Expat Life: (USA in DK) Learning Danish Tips

[@amakamma]

My favorite danish word has to be 'bjergtaget' litteraly 'taken by the mountain' it means to be captivated or bedazzled by something. It comes from danish mythology where elves where believed to snare young men into their homes in the hills to be eaten .

[@twintime1979]

I think that pronunciation is as important as anything in Danish. Broken English is pretty easy to understand for a native English speaker because so many people around the world use it as a second language and we're used to hearing it. Not so in Denmark. I had a Danish teacher in Aarhus that taught us danish childrens songs and then used that to teach us to sing the language. Which is in fact how it's spoken, just like Swedish and Norwegian. That helped me immensely. I'm cracking up watching your videos. Wished they had existed when I lived there.

[@frederikja2210]

I like different ways of greeting people, especially in danish. "Halløjsa" and "godavs du" are probably my two favorite

[@computerfis]

HYGGE HEJSA :D

[@fune3487]

Mojn

[@Nina1966dk]

Halløjsovs 😀

[@pineconelife]

Some really great tips and a super great attitude. You were so kind about the government Danish classes (worst educational experience I ever had but most of the teachers were empathetic) I still feel deaf in Denmark. I am an introvert and my Danish partner and I speak English at home. I work from home in English. I don’t speak Danish often enough. Having children too, gets you more involved. Also, Danes seem to love to speak English and often switch when they hear me struggle. I’ll get better but I might try Duolingo for a boost. Min favorit dansk ord er “hyggelig”.

[@ulfdanielsen6009]

About speaking Danish: Don´t sweat it. We have something like 43 different ways of pronouncing our vowel sounds. Just learn how to speak the language,- don´t worry about the pronunciation, - you´ll never get it right anyway. :)

[@wendypearson7705]

😲😲😲😩😩😩😣😣😣 oh no! Really? Im still getting my head around German.... 😩😩

[@daniellaj6073]

Wendy Pearson don’t worry about it though, if your pronunciation isn’t the best, we’ll still be able to understand what you’re saying. also i’m learning German as well because we have to in school and ugh, it’s so hard 😩

[@Donnah1979]

@@wendypearson7705 - German is harder, bc they have more complicated grammar.

[@peterlarsen7779]

I enjoy your videos Kelly. I find them refreshing, and interesting.... I share them with my girlfriend who is in New Hampshire, and is doing a darn good job at learning Danish.

[@TrekkieGrrrl]

Written Danish is a LOT different from spoken Danish. Some times I wonder how Danes ever learn to read and write because the spoken version is SO much different to what we actually say :)

[@Krydolph]

If you want to stay here, and get good at it, you believe you need to start talking danish with your husband in everyday life. There will be times you might need to switch to english. Some wise words I really like about foreign language... And I try to translate it, and it goes something like: In English (foreign for me) I can say what I want In Danish (native) I can say what I mean So the point is, even though you master a foreign language almost fluidly, there is subtle things where you can't always really get your point across as clear as when you use your native tongue. But practice practice practice, and really, watch danish stuff without the subtitles too, or watch danish with danish subtitles. That really helps, and forces you to understand. When you can understand 80% of it, you can easily guess the last, and thereby learn. If you wonder why almost every dane speaks english as good as most native english speakers, its because every movie, and television series we see is english. its because cartoon network was english. its because all the computer games is english. Besides once with highschool where we were in UK, I have never been further away than across the border to Germany. Yet I played computer with a UK guy, and more than once he told me that my english was better than many of his mates. Ofc all I could focus on was the few mistakes I made, or the slight thinking time I sometimes need to think of a word... Completely ignoring that I do this in danish too, sometimes I can't even remember the danish words for stuff if I really like the english expression for it. But long story short... Speak danish with your husband as much as possible... He is probably already a lot more fluid in english than you are in danish, don't take the easy way out if you want to learn.

[@MyNewDanishLife]

If you heard my husband's Danish, you might think otherwise! LOL Even Danes find him hard to understand. I still try, but I feel like a very old lady asking him 2 or 3 times to repeat himself. :(

[@kirstenfrostholm8063]

I am Danish but I have a love for the English language. When I see an English/American movie or tv shows, I often turn the English subtitles on so I see the spelling of the words while at the same time train my brain in connecting English words and writing together. I also sometimes put English subtitles on even if the language is Danish as it is fun to see how Danish is being translated and also to learn more everyday English and slang words

[@TheJoergenDK]

About getting what you see: "Yes, English can be weird. It can be understood through tough thorough thought, though." David Burge on Twitter ;) The only language that meets this demand is italian. The italian language always follows the rules. And only one rule is weird to us germanics: C is che before E and I, ahd CH is K. Cello, centro. Anche, che. Oh yes, and finnish, too!

[@dmitchellrep]

Really cool content!! KZbin is so amazing that everyone can take their expertise and package it nice and share. Thank you so much.

[@thisisbgm]

These are great tips! Thanks for sharing. My grandfather was Danish but all I knew growing up was to say "tak for mad" after dinner. I'm finally getting started learning the language and appreciate your perspective

[@MyNewDanishLife]

Thanks for watching, Brian! :)

[@KiwiCatherine]

Learning Danish idioms was great for me as it really helped with integration . For example jeg er ikke tabt bag en vogn

[@TheLiveOutLoudFamily]

So cool! I love connecting with other expats! It was fascinating learning your story my friend! So glad we connected 😘💕❤️

[@kevinblack1656]

Great video. I'm learning too and agree with your tips...they work. And yes, selvføgelig. Meget vigtigt

[@JoviesHome]

Oh I love these tips! And your new background is 😍 Music is a way I enjoy learning other languages too. Great video, thank you!

