Integration Mistakes - Americans in Denmark!!

[@zenmanokfine]

I moved from UK to DK many years ago and while learning Dansk I made quite a gaff one night in a burger bar (yes I was a bit drunk) and I thought "OK I can do this!" so I stepped up to order some food and said "et killing burger tak" got a funny look so I tried again "en kelling burger tak" , the guy receiving the orders said " I think you want a kylling burger as we dont sell kitten burgers and we dont sell bitch burgers". The place erupted in laughter. I did get a nice burger though ;)

[@EgoneOlsen29]

Being a Dane, I can imagine how hilarious that must've been for everyone else

[@mkhjyt]

Haha! For a moment I thought it should've been read out as "kælling burger" (bitch burger)

[@ane-louisestampe7939]

My British husband brock down in stiches on evening watching the weather forecast... He said: Look! In the UK it raining cats and dogs.. But here it's blowing chickens! He got all disappointed when he got kuling explained 😂

[@rphb5870]

There are two genders in Danish gramma, no gender and common gender. It is not that difficult. Everything that is or have been alive like a chicken, is common gender, "en" while everything else is no gender "et"

[@kasperkjrsgaard1447]

I have a Filippina girlfriend, who for some reason find danish difficult to learn 🤷🏼‍♂️ and i made it very important to her that I’m not laughing OF her, but laughing WITH her. Luckily she understood what i ment. A word, or rather dish like “øllebrød med flødeskum” was blankly refused to try to pronounce. 😂

[@SALSN]

Flink does mean nice in Danish. Though it is not widely used everywhere. also you can only use it about a person, not the weather or anything else.

[@ebbhead20]

Im sure what they mean is we dont say Det var flink på stranden. Or sikke et flink vejr. Du kan ikke bruge flink i alle situationer som med nice... Du kan kun bruge det om en person. En restaurant kan ikke være flink... 😎

[@lisegerdpedersen6461]

Tidligere brugte lærere udtrykket om dygtige elever. En flink elev ...

[@ebbhead20]

@@lisegerdpedersen6461 folk er nu stadigvæk flinke, ham manden var flink mor kan sagtens blive hørt idag..

[@hammermorify]

Flink is just 1 of all the meanings of nice. You'll have to know the context to find the right word for nice, when you translate. Dejligt and pæn are 2 more words for nice, but there are many more... 😅

[@Finnec123]

En flink fyr = a nice guy. (NOT outdated at all.) Vær flink at -> please. I.a. "Vil du være så flink at række mig smørret? " -> "Please hand me the butter! "

[@avejst]

I had a colleague from Germany that called the "gule sundhedskort" a gold card, because she don't have to pay for going to the hospital. Congratulations for your Danish exams 👏 Thanks for sharing your expirence with all of us 👍 😀

[@eidodk]

The point of not connecting with people at work, is natural in denmark. For a dane work is what you HAVE to do, and as soon as you get off work, that part of your life is GONE. If you want to connect with people, go to spare time activities. Spare time activities is what you WANT to do, which means you're more likely to connect with people who have the same interests as you.

[@SourceBTS]

Flink is a Danish word though. It's means friendly, willing to help, welcoming or well-mannered.

[@torbenlarsen331]

My father told me this. Queen Elizabeth paid Denmark a visit and she should also visit a Danish company. The big problem was that she had to take a ride with the elevator. Inside the elevator there was a big white sign saying:" I FART " that would lit up when the elevator began to move. Also when you stood in front of the intrance of the elevator there was the same sign. A electrician spent days removing all the signs and disconnect the wiring.

[@mikaels6320]

My dad told me a similar story, with US president Carter visiting DK, where they covered the "I FART" sign

[@mortenhattesen]

In addition, because she was entering through the back of the building, the doors of the elevator had a sign saying "GODS ELEVATOR"

[@tineditmarunnerup9513]

A good story. Told many times. I heard is with 'had to cover up the signs with tape'. Probably not true. But we do have a town called Middelfart.

