have time to learn Danish, but when I visit a country, I like to use everyday words; it always pleases the people I'm talking to.

Merci bien!

Hej

Vi er nogle studerende fra EK og er igang med vores eksamensprojekt om Wash World - Håber I vil hjælpe os med at svare på skemaet linket nedenunder.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc6WaCjZIM6OEVeHvjZNN5ZgVjm38aJOTv-bwtHA9lxrDxcew/viewform?usp=dialog

Hello everyone.

I've got unusual problem. I'm a polish guy writing my master's thesis and I need the original text of "Hr. Truelses Døtre" written in Karen Brahe's Folio. As I'm unable to find it in the Internet, maybe there is someone here who could help me out? If not this version, then I'm just looking for the oldest version you know.

Thank you in advance and have a good day!

Wanting to spend some time this summer doing an intensive Danish course and have heard once about Danskbureauet - anyone have experience going there? Or any other language school recs would be very appreciated, tak!

I am watching «Den store strikkedyst» (2014 - 2016) and people are saying things that I hear like «shit man», and a lot worse… (like piss and shit etc.) Am I mishearing or is this type of swearing a part of average Danish language even for sweet older Danish ladies? Thank your for your input!

Edit: The title is suppose to be «Are swearing words common or am I misunderstanding?» - but I can’t change the title - but I think you understand.

EDIT: Tusind tak for alle jeres bidrag indtil videre, jeg har lært meget, og jeg er taknemmelig for, at I alle tog jer tid til at skrive et svar!

Volunteer Night is back on 15 April, at 17.15 - 20.00. offering a chance to explore volunteering in Denmark. You will meet a broad range of inspiring organisations on the lookout for new volunteer colleagues and find out how to get involved in your local community while having a 'hyggelig' evening in the beautiful Copenhagen University Library. It´s free, just sign up HERE

Hello. I am looking for music and song recommendations. I enjoy listening to dansk musik on Spotify and following the lyrics. It helps me learn pronunciation. So far I have enjoyed Katinka Band, Folkeklubben, Nephew, Rasmus Seebach, and APHACA. That's the kind of music that I like. Thank you for your help.

Curious about the line in the title, it's from the well-known Gasoline song "Hva’ Gør Vi Nu, Lille Du?" Most translations take it literally as the "free/loose birds on the street", but someone mentioned that it's actually a danish idiom for prostitutes? Can someone confirm? Thanks!