#dailydanish

[danishwithemi]

Lesson 4 - Nouns As Singular (navneord i ental)

Singular Indefinite - ‘A/an’ in Danish

In Danish there are two versions for ‘a/an’. Namely, ‘en’ and ‘et’. Nouns using ‘en’ are said to have the gender ‘fælleskøn’ (literal translation: common gender) and nouns using ‘et’ to have the gender ‘intetkøn’ (literal translation: non gender). I will refer to nouns using ‘en’ as ‘en-nouns’ and nouns using ‘et’ as et-nouns.

Here are some examples for nouns using ‘en’ (fælleskøn):

En abe = a monkey

En hund = a dog

En bil = a car

En bog = a book

Examples for nouns using ‘et’ (intetkøn):

Et skib = a ship

Et æble = an apple

Et tæppe = a blanket

Et fjernsyn = a television

Unfortunately, there are no rules for when to use ‘en’ or ‘et’. This is something that you will have to memorize. However, about 75% of the nouns are en-nouns. If you mess this up it will sound unnatural but Danes will understand what you are talking about. When you are learning a new noun try your best to memorize whether it uses ‘en’ or ‘et’.

Fun fact: Sometimes even Danes can mess up when to use ‘en’ and ‘et’. Especially with the word ‘hamster’ (meaning hamster). You will hear some Danes say “en hamster” and some say “et hamster”. The correct version is: en hamster.

Singular Definite - ‘The’ in Danish (definite)

In English you put ‘the’ in front of a noun when talking about a specific “something” (e.g. the cat). In Danish it’s a little different. In Danish you add an ending to the noun. The ending is dependent on whether the noun is an en-noun (fælleskøn) or an et-noun (intetkøn).

If it is an en-noun (fælleskøn) you add -en as an ending. Example:

En hund (a dog) becomes hunden (the dog)

En bil (a car) becomes bilen (the car)

If it is an ‘et’-noun (intetkøn) you add -et as an ending.

Et skib (a ship) becomes skibet (the ship)

Et fjernsyn (a television) becomes fjernsynet (the television)

In other words: you just move ‘en’ or ‘et’ behind the noun!

Some exceptions:

If a noun is ending on -e such as in the nouns ‘abe’ (translation: monkey) and ‘tæppe’ (translation: blanket or rug) you just omit the ‘e’ from ‘en’ and ‘et’ and add -n or -t instead (depending on whether it’s an en-noun or et-noun). In other words, you omit the double ‘e’. Example:

En abe   becomes aben (not abeen!)

Et tæppe becomes tæppet (not tæppeet!)

Some nouns gets an extra consonant when conjugated. Let’s look at the noun ‘kat’, which means ‘cat’ in English:

En kat becomes katten

Here is an example of an et-noun ‘glas’ which means ‘glass’ in English:

Et glas becomes glasset

In the next lesson we will look at nouns in plural conjugation!

[danishwithemi]

Lesson 3 - Self introduction (selv introduktion)

In this lesson you are going to learn how to introduce yourself in Danish! You are going to meet a lot of new people throughout your journey of learning Danish, so being able to introduce yourself is essential. As of now, just try to memorize the phrases and don’t worry about the grammar.

First meeting

1. Hej! Hello!

2. Jeg hedder ______. My name is ______.

or

Mit navn er ______. My name is ______.

3. Hyggeligt at møde dig. Nice to meet you.

4. I lige måde. You too.

Taking the conversation a step further

1. Hvor gammel er du? How old are you?

2. Jeg er ___ år gammel. I am ___ years old.

3. Hvor er du fra? Where are you from?

4. Jeg er fra ______. I am from ______.

5. Hvor bor du? Where do you live?

6. Jeg bor i ______. I live in ______.

7. Hvad med dig? How about you?

Example conversation between Marie and Michael

Marie: Hej! Mit navn er Marie. Hyggeligt at møde dig. Michael: Hej Marie. Jeg hedder Michael. I lige måde. Hvor er du fra? Marie: Jeg er fra Danmark. Hvad med dig? Michael: Jeg er fra Amerika. Marie: Hvor gammel er du? Michael: Jeg er 27 (syvogtyve) år gammel. Hvor gammel er du? Marie: Jeg er 25 (femogtyve).

The translation: Marie: Hello. My name is Marie. Nice to meet you. Michael: Hello Marie. I’m called Michael. You too. Where are you from? Marie: I am from Denmark. How about you? Michael: I am from America. Marie: How old are you? Michael: I am 27 years old. How old are you? Marie: I am 25.

Note: This is of course a “perfect example” conversation utilizing only phrases you have learned from above. A first encounter with someone is almost always varying and it all depends on the setting, context and the people you meet. However, with these phrases in mind, you are off to a good start!

The handshake

In Denmark when greeting someone for the first time (in a formal setting) it is common courtesy to shake their hand. Examples of such formal settings are: meetings (e.g. job interviews) formal dining (e.g. dinner parties with your company) celebrations (e.g. weddings)

When greeting someone, make sure to have eye contact, grab their hand firmly and shake.