[@hrxify]

Carlsberg I heard❤

[@KiwiCatherine]

As a kiwi who moved to Denmark I learned danish quickly and actually it wasn’t too hard . I started danish classes after 1 month and was fluent and working as a registered nurse in a hospital after 8 months. I married a Dane and had 3 school age kids when I moved here so had a lot of motivation to learn danish. I am so glad I did.

[@davidpax]

Thanks. We need nurses. What's the point of having free health care when there is a shortage of nurses and doctors and long waiting before you can get the treatment you need?

[@peterc.1618]

New Zealand nurses have an excellent reputation here in the UK. Does your husband take more notice when you argue with him in Danish? 😀

[@KiwiCatherine]

@@peterc.1618 We got divorced .

[@TravelinYoung]

I think there are a couple key differences here. 1. When we moved to Denmark, Danish classes were not free and the schools were charging around 2000kr per modul. With Josh being the only one working, we couldn’t afford for me to take Danish. 2. Josh came for work and now I am working. That was our main purpose for coming so we have to learn Danish on top of full 8 hour days AND running this channel. Sometimes more. Working on Danish after taxing your brain at complex IT jobs all day is no small feat. 3. While Maya speaks Danish at school and is fluent, she speaks English at home because she needs the break. So none of us speak Danish at home for the most part because we all need a mental break. There is a chasm of difference between being married to a native speaker who can help you every day with language acquisition and being dual immigrants like ud who are both still learning with no one to help on a daily basis. We simple do not have that level of access to native speakers to help us with laguage acquisition. I’m super glad you were able to learn it so quickly and that is absolutely commendable. But it is also a completely different set of circumstances and while it was easy for you, you also had a massively different amount of time and resources to help you. Everyone’s journey is different and to imply it’s not that hard really invalidates the experience of people who do, in fact, have it hard due to very different circumstances. - M

[@peterc.1618]

@@KiwiCatherine I'm sorry to hear that.

[@Gert-DK]

I think the best way, is start learning the language from day one and study hard the first year. Because Danes know the language is hard, therefor it will give you a lot of respect. Believe me, your Danish friends will follow your progress secretly. As you progress, you are signaling to the Danes you wanna "join the clan" and they will receive you with open arms. TIP: Get yourself a subscription to a Danish magazine with a subject you really are into, woodcarving, fashion, HiFi or whatever. You will probably know the technical terms on your subjects, so many of the other words you can guess. After half a year, you read the magazine again. I had an African neighbor with a 16-year-old teenager. I gave her a one-year subscription to a teenager magazine. Once a month, it was a big day when the magazine arrived.

[@bkingfstrd]

Congrats on passing your exams. Your videos are helping me so much as my family is planning on moving to Denmark from the U.S.

[@shubiduanu]

I've told many of my foreign friends as well as Danes that the best way to make friends in Denmark is to become a member of some kind of club or do volunteer work, because people going there naturally have common interests, hence things to talk about. Some of my best friends, I've made through a sports club, by joining a fandom (yes, for real!) and doing volunteer work in Venligboerne (Friendly Neighbors). Especially the latter is a wonderful community, because everyone is open to different cultures and you meet people from all over the world who all have in common that we live in Denmark.

[@johnnoteast7857]

The way I learned about the "Hail Mary" was when I heard about catholic soldiers during WW2 who said a "Hail Mary" before going into battle, in order to prepare for death. It's a bit like the death of Clint Eastwoods character in Gran Torino.

[@bjarnebredvigprofi3075]

I always enjoy Your reflections, They are positive and objective - and they give me another view on my fellow countrymen.

[@TorchwoodPandP]

We had a delegate member on an official visit to the states, and someone from the ministry had to teach him how to say at least part of his name differently. He was called Bent Kock.