[@annabellemullins8873]

I’m learning danish right now!! Hope this helps!

[@MyNewDanishLife]

I hope so too.

[@kamillastaunsbjerg8322]

I am danish, I know English and a little German. I know how to read Arabic, but I can’t really speak it :’D I think the struggle is that I always want to listen and when I hear a word that is used a lot I want to ask someone everything about that word (when I learned Arabic) but there was not really anyone that I felt I could do that with as much as I would, cause I was afraid of being annoying :’D Tip, make sure the one who teaches you word don’t say them overly correctly as they are spelled, but teaches you to say the words as they are spoken, as it’s just easier to understand, and if you have a little note where you write down vocabulary, maybe write the translation in English, write the exact way to spell it properly and then write it as “it sounds” to you. So you don’t forget the pronunciation 🤷🏼‍♀️☺️

[@MyNewDanishLife]

Kamilla Staunsbjerg So many great tips, Kamilla! I will be trying them for sure! ;) Thanks!

[@Steelmage99]

Danish is just an objectively horrible language to learn. We don't pronounce words how we write them. Several word have wildly different meanings depending on context. We tend to swallow or leave out entire words of sentences. Continue to speak Danish with your husband and children, and watch Danish TV with Danish subtitles. It is how we manage to speak English to the degree we do (depending on the region of the country, of course).

[@AtlanteanVrilChad]

I’m a ethnic dane in America who’s ancestors came from Søro and Svendborg and moved to America and I am interested in returning to my ancestors homeland and I started to learn the language and a it’s pretty easy except a lot of small phrases are skipped out entirely and the speaking is very hard to interpret but I am very determined to learn my ancestors language

[@salome_psychostudy_asd]

What you hate about Danish, you also can hate it about English. I'm French, I've been learning English for years now, and I still mispronounce certain words or don't understand them for the same reason. And guess what ? We swallow parts of words in french too, and our spelling is known to be really hard 😂

[@Steelmage99]

@@salome_psychostudy_asd :)

[@Drescher1984]

You just gave me a great idea. A program where you can go and hangout or go places with native Dane's or immigrants whom been here for a long time. You go to eat, museum's, hiking and other stuff. I would love to volunteer for that. I'm not the best speller, but I love to talk and learn how other people live and see the world.

[@MyNewDanishLife]

Drescher1984 Count me in! ;)They actually have some groups like that through the Red Cross and through refugee organizations. It just seems that people like me don’t normally fit into those types of categories, but I still try to attend them anyway. 😂

[@kimiedove1909]

Haha.......... I'm from Denmark and your videos are so funny... Keep up the god work

[@osiversen]

Force youself to think in danish. I know it feels strange in the beginning, but if you can get past the point where you have done the translation in your mind from english to danish before speaking it, the danish will feel natural.

[@fzdnk8796]

Thanks - I love the series. Im "Sønderjyde" Southern Jut" ... My favorite word must be "Mojn" - you probaly heard that before, its very uniqe for this region of Denmark :) .. Keep us posted - love the content, love the new views of Denmark - and welcome, you are a good represetation to have living here as well

[@TheWorldnUs]

Great advice 👍. I’ve used Duolingo to learn some Spanish. It was really great but I didn’t stick at it. We’re moving to Qatar soon so I’m going to do my best to learn Arabic. I should really get started now so I have a base when we arrive.

[@MyNewDanishLife]

The World n Us Let me know how it goes. I can’t imagine learning a new alphabet like that!

[@TheWorldnUs]

Will do. I might even try do a video down the track about our experience learning Arabic.

[@TheJoergenDK]

I have learned a bunch of songs in foreign languages. Slowing down one word or phrase and repeating it helped me. With software like Audacity you can record a sentence (setting the sound to record via the sound card, not the microphone), and then play it back in a loop - or even slowing it down. We had "sproglaboratorium" - language lab - in school, that was very effective. Each pupil had their own tape recorder, and we could learn at our own pace. The teacher would listen in from time to time and help you with the pronounciation. Someone should make a danish pronounciation course here on youtube. I may consider doing that. But I.m very lazy :D

[@srenmogensen7965]

Even though I'm a Dane, I still like to learn danish and is curious about words and origin of sayings etc. My go to app for danish is "den danske ordbog" or alternatively ordnet.dk if the app isn't good enough. I use it a lot for grasping the subtle differences in the words. Regarding english I read a lot on english and use the meriam-webster app, but we Danes have it very easy with regards to being exposed to english, as it is all over. I do like youtube, as I follow english speakers from a lot of different places, so I hear a variety of dialects.

[@Oneshot8242]

Great channel! Much respect in picking up sønderjysk. What Non-Danes have to understand is, folks from her neck of the woods have a MUCH different way of saying things. Even a whole different vocabulary, not just for everyday objects and situations, but even in the trades. Danes know that if they travel to another dialect area, they can actually risk not being able to communicate. People on my island of Sjælland refer to her part of Denmark as "Darkest Jylland". And I live in a tiny town of 368 homes!

