Yes, no and the essentials in Danish
The small words that carry half of every conversation, and the ones that rescue it. Play the ten Danish words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 10 Danish phrases in this lesson
- Jayah
- Yes
- Nejnye
- No
- Okayoh-KAY
- Okay
- Jeg forstår ikkeyai for-STAWR IK-eh
- I don't understand
- Taler du engelsk?TAY-lah doo ENG-elsk
- Do you speak English?
- Kan du sige det igen?kan doo SEE-eh day ee-GEN
- Can you repeat that?
- Langsomt, takLANG-somt TAHK
- Slowly, please
- Hvad er det?va air DAY
- What is this?
- Jeg har brug for...yai har BROO for
- I need...
- Kan du hjælpe mig?kan doo YEL-peh mai
- Can you help me?
Danes often say yes while breathing IN, a small gasped "ja" that startles every foreigner the first time. It is normal, they are fine, it just means yes.
Softened refusal: "nej tak", no thanks. There is also "jo" (yoh), the special yes used to contradict a negative question, a word Danes are quietly proud of.
Borrowed and used constantly. "Det er fint" (day air FEENT), it is fine, is the fuller Danish version.
Your escape hatch. In Denmark this usually flips the conversation instantly to fluent English, so consider it a graceful exit rather than a request to repeat.
The answer is yes. Denmark ranks among the best non-native English countries on earth. Asking in Danish first is still appreciated as a gesture.
Literally "can you say it again?". Danes swallow so many consonants that this gets used even between Danes. Expect a switch to English.
Langsomt plus tak is the polite form; "kan du tale langsommere?" (can you speak slower?) is the full sentence.
Pointing at anything in a bakery case. The answer is often a wienerbrød variety with a name nobody outside Denmark recognizes.
Literally "I have use for". "Jeg har brug for en læge", I need a doctor, is the serious version.
The silent h makes hjælpe "yelpeh". Danes will stop for this, then answer in English.