[@helgegrelck2394]

Well about the word “en fart” in Danish and German, Can mean “a travel, a speed, a drive”. It comes from “to fare”/“at fare” like in “farewell”/“farvel”. The English word “fart” is cognate wir German “Pfurts” and Danish “prut”, like “snow” and “sheep” it is one of the words that very similar in many Indo-European languages (PIE)

[@helgegrelck2394]

Once when the resently deciesed British Queen Elisabeth visited Denmark, the Danish authorities had to cover signs in some elevators. It was the lit up signs, that indicate that the elevator is “in motion”. These signs in Denmark say “I fart” :)

[@rilauats]

Excellent topic. Myself Danish having lived and worked in Switzerland, Netherlands, Luxembourg - and uni in the USA (Lawrence, Kansas) Tip for people travelling across borders in Europe => Beware of differences in general parking rules. In many European countries, set parking meter to half hour. EX: 13:05 => 13:30. In Denmark, set parking meter to quarter of hour. EX: 13:05 => Parking meter at 13:15. Set parking meter to 13:30 puts you at risk of a parking ticket if checked by parking patrol within 13:05 - 13:15.

[@graydanerasmussen4071]

Re the "everything is closed" -thing: You would have LOVED to live here in the 70´s and 80´s... Shops closed at 5.30 (7 o´clock on Fridays), Saturdays were from 9 to 12, and NOTHING open on Sundays and church holidays :D We Danes may not be religious, but our shopping hours sure were! -And don´t worry. Yer coming along nicely!

[@Joliie]

how did we survive back then?

[@davidpax]

Some far out places in Denmark (Thisted) shops still close at 17.00 !

[@peterc.1618]

Surely it's more a question of trade unions wanting their members to have family time etc.

[@basileus-pr6jh]

@@peterc.1618 that's why it was upheld with vigor but not the root cause

[@rekaens]

First off, congratulations! secondly, i loved this episode! it's so fun to hear "newcomers" having an adventure out of little things we all take for granted each day. thank you for being you!

[@jacobmarquard4766]

Milk is easy Cream is Red Coffee cream is Orange Whole milk is blue Light milk (1,5%) is light blue (from 1973) Mini milk (0,5%) is light grey blue(from 2001) Skimmed milk (0,1%) is grey

[@jantonh81]

Speaking of shops being closed for holiday: It wasn't until 2012 that stores could freely be open on Sundays. Until 2001 it was mandatory for all stores to be closed on Sundays with more and more open days being allowed between 2001 and 2012.

[@nicklasjensen9043]

Excellently done on your Danish courses! I must say, you are an awesome couple. Good vibes and a great humor - absolutely love it. On the topic on hail marys - the concept also exist in Danish, albeit not as a sports term but instead as "et skud i tågen" ('a shot in the fog/mist' would be the literal translation but very similar to 'a longshot' in meaning). And as a Dane, I would have loved if we sometimes were a bit more American when meeting new people. It was very cool to put yourself out there like that - and thankfully Peter eventually (or possibly immediately) let his taste for beer decide for him.

[@Valjean666dk]

The thing about calling the hospital before going in, is kinda new (and really annoying). You may sort some people out that don't really need to go to the emergency room, but I think checking people in person, rather than having it explained over the phone, would be much faster. I live 100 meters from a hospital, and when I managed to spill some boiling hot water on myself, I figured I'd go over there and have them take a quick look to see if it was something that needed treatment, and that they would have some salve or other ointment to put on it. When I got to the desk I was told I had to call the emergency line. And the nurses weren't allowed to make a medical opinion on the burn(policy). They had a phone I could use, but I had to wait 45 minutes for my call to go through. Since it was just really red, and not blistering, they didn't think I had to come in. It did start blistering a few days later, but then I couldn't be bothered having it checked. And I ended up with a fairly large scar/discoloration.

[@JensPilemandOttesen]

That sucks. Some things need immidiate attention... I guess the nurse DID make a judgement on your burn. If came to ER in flames they would have treated you. (Put out the fire)

[@Valjean666dk]

Well, she never actually saw the burn, she said they were not allowed to give an opinion on it. Apparently only doctors are allowed. I don't know if there's a different policy if I had been on fire, or made a big nuisance of myself.