[@MyNewDanishLife]

Oneshot8242 So interesting to hear this! I keep learning new things about how Danes view each other. Very neat!

[@vendelbo193]

Or the other way around, in Jutland people refer to Sjælland as "djævleøen" "Devil's Iland" :p

[@D3NL1LL3P]

our language is very guttural and harsh. also we have additional letters: Æ Ø and Å

[@andersbentsen3107]

Love your videos. Many might make a bit of fun with you asking you to say "rødgrød med fløde" (fun in a good way), but you might not know but americans do similar things. My american friends had alot of fun to teach me how to say "dont p.. on my leg and tell me its raining" which was teached to be said with clear Texan accent. My friends had huge fun lol

[@bellmandk]

As you know a lot of Danes settled in England back in viking era. A lot of words are more or less the same in English and Danish. Of course they can be pronounced different. The nordic influence is perhaps bigger than English speaking people think even after 1000 years. I don't know how many more or less are the same. An example: little = lille or ship = skib, pear = pære.

[@torbenpetersen8983]

Everything you can put on a boat (and a lot of maritime expresions) in english comes from danish (it goes back to the vikings). Sejl (sail), mast (mast), køl (keel), ror (rodder), stævn (stern), agter (aft), ræb (rope), at hejse (to hoist), at ro (to row) bov (bow) and so on. In fact the vikings learned the english how to sail. They didn't dare to cross open waters and sail for weeks without being able to see land. So if we haven't learned them that (and propper shipbuilding as well) there would have been no british empire later on ;0) Other words in english that comes from danish (old norse) are egg, stool, strand - but there ar lots of them. The vikings during the period of danelagen named a lot of places in England in old norse too. A town ending on "ford" (old norse "fjord" like in Horsens Fjord, Vejle Fjord or Limfjorden), like Ilford, Bedford and so on are old viking settlements. The same goes for places ending on "by" (meaning town) like Grimsby or Hornsby. Most known is probably York which was founded by the vikings and named in old norse "Jorvik" (meaning the place you buy land - "jord"). So New York City should rightfully be called "Ny Jorvik By" ;0] : Even the name England comes from "danish". After the romans left we (a tribe in the south of Jutland on the peninsula of Angel - now in North Germany) together with our fellow tribsmen the Saxons invaded England giving name to the term anglo/saxon and naming the land England - the land of the people of Angel. English and danish are realated in many ways. After all we rulled England or a large part of it for 300 years (under danelagen). In fact the line of kings in England starts with the House of Denmark ...

[@1968tttt]

My favorit is "Angstskrig"... 7 consonants in a row... Translation "cry or shriek of terror"

[@Ettibridget]

Or "bratschstreng" which is viola string.

[@lenellesunboxings6795]

Love this video. Tak

[@CHRoOMAX]

Good words to know in everyday Danish: - Selvfølgelig - Tydeligvis - Enig - Spændende - Dejligt - Lækkert - Utroligt - Fantastisk

[@annahart69]

The most difficult sound in the danish language is The soft D like in the words "hedder" & "ved", but its alot like the first sound in the english "th" as in "the", "them" etc. My favorite words (Because they sound weird and funny) even after almost 40 years here are: "lærred" or eeeeeven better "smergel lærred😳😆 and "kurv"!😁 But listening to lyrics is a great way to learn a language!

[@jetteramsey9292]

The soft d in Danish,is like th sound in English.

[@annahart69]

To make the ø sound, say it as you think it's supposed to be pronounced, then lift up the corners of your mouth and make your mouth small at the same time, while adding an almost unnoticable very short E at the end of the letter/sound😉 The letter Å: mix the first sound of the words "all" and "only", then tense your bottom lip, bring up the corners of your mouth while you push your jaw ever so slightly forward. The letter Æ: is like the first sound in the word "any", but make your mouth opening thinner and wider and imagine the letter ending in a short unnoticable e.

[@Srm228]

Im an American living in Denmark også! I have been here 8 months currently waiting for my visa. I am living here with my danish husband, but we have not been speaking danish in the home. This has been limiting to my progress of the danish language and no matter how much we talk about speaking danish in the home, we always switch back to english. I found your tips to be very helpful and I have used some of them. I think the biggest limiting factor for me is not speaking danish in my home and taking a danish course that was only once a week! I am currently waiting for my visa and very limited on what I can do at the moment. I also use duolingo which has helped me significantly. Because of my visa waiting situation I cannot work, volunteer or sign up for the danish class that I want to. I have to wait for my visa approval before I can and its a 10 month process. I have about 4 months left. Thank you for posting this video as it can be stressful and discouraging learning the danish language, but I have made a lot of progress, but I have a really long way to go! I think its a good reminder that these things DO take time, but the only way to really integrate here is to learn the language. This is my only goal at the moment. :)

[@MyNewDanishLife]

+Sam Monahan Usually, you get your yellow card before the visa. The yellow card is all you need to sign up for classes. We also need to speak more Danish at home, but it gets to be a hassle when you can’t say what you want. I feel ya! Just be sure not to put too much pressure on yourself. It’ll happen at some point! 😉

[@Srm228]

@@MyNewDanishLife I will receive yellow card once I get the visa approval :( The rules keep changing but for some reason thats how its been for me. Thanks for responding! And for the much needed encouragement. :)

[@ionutgur]

i am a beginner myself, i m having serious problems with the danish word : the mountain ( so with the definite article), the other form with the indefinite article is easier to pronounce