The hug

In Denmark it is very common to hug your friends and family as a greeting or when saying goodbye. Danes will most likely even hug friends that they made online when meeting for the first time! So don’t be afraid if a Dane is hugging you. Just smile and hug back! ☺

[danishwithemi]

Lesson 1 - The alphabet (alfabetet)

The Danish alphabet is almost exactly the same as the English alphabet - except the sounds are a little different and there is an additional 3 letters at the end. The Danish alphabet is as follows:

Upper case Lower case Pronunciation Alternative A a Like a in man B b Like be in because C c Like c in cemented D d Like d in den E e Like i in omit F f Like eff in Jeff G g Like g in give H h Like h in hope I i Like ea in meat J j Like y in yodle K k Like c in coleslaw L l Like el in seller M m Like em in empty N n Like en in end O o Like o in omit P p Like p in pick Q q Like co in cool R r Like r in air S s Like es in lesson T t Like t in tipsy U u Like oo in boots V v Like v in vote W w Dobbelt-v (translated: double v) Note: in speech, the sound is similar to v X x Like ex in ex Y y Like e in few Z z Like zedd in Zedd Æ æ Like the first e in elder AE/ae Ø ø Like ea in search OE/oe Å å Like o in omen AA/aa

If you cannot see the table above click here

The additional 3 letters æ, ø and å are all vowels (just like a, e, i, o, u and y). These letters are found in various Danish words and names and can be written using a Danish keyboard or by adding the language to your keyboard on your computer or phone.

You might have noticed that there are alternative ways for how to write the letters æ, ø and å. Danish people will understand the alternative ways of writing these letters, but æ, ø and å are the default ways. Some cities uses the alternatives instead of the default way of writing the letters. Examples of such cities are:

Aalborg (Ålborg)

Aarhus (Århus)

Grenaa (Grenå)

However, writing these cities names with å instead of aa is still correct and danes will know exactly what you mean.

Note that the above pronunciations are the pronunciations of the alphabet. The sounds may vary in different Danish words.

[danishwithemi]

Lesson 2 - Numbers (tal)

In this lesson I am going to give you a general understanding of the Danish numbers. Now, you and I both know that there is a lot of numbers out there. In fact, an infinite amount. Therefore, I don’t want you to worry about memorizing all the numbers in this lesson by heart. I just want you to familiarize yourself with the Danish number system so that you are prepared for any encounter with numbers. In my experience, numbers is something that comes eventually as you progress in your journey of learning a language. However, learning how to count from 0 to 10 (or perhaps even 20) by heart is a great start.

The first ten single numbers from 0 to 10

0 Nul 1 En/et 2 To 3 Tre 4 Fire 5 Fem 6 Seks 7 Syv 8 Otte 9 Ni 10 Ti

Note: When counting from 1 to 10, using either en or et is entirely up to you. You will hear both versions in everyday language.

The teens from 11 to 19

11 Elleve 12 Tolv 13 Tretten 14 Fjorten 15 Femten 16 Seksten 17 Sytten 18 Atten 19 Nitten

The tens from 20 to 90

20 Tyve 30 Tredive 40 Fyrre 50 Halvtreds 60 Tres 70 Halvfjerds 80 Firs 90 Halvfems

To combine the single numbers with the tens (e.g. 54) you must add an “og”, which means “and” in English, in between the single and the tens. The pattern is as follows:

21 = en + og + tyve = enogtyve

54 = fire + og + halvtreds = fireoghalvtreds

What is different from the English numbers is that the Danish numbers are said in “reverse”. For example:

In English In Danish 21 = 20 + 1 = twenty + one = twentyone 21 = 1 + 20 = en + tyve = enogtyve 54 = 50 + 4 = fifty + four = fifty four 54 = 4 + 50 = fire + halvtreds = fireoghalvtreds

Note: In the numbers 21, 31, 41, 51, 61, 71, 81, 91 en is used and NOT et!

The hundreds from 100 to 900

100 Hundred(e) 200 To hundred(e) 300 Tre hundred(e) 400 Fire hundred(e) 500 Fem hundred(e) 600 Seks hundred(e) 700 Syv hundred(e) 800 Otte hundred(e) 900 Ni hundred(e)

Note: e can be omitted. In most cases you will see it written with e.

The thousands from 1000 to 10,000

1000 (Et) tusind(e) 2000 To tusind(e) 3000 Tre tusind(e) 4000 Fire tusind(e) 5000 Fem tusind(e) 6000 Seks tusind(e) 7000 Syv tusind(e) 8000 Otte tusind(e) 9000 Ni tusind(e) 10,000 Ti tusind(e)

Note: et and e can be omitted. In most cases you will see and hear “tusind” without e.

The pattern continues with the teens + thousand, tens + thousand and hundreds + thousands, such that: 11,000 = elleve tusind(e) 50,000 = halvtreds tusind(e) 800,000 = otte hundrede og tusind(e)

Any number below 100 is written in one word, whereas numbers above 100 is split up. Some examples for combining hundreds with singles, teens or tens: 101 = hundrede (og) en 324 = tre hundrede (og) fireogtyve 2085 = to tusind (og) femogfirs 6700 = seks tusind (og) syv hundrede 12,516 = tolv tusind (og) fem hundrede (og) seksten 427,901 = fire hundrede (og) syvogtyve tusind (og) ni hundrede (og) en Note: og can be omitted in numbers above 100.

When to use og (and) in numbers

In numbers above 100 you can omit og from between the numbers - either way is correct. In numbers below 100 you have to include og. Be aware that in numbers above 100 that includes numbers such as 21, 43, 89 and so forth you MUST include og. For example in the number: 465 = fire hundrede (og) femogtres you can choose omit the og between 4 and 65 but not the og between 65!

A final note

Don’t worry too much about how to write numbers with letters. Most often you will see numbers (at least above 10) written with numbers and not letters. A good rule of thumb is to, when appropriate, write any number from 1 to 10 with letters and any number above 10 with numbers.