[@Pemenari]

no offence but i have a few things to comment 1. not everyone lives as close as you and can't just walk there. for them waiting on the phone might actually be faster than just coming over. 2. you literally said they told you they thought it only needed treatment if it was blistering, aka blisters need treatment. you made the choice not to go in after the blistering started. 3 emergency means emergency. meaning something has to be done NOW. you could just have made a normal appointment to look it over. you yourself didn't think you needed emergency care (something easily seen in your attitude when you showed up) so why would you expect them to treat you like you needed it? you called them and they told you how to know if it ended up needing care and you choose to do squad about it.

[@Valjean666dk]

1. The change was made to cut the time it took to see patients, not for the convenience of people who lived further away. They already had the option to call back then. 2. Point is that if they had taken a look in person, they may have been able to tell that it was going to blister. And if I called them days later, they'd have told me to go see my doctor, which is what I did when it started blistering, and got an appointment to be seen when it had already healed and scarred over. 3. Well in Denmark its called a skadestue (injury room), and how do you know how soon it had to be checked? I didn't think it was an emergency, but I'm not a doctor, and I was obviously wrong , thinking that it was just some reddening. What kind of attitude are you supposed to show up with for an emergency? Should I have been screaming and crying? I've had the same attitude when getting a deep cut in the wrist and when breaking my hand and tearing the tendons in my wrist. You seem to assume a lot.

[@Pemenari]

@@Valjean666dk 1. the change was made cause a phone call is literally faster than having to show up and move between rooms. if everyone had to show up you would have had to wait way more than those 45 minutes cause you would have had to wait for people to move around as well. 2. you could literally have made an appointment from the beginning before going to the injury room and all this mess would have been overwith (they are often willing to find a fast appointment if you say you want it done as soon as possible. speaking from experience since i am from denmark as well) instead you waited until there was an actual problem cause you were salty that they didnt look at you before someone, who either had made an appointment days/weeks ago or who had actually called before they came and got asked to come in. 3. i dont know how soon it had to be checked but you literally said that they told you 'since it isnt blistering they didnt think it needed immediate attention' meaning blistering = needs attention. its fucking logic also burn wounds including those involving water can make major damage and scarring. it doesnt take a genious to see that if it was bad enough to scar then that reddening would have been very warm for a very long time and that is a bad sign. if the heat dont go away and stays in the area then you need to get it looked at. you not taking it seriously is not on them, thats on you and last there is a big difference between someone coming in not really believing something needs attention and someone actually worried about a wound. if you had been actually worried you would have made an appointment while you stood there talking to them saying you would like an appoinment soon. cause i know for a fact you dont need to call them to get an appoinment. you might not get one at the second or same day but you can make one while physically present

[@atomas-11]

I had one of these "turn handle up" doors installed, and after a few days it would not open - from the inside! I had to shout at a neighbour to put up a ladder, so I could climb down from 1st floor to get to work. The carpender came later the same day to fix the door :-)

[@290766rene]

Hi Josh and Miranda. Congratulations on your language course, well done. When you think back on something you wish you had done differently, there is an expression in Danish that sounds like this. " I bagklogskabens klare lys " 😊 Regarding the word " Flink ", it is true that it means Nice. But you can only say that about a person. You can't for example say, Flink sofa.

[@peterfireflylund]

“With the clarity of hindsight”… or “hindsight is 20/20”.

[@Bjowolf2]

Min sofa er rigtigt flink ved mig - den springer helt af sig selv op på ryggen af mig, når jeg er træt 😂

[@peterc.1618]

@@peterfireflylund Or 6/6 in metric countries.

[@peterfireflylund]

@@peterc.1618 never heard of that.

[@peterc.1618]

@@peterfireflylund They may not use the expression with regard to hindsight but saying 20/20 vision to someone who has never used the Imperial system might leave them puzzled as to where the 20 comes from.

[@birterasmussen8133]

Once in our busses, there would be a sign that changed whenever someone pressed the button to let the driver know they wanted to get off at the next busstop. So when nobody had pressed the botton, the sign would show “I fart” (“Driving”), and when somebody pressed the botton it would change to “Stop”.