[@dtchsamstrdm]

Thank you for all your tips. I've been using Duolingo for the last 3 years to learn Danish. It's been my primary source of learning. I'm not good with textbooks. I also watch lots of videos on KZbin and listen to music. I am a huge Kim Larsen fan, also Nephew, and many others. I like your suggestion about getting the pronunciation books, I will get some of those. Those will help. My favorite word in Danish, for now, is "undskyld". I can't really give you a good reason as to why, I just like the sound of it. I'm curious how you met your Danish husband and moved to Denmark. I have wanted to live in Denmark since before I started learning Danish 3 years ago and it is the only thing I strive for. It's the only thing on my bucket list, haha. Someday I will live there, like you, and be a proud Dane. I don't think I ever truly felt like an American. Anyway, thanks for the videos and keep making them, I'll keep watching them. I would love to hear suggestions about Danish movies, food, other things from their culture, Etc

[@MyNewDanishLife]

Watch the series called Matador! Any Dane will tell you that it is a MUST!

[@danfrompc]

I live in Ontario, Canada and I know some Danish through my visits to Danmark and from relatives visiting from Danmark. What I find interesting is how a person who has no knowledge of Danish will pronounce various cities. Examples include Kolding, Aabenraa, Slagelse. Cheers from across the "big pond". :)

[@MyNewDanishLife]

Dan Pedersen I know what you mean! I smile whenever I say Odense, since I said it wrong for a VERY long time! 😂

[@srennicolaisen1068]

@@MyNewDanishLife Oh-then-se

[@Ettibridget]

You probably know this, but until 1948, the letter "Å/å" was always written "Aa" making the current Å/å the youngest letter in the danish alphabet. After 1948 the Aa had to be replaced with Å/å - everywhere. However this proces took time and turned out to be complicated. You could not change peoples' names with aa in it and some newspapers did not get to change their types until the late 1960'ies (objections from employees, tecnical problems or simply economy). Eventually, some cities decided to reenforce the old spelling, so the cities like Åbenrå, Grenå, Århus and Ålborg are today always spelled Aabenraa, Grenaa, Aarhus and Aalborg. A bit messy and another obstacle for foreigners, but that's how it is.

[@torbenpetersen8983]

@@Ettibridget The idea behind the double "a" (aa) is to signal that it is to be pronounced as a very low "a" like in "water" ...

[@Ettibridget]

@@torbenpetersen8983 No, it's not, the Aa-sound in these four city names is not the same.

[@michellenielsen2600]

I love the word 'Hygge' because you can use it almost anywhere

[@Ciokiuria]

Hi dear I appreciate your videos they are helpful to me since I am about to move to Denmark in few weeks. Please where can I get those books? I will appreciate your help. Tak .

[@jameskavanagh4315]

My fav danish word ...... Kaffe!!! And “ pause” Put the two together...... heaven😂😂

[@SchandorfTeal]

For a word like "rød" which I know can be hard to pronounce for non native speakers, try to push your tounge forward as you say the ø sound, let me know if this helps :D

[@MyNewDanishLife]

Schandorf That does help! Thanks so much for the tip!

[@elizabethhestevold1340]

True, actually West coast is the most difficult vocal cord, so different than National so called Danish. So swicth over, how in America did I at first brush up on English? Talked a lot with the children. They were so sweet. The every day listen to the radio. Etc. When I left Denmark, was in the 60' Not so Manny swears. Better. Once on a trip back, sat next to an Asian person. Was totally flawed, he spoke perfect fluied Danish! I was how, did you managde that. He just smiled. Most Danish words are like very root , some male/ female. The way I approach language, once for 1/2 year studieng Art in Paris, listen to French as it was music . Which language really is, tonalities. Then, had little pieces off paper, with words and sentences I knew I needed for a particular day. Had them in my pocket, practice before I went into a store. Inside, if I failed would pull the note out go over it with the merchant. They absolutely loved ❤️ my efforts . So we had fun. Then I took a class where the teacher only spoke French, teaching. And, you learn association, repetitive patterns by sound. It was so much fun, and laughter, in the mix up. Secret, humor, and no one is perfect. It's O.K. Just enjoy. Time will take care off it . 🇱🇷🇩🇰 And, I too have various degrees, Art and otherwise. But, keept it under a hat, people are then, more forgiving, when not on the spot to perform.Fun part , at Atelier was this person, I did jive with. He would get so annoyed, fire off French,...and I would respond in English, have no idea! what your saying. My mentor would walk away, shaking with laughter. Selfoelgelig, can also mean natrually, or O.K., or go ahead in a methafor, or by all means. It depends in what context it is used.sp. ...not jive with...

[@bjarneboy]

You should see the series "Matador". Not just to learn the language but also to understand the culture.

[@MyNewDanishLife]

+Bjarne Løgtholt I have seen the first set many times! When the aunt moves out to teach piano and gets engaged is the last I saw!

[@Beringtom]

best danish word? Speciellægepraksisplanlægningsstabiliseringsperiode

[@Scavenia]

Tongue twister: Da de hvide kom til de vilde, ville de vilde vide, hvad de hvide ville.