[@HomemadeCanada]

Nice sharing. Informative session.

[@Danmark35]

Congratulations to you both. 👍 and your story about the mystery of the locking door, was hilarious.🤣🤣

[@RoarMohammedJohansen]

Have you watch Matador? I know you have bin talking about it in earlier videos, but if you can you should really watch it, maybe with english subtitels. The series is most slower in speed then todays series, and that can be frustrating at first, but Matador really shows the state that Denmark was in and danish culture was in when globalism was at its earlist state. It shows on what "platform" danish culture was when the world started to become global. And the story telling is really really amazing.

[@TrekkieGrrrl]

Agree! Also, people speak CLEARLY in Matador so you can actually hear what’s being said.

[@JensPilemandOttesen]

I am sure Matador is on Dansk Modul 1 curriculum. Right?

[@ane-louisestampe7939]

I'm 100% with you on that. Mostly perhaps, because the "old" actors articulated properly, and spoke "correct" Danish, so they are easier to understand, and better to learn from. No slang, no dialects, except the doctor from Fyn, that is. It just underlines that he is very different - and nicer than the rest of the lot 😉 - and you'll get all the brilliantly portraited archtypes from Matador, whom you can reference to.

[@jandamskier6510]

Nej, uden undertekster. Det andet fastholder en i hele tiden at oversætte frem og tilbage.

[@JensPilemandOttesen]

That was fun. Loved the door handle bit. Did you have trouble with tilting windows too?

[@bobblues1158]

One has to always understand that it is a completely different culture. One has to go with it 100%. I have lived here for 39 years without a problem because I immediately knew that I was in another culture and embraced it. I know some Americans who are unable to accept it. When they complain, I say " Go back to the states". I am so glad to be here and the healthcare system has saved my life three times. I would have died if I was in the states.

[@nicolaim4275]

'Flink' _does_ mean nice in Danish, but in the sense of a helpful and well-behaving person. You can't use it to describe a car, for example.

[@saraperlstein]

I also generally wouldn't use it about anyone I know well. There's a bit of an inherent distance in the word. Like, I wouldn't say "Min bedste ven er så flink", but I might say "Kassedamen i Netto var super flink".

[@nicolaim4275]

@@saraperlstein It can be used for unexpected niceness, but that bar would also be raised the better you know someone and words like 'sød' would probably be the goto for most people in that case.

[@saraperlstein]

@@nicolaim4275 Can you give me an example of that? I can't really see that, but it could be a regional thing.

[@nicolaim4275]

@@saraperlstein I would also consider it rare because 'sød' is more common today, but "Ej, hvor er du flink!" or the more nonplussed "Hvorfor er du så flink?" doesn't so much indicate a distant relationship as it signifies that the act is seen as beyond what the person could expect.

[@saraperlstein]

@@nicolaim4275 ah yeah, I see your point. I think you're right that sød is the more natural option these days, though.

[@jeanricard918]

Tillykke med vel overståede dansk prøver. You have both gone a long way, with integration. I am pretty sure that Dane’s could have had trouble with that door lock too. Flink can be used to describe a “nice” person, so Miranda you where not quit off. And as a remark Joshua has learned not to wear a cap inside, so even he starts to look civilised 😉 I am looking forward to see the video about all the “farts” that Joshua can find.

[@mikeyb2932]

Yeah I just got past the 'flink' part of the video and was thinking the same as you. 'Nice' can not always be translated to 'flink', but when describing a person or maybe even another animal, as being nice, the word 'flink' can definitely be used correctly. Correct translation is very often a matter of context.

[@TorchwoodPandP]

Adifferent word would be ‘rar’. Just dont use ‘rar’ in Sweden or Norway - there it just means strange.

[@poull.sivebaekjensen4058]

@@mikeyb2932 you is correct, but you cannot describe animals and stationary objects as 'flink'.