[@bellmandk]

Hvad med denne: Hvid blå gadeplakat

[@MulleDK19]

Da de hvide kom til de vilde, ville de vilde vide, hvad de hvide ville de vilde, men de hvide ville ikke lade de vilde vide, hvad de hvide ville de vilde, for de hvide vidste, at hvis de vilde vidste, hvad de hvide ville de vilde, ville de vilde ikke lade de hvide vide, hvad de vilde vidste, for de hvide ville jo vide, om de vilde vidste, at guldet var værdifuldt.

[@saintflev]

@@MulleDK19 og den korte.. de hvide ville vide, hvad de vilde ville de hvide.

[@justeeyore5432]

“Da de vilde kom til de hvide, ville de hvide vide, hvad de vilde ville de hvide” er den version, jeg har lært

[@jetteramsey9292]

Tell me please when I need to use EN or ET,thanks!

[@mariannejensen349]

"Sevlfølgelig", was VERY close there. We're a bit lazy, when it comes to pronounciations of our words, in Danish. [selv'følje'li'] it's tricky. The g here, is pronounced like a j-kind of sound, or maybe a bit closer to your y-sounds in words like "yoyo", "your" and so on. Very close to be right. WHAT?! That was a really nice try in the end there... I have already gotten curious, of your experiences. And also where in Jutland you lived again, as it was a bit unclear to me, but there is also those rules on the internet about local places and things like that. During my childhood, my parents took my sister and me, everywhere in Denmark. Bornholm, Læsø, Samsø, Fanø, Manø, Rømø... I have had social issues as a child so I was on a special camp once on Omø, and a bigger island like Fyn. The museum of Hans Christian Andersen. It was huge, sort of, for my sister and me to visit the house and city of Hans Christian Andersen, but not so fun, when we got home to the camping place, sort to say, and got comments on it, on the jumping-pillow.... (in lack of better descripting words). Less funny experience. So maybe worth taking in to account, when and if you should be going there. Have you then been to Copenhagen, as in the Inner City and see those traditional turist attraction things?

[@MyNewDanishLife]

+Marianne Jensen Yes! We like Copenhagen, but we haven’t been to many of the other places you mentioned.

[@jameskavanagh4315]

I found the only way of learning danish, which worked for me, was just getting out and about. You can never really learn a language properly through books imo. You need to be out there, at work, leisure time, getting to know Danes and the culture. Refuse to speak English, even though this can be frustrating when you feel you can’t express yourself properly. All Danes are glad to help when they know that you are learning their language. Let them speak English if they want, but answer in danish. Danish is the language we speak at home, which for me was very important. But my kids never got to learn English as well as they could have if I just spoke English to them. I knew they would learn it at school. It was more important for me to learn danish well, than it was to speak to my kids in English. And they’re doing fine with it at school. Plus it gives me a chance for revenge when they mispronounce words in english😄👏🏼

[@thomasborgsmidt9801]

1) Copenhagen dialect is in reality not a danish dialect - it is from Scania (or swedish occupied Denmark). 2) Southern Jutlandic is more influenced by the German dialect platt. Man spricht Deutsch, aber schnackt Platt. In Northern Germany you can get by talking Danish - and I flatly refuse speaking German to someone with the name Sörensen - really uncomfortable. 3) The West coast dialect might actually help with rural east coast ENGLISH dialects. But now you can read Hans Christian Andersens fairy tales (the - by far - best part of his production). The english translation is NOT great, as they are told to children and the stuff and long word are the ones that are explained to children as well. So I am not the least bit surprised. But H.C:Andersen is really pointing out that childrens books and litterature is ever so much REAL litterature - and can be of high quality. My favorite is: Rejsekammeraten. As the mouse said when it scared the cat off with a bark: Mum told me: It is smart to learn a foreign language!

[@pipkin5287]

I know it's such a stupid, minor thing to notice, but I love that you say "WE have many dialects."

[@peterskovgaard1623]

Har du set en video med hende har du set dem alle sammen , hun bliver mere og mere utålelig at høre på

[@MyNewDanishLife]

You should watch all of my videos...just to be sure!

[@SimonRaahauge1973]

One of my favorit words in danish is "pyt"... meaning something like never mind, or that doesn't really matter.. We missed the train! pyt, the next train is in half an hour.

[@ahlpym]

The best English translation of "pyt" is probably "Oh well"

[@therubberducky1393]

Du er god til at lære dansk keep up the good work

[@85stumpen]

I'm Danish. Like many others my favorite word is "Hygge" But I also love words like "hyggehejsa" and "halløjsa" (or as some would say it "halløjsovs") not because i use them so much. I just think they are funny word 😂🤷🏼‍♀️ And I'm also very fond of the word "prøvlioghørher" (and no. That is not actually one word.... Or at least, it shouldn't be. But it is in some parts of denmark)

[@LiquidBlackWolf]

I would say that "selvfølgelig" is pronounced exactly like it is spelled xD but yer

[@theMark5445]

sæføli. mehh

[@frederikja2210]

Depends on where you are from, but i say "sælvfølgelig"

[@85stumpen]

Nahh here in århus we say sæ'føl'li' 😂

[@jameskavanagh4315]

Not from English eyes😊

[@theother5594]

Don't be too hard on yourself ;) Danish is notoriously difficult and despite reading being a method you're comfortable with we Danes are notorious for cutting endings and shortening middle part of the word :) Selvfølgelig is actually a great example of that, often we only pronounce se, fø and li'. If I had to suggest learning tools, definitely speak Danish with your children, the have an ability to grasp subtleties in language faster than adults who have become set in their ways :)

[@wendypearson7705]

Thank you!!

[@ha181293]

Speaking of Kim Larsen, have you seen the movie "Midt om natten"? It's a Classic (but the actors are from Copenhagen, so they do speak with an accent from that City🙄) I'm a dane, I started learning English when I was around 10 (in School) what I think is difficult is probably the structure of a sentence, I always used to write the words in a way that I would a Danish sentence, but my teachers would say, that even though the words were english, the sentence structure was Danish (I think I've learned how to do it properly by now though). Also, I have no idea what to do about commas and punctuation in english (not that I'm perfect at this in Danish either). If you're talking about something specific like idk, Electronic devices or various tools in a toolbox, I don't know how to explain myself, there are so many things that I don't know what are called, if they're not used in everyday conversations. I also had some German and French in School, I've forgotten most of it by now though. I do have huge traumas from trying to learn the German articles 😂 (Ein, eine, einer, einen, einem, eines) I mean seriously how many words do you need to say 'a' or 'an' 😂 My French has been forgotten completely, sadly. I think it's a beautiful language, but it isn't everywhere like english is, you have to keep at it, if you want to maintain your language skills. One more thing about english, I'm okay writing it, I think I'm okay at speaking it.... But! If I speak english with someone who speaks english as their native language, I feel really embarrassed to speak to them, because I don't want to sound too stupid and say something completely wrong or incomprehensable.

[@MyNewDanishLife]

+Heidi Just know that we’re not judging you when you speak English. When you come from a country that is so filled with foreigners like I do, you get used to improper English. I think I hear it more than actually proper English. If you said everything correctly, I think I would notice that more than you making a mistake. I know tons of Native speakers who make mistakes constantly. I think English is difficult even for native speakers.

[@salome_psychostudy_asd]

Hi, thank you so much for making this video !! May you please tell me the name of your Danish resources ? I'm trying to learn it to go study there, and even through English (which is not my native language) I can't find resources except for Duolingo

[@MyNewDanishLife]

I bought a book off of Amazon to start my learning. The other books that I used were from the language school here. It is called På vej til dansk

[@salome_psychostudy_asd]

@@MyNewDanishLife Thank you so much 🥰

[@hansjrgenrasmussen1954]

Dont you worry abowe ,if you dont got the ferst word right, oll danes vil bi glad to now, that you are trying and vil help you

[@Steelmage99]

Awesome comment. :)

[@barbararoggenkamp6957]

One word I found hard to handle was: Rutschebane: said vs written

[@mulheresemaesinternacionai8982]

I'm learning danish and it's driving crazy

[@MyNewDanishLife]

It can be tough in the beginning. I wish you luck!

[@muhest]

Best way of learning a new language imo ... is get a job in a daycare or a kindergarten. Cuz the children are learning the language as well. And contrary to adults, they have no problems in correcting. You’re fortunate to have kids to read to. That goes a long way in teaching you the very difficult danish language.

[@lasse5089]

I like the word "ræv" = fox In North jutland It is pronounced "røv" which also = ass in danish.

[@randomk90]

I'm American and recently married my Danish husband and waiting with bated breath for our family reunification application to be processed (which at the longest could take 10 months). I visited a language school and they won't let me begin until I have my CPR number 🙁 I'll try whatever I can to learn more Danish before then, but dang that's frustrating 😕

[@MyNewDanishLife]

randomk90 I was able to start before I got my CPR number. I just had to pay for it.

[@MyNewDanishLife]

randomk90 I also have a video on my experience with my family reunification visa. I don’t know if you’ve already checked it out.😉

[@randomk90]

@@MyNewDanishLife The advisor I spoke with said I could pay, but in the same breath said it's way too expensive and basically even shut it down as an option, and said to come back when I have my CPR number. I honestly didn't think the price was bad at all, maybe she doesn't realize how expensive education is in the US 😉. Maybe I just need to call them back and be more assertive? I'll definitely check out the family reunification video, thank you!

[@Zandain]

Danish! a difficult language to learn, yes! I'm completely bilingual (Danish/Canadian) but I have fostered young refugees and taught them about living in Denmark, Danes and Danish 😉🤣 1. spelling and pronunciation 2. the squishing of words 3. dialects 4. borrowing from dialects, and using them in the spoken language 5. how the spoken flow, varies between the islands For most, the easiest way to learn a language is to first hear it, then speak it and only later, how to read/write it. Danes can be lazy speakers, they squish words together. fx. 'Darren fugl' 2 words, where there actually should be 4 words! It should be, 'Der er en fugl' Borrowing words like, træls, 'moin, Godaw', can make knowing what to say, and where to say it, very difficult. The spoken flow of Danish, is very monotone for those listening in, but there are subtle ups & downs which can be hard to manage, bc you need air! and you have to learn the art of breathing under your breath, to keep the flow going! I'm sure with all the help you're getting, that Danish will become easier, as you go..Good luck! 😋😊

[@dan9864]

“Rom blev ikke bygget på én dag” - (men det blev bygget til sidst) My favorite expression. I learnt Spanish. A good technique to improve pronunciation is to shadow a speaker on TV, for example, i.e. repeat what the person is saying.

[@henriknielsen6110]

Ikke helt korekt så vidt jeg ved bygger de endnu dernede

[@XpiRai]

yeah Danish can be a real biiiip to learn we have always been told but hey keep your chin high and it all comes to you if you use it all the time to the fullest you can :D What goes for my favorit word it would have to be: Speciallægepraksisplanlægningsstabiliseringsperiode and yes only because it´s our longest word and even for a dane that´s a word that will take to learn to remember. To be nice it rufly translate to something like: a specialist medical practice planning stabilization period. Have a nice day

[@MartinClemmensen]

I love the word ‘speciallægepraksisplanlægningsstabiliseringsperiode’. It was included in the Guinness Recordbook as the longest Danish word in 1993 However, the Danish language actually allows you to form even longer words, since Danish grammar makes it possible to put nouns together so that they suddenly form insanely long words. One can see this in H.C. Andersen's fairy tale The Shepherdess and the chimney sweep, where one of the characters is called ‘gedebukkebens-overogundergeneral­krigskommander­sergentindeø'. A word that is actually 54 letters, but not an official Danish word. You can read the story here. Its in both Danish and english. www.andersenstories.com/language.php?andersen=032&l=da&r=en

[@MyNewDanishLife]

I have another video coming out this week where I try to pronounce basic words. I can't imagine saying this word, but I might have to make another video later on with Crazy Danish Words! 😂

[@renekuskchristensen2182]

Hej Kelly Hvilke sprog underviste du i?

[@MyNewDanishLife]

engelsk og tysk

[@KHValby]

Language classes are free again. Total idiocy, that at one time, you needed to pay, to learn Danish :-D ! Especially since we want and need well educated foreigners :-D ! And want to be able to communicate with everyone ;-), living here! Kelly! Just keep being your self! Your doing GREAT :-) ! Congrats on you being able for Dual-Citizenship. I hope you stay :-) !? Kelly! You got Selvfølgelig" just right! Of course there's some US accent there :-D , but that's not the point! As a Dane, I totally understood what you said, and that's the point!

[@MyNewDanishLife]

Thanks so much! I am glad that I finished my classes before they made people pay for them. It still would be nice to do some extra studying. I feel that I didn't learn enough.

[@KHValby]

@@MyNewDanishLife Kelly! What kind of Studying do you need! Your Married to a Dane :-D ! You have two "Danican" or "Ameridane" kids :-D :-D ! I'm pretty sure your set! Considering that you've only lived here for a few years, your Danish is fine and understandable. Remember that your trying to learn the "9th" HARDEST language in the World! Your actually doing pretty well! Pat your self on the back :-) ! No BS! Møjn :-) !

[@MyNewDanishLife]

@@KHValby That is such a common misconception. Just because they speak Danish to each other doesn't mean they want to speak Danish to me. My boys love speaking English and have refused to speak Danish to me. It has been a struggle for years, I'm afraid. :(

[@KHValby]

@@MyNewDanishLife Kelly! You know, it's funny you mentioning that. When I grew up as a "US Army brat :-D ", in Germany, Mom and I also never spoke Danish, unless we had family visiting. My stepdad was often on deployment, so it was often just the two of us, and my little brother. But yet, we spoke American :-) ! Weird, right ?

[@KHValby]

@@MyNewDanishLife But then there's your husband. Speak Danish to him, and "force" :-) him to the same! "Krydolph" pretty much say's the same ;-) ! I work with people who have lived here, for 20/30 years. There pronunciation is no way as good as yours. Maybe it's just because your a language teacher, and have a "neck" for sounds :-) ! Take care ;-) !

[@annitastevenielsen9848]

Har du set video-klippet "Jacob Taarnhøj - DM i stand-up 2017"? Den er så sjov. Den handler om det danske sprog og hvor dum udtalen er i forhold til stavningen. Jeg synes du skal tjekke den ud, fordi jeg kunne ikke lade være med at tænke på den 😂 Ps elsker dine videoer ❤

[@kmarschal]

my farvit danish word is hygge, i love the mening of the hygge and as far i konw ther is on other language that meen the same. p.s. jeg er også fra danmark :D

[@MyNewDanishLife]

Hygge is definitely a Danish thing! ;)

[@PinkyRoseism]

My favorite danish words is: god morgen -god aften- Vi ses- nej- vi ses i morgen-hej

[@DumboKnudsen]

When I speak English in Europe I feel like I’m level 100 when I visit a English talking country I’m more a level 0. I think it’s all about feeling brave enough and confident. Danish language doesn’t make sense. Btw have you been to Middelfart 😂

[@Gert-DK]

A funny one, maybe you know it. A sentence in Jydsk dialect. A æ u i æ å. Try saying theese letters and you will get a Jydsk sentence.

[@SunkenCathedral]

How do you find out about all this stuff? When I migrated to Denmark, my husband just said I can't have Danish lessons because they cost too much. And so now it's years later, and I still can't speak any Danish or start my life here. Want nothing more than to go home.

[@MyNewDanishLife]

I know how you feel. You are not alone. Many people feel this way. Denmark isn’t an easy place to live sometimes. Can I ask where you live?

[@SunkenCathedral]

@@MyNewDanishLife In a very small village in Jutland. We have no car and there is no public transport around here, so can never leave the house. There are no jobs. And I still haven't had any Danish lessons after years of being here. There's not much hope in a place like this. Your videos make me sad, because we both did the same thing. We both moved to a small Danish town to get married, and we both came here full of optimism. But because we received different levels of support after we arrived, we ended up having totally different experiences. Imagine where you would be if your husband said 'We can't afford Danish lessons', and if he had no car and there was no transport. Imagine if you hadn't been able to leave the house, go anywhere, do anything or get a job for years. It's important to move overseas with the right attitude, sure, but everything hinges on the support you receive after you arrive. I'd love to see a video about that: about how critical it is to have help and support after you arrive in Denmark, and how to find it.

[@MyNewDanishLife]

SunkenCathedral Sorry that you are having a hard time. My life isn’t perfect here. I really have to put in a lot of effort. I made sure of a few things before we moved (easy access to bus/train), language lessons, automatic car when we bought one, and a few others. I wouldn’t have agreed to move to a town that offered me none of these, but I can understand that not everyone gets what they want. There have been many times that I have wanted to go home. After 3 1/2 years, I still don’t have any Danish friends whom I can rely on. There are a lot of things that could be better, in my opinion. Have you joined any groups on FB for foreigners in your area? Someone might even be able to pick you up. Any chance you live near Viborg?

[@SunkenCathedral]

@@MyNewDanishLife Hey, unfortunately I don't live near Viborg, but thank you for the offer. I made a mistake in believing my husband who said I would have everything I needed here. But then after I moved, he said there was nothing. I should have researched everything myself instead of just trusting. Sigh. I suppose that's a lesson you could talk about in one of your videos: always carefully research everything yourself before moving.

[@MyNewDanishLife]

SunkenCathedral Thanks for the tip. I really hope you reach out to groups on Facebook. I really think it could help! Take care.

[@johan11222]

watch Olsen banden

[@vrenak]

Speaking of dialects.... A æ u å æ ø i æ å. Æ i å u å æ ø i æ å? Good luck learning danish.

[@Krydolph]

Just to make it easy for her, let translate that for her, I am not sure she would realize you wrote a sentence there. and not just random vocals. "I am out on the island in the stream. Are you also out on the island in the stream." (I don't know if there is a better word for "å" than stream.)

[@vrenak]

@@Krydolph Danish has more words for flowing bodies of water than english does, so the size limits are not the same, Å can be thus be translated as river or stream, depending on the size, seeing as it has an island in it, river is definitely the word to use here.

[@Krydolph]

@@vrenak Maybe you are right, I am just thinking river = flod, and we don't have any floder in denmark, even though I think the "guden å" is technically a flod... so we have one ;) So that must be where that island is then ;)

[@racheldelarosa8196]

My BF is Danish and I am trying to learn the language. We are planning on getting married soon and I would like to learn the language so that I can be able to speak to his parents(future in-laws) I have tried Duolingo and thought it was a great app to learn Danish, but gave up because I feel that I will never be able to learn. I am a Mexican-American, but English is my primary language since my parents only spoke to me in English instead of Spanish growing up. I understand most of the Spanish language when hearing it and I can speak it when when I need to get my point across in a conversation, but not very well. Working as a Substitute teacher, I talk to a lot of Spanish speaking parents and hopefully, I can get better at it, but I am hoping that learning how to speak Danish will not be so much of a challenge which I hear it is.

[@MyNewDanishLife]

+Rachel De La Rosa Good luck! 🍀

[@ekrajb]

"Rød grød med fløde" er ikke det sværeste at sige på dansk. Prøv i stedet for at sige: "Røget ørred".

[@MyNewDanishLife]

ekrajb I definitely prefer the first one then! 😂

[@Peter337]

Den var god 😂

[@annahart69]

Smergel lærred😜

[@KristianLynggaard]

selvfølgelig is pronounced; seføllij :)

[@ShaneshaS]

Stop spreading misinformation, you pronounce the v and the mute g as well, the way you just wrote it, is incorrect

[@KristianLynggaard]

@@ShaneshaS The way I wrote it is the way I say it

[@Klausryan]

Do you even dare look at our number system 😂

[@poulmadsen7969]

At 1:15: "But when it comes to speaking it, I'm not so good...". Ha ha, no foreigner is! My girlfriend hates Danish, ha ha!

[@richardblackhound1246]

Why are you an expat whereas others are "immigrants"? Just wondering.

[@benthansen6961]

Dansk er ikke et svært sprog at lære, jeg havde ingen problemer med at lære det. ;-)

[@MyNewDanishLife]

😂

[@propsygun6024]

Danish is stupid, i remember in school, meget(a lot) was spoken like that in old movies, but now its "majet"?!?, or sagde(say) havde(had) stupid silent D spelling, or the hv in question words, hvor(where) hvordan(how) hvilken(what thing) hvad(what?) The only tip i have, is THE sound from english, is in danish, VDE?!? so "havde" is spoken ha-the, but not un jutland, then its hav-dø(sea-die) :) Would love 2 know how you learned ÆØÅ, is there english words that use those sounds? like brace(brÆce) yourself, or prevention(prevÆntion) a pen(pÆn) I love the animal name earwig, split it up, ear and wig, same in danish, øren-tvist. the funny thing is, the "wig"(wicga=bettle) makes you think of the white wigs they use in english parlament or court, and "tvist" is screded old white clothes, used 2 mop up oil and so on, a bunch of strings. i love the thought of the misunderstanding that made that name, or fancy people in suits, with a kaos of strings on their head.

[@MyNewDanishLife]

I wouldn't say I've learned them yet. I can't hear the difference between A, E and Æ, so I avoid spelling at all costs! My kids try to help me, but it is going to take some time!