[@mikeyb2932]

@Poul L. Sivebaek Jensen I did not mention stationary objects, but you can identify an animal as 'flink' i.e. "han er sådan en flink hund". Actually anything that is being Anthropomorphised can be identified as 'flink'. I.e objects being Anthropomorphised in a cartoon.

[@poull.sivebaekjensen4058]

@@mikeyb2932 It's a narrow definition, but I'll grand you that you can use it in a few cases of 'humanising' of animals or other objects. However it is a rare construct outside the odd cartoon. In all other cases I have seen no evidence of usages beyond what I already have explained.

[@tommyhammer]

Love your videos. Keep it up. Dane here, located in Singapore. Can easily related to these issues. Guess you guys will have a blast with Middelfart...Middel-fart 😂

[@JaninaSejer]

We may not use it as much, but "flink" in Danish does mean nice. So you are actually correct. 😊😁

[@mikeyb2932]

Just to clarify though - 'nice' does not always translate correctly to 'flink' - it is a matter of context.

[@nickhansen7301]

Only about a person, meaning friendly. Things or phenomena can't be flink. (Like someone else already pointed out in another comment.)

[@Bjowolf2]

@@nickhansen7301 En elektrisk sikring kan faktisk godt være "flink", men lige der betyder det "hurtig" / "kvik" 😉

[@Cnith]

I knew of Carol Burnett by name, but had no idea she was such a big deal to you Americans. Speaking of her, yesterday I watched a restored clip from a panel show from 1961, she was in. She and 3 other panelists had to guess this crazy story about 2 guests on the show, that were sisters, whose grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War. "Sisters' Grandfather Was a Soldier in the American Revolutionary War - Restored Video/Audio" - is the full name of the vid if you wanna take a peek at a 1961 version of her.

[@ZanciiiC]

Haha 😂 I had the exact incident with the door locking! End up troubling neighbors and my landlord on a Sunday afternoon… very embarrassing 🙈

[@Majse0812]

When I lived in the US I had a good laugh about "Snyder" potato chips!! 🤪🤣

[@Bjarne_Duelund]

Congrats with the modules. Making mistakes when speaking foreign is just a way to learn more, it happen for us all. Br

[@warlorddk2070]

Im gonna write this in danish to help you practice. 😁 Kan i ikke lave en del 2 om det her emne? Der var så sjovt at høre om fejl og sjove misforståelser. :)

[@leftyme4568]

You have so many Danish viewers....I think you connected pretty good.

[@TheDestillers]

Flink translates more closely to friendly than nice, but it's sort of interchangable. It is a word in the danish language though so you were not too far off!

[@peterfireflylund]

In older books (such as the Jan books) it clearly means “well-behaved” rather than friendly or nice. It could also mean “good” in the sense of “competent”: “en flink elev”.

[@helgegrelck2394]

Speaking of Pop-culture and culture… I am a Dane and I speak English, German and Swedish. One of the greatest treasures I have got through these languages is to know of the culture from other nations. Be open minded and you will experience the same in Denmark :)

[@piscesrealityubiquitous2278]

Tillykke med jeres eksaminer 🎉🇩🇰 👏

[@torbenlarsen331]

You didn't have to pay the parking ticket. If the parking instructions are written in Danish and you don't understand Danish you don't need to pay. I have experienced this with my German girlfriend she also got one and I drove back to the supermarket and explained that since the sign wasn't in German you can't blame her. The manager of the supermarket agreed and cancelled the ticket.

[@joenthesaorgian]

A polite manager that was ...

[@Simpopcorn]

Congrats/tillykke on passing the tests 🎊😃

[@-cj-3729]

On shop’s opening hours; it was much worse back in the 80’s, where all shops closed at 5:30 PM mon-thu, at 7 PM on fridays, 12am sat and totally closed on sundays.

[@JEmmertz]

Massive congrats on the exams! Tillykke!

[@helleunderlienkristensen2125]

'Flink' can mean nice, but I guess it might depend on the dialect. I'm from Northern Jutland, and I grew up using it like that.

[@hmbp100]

you are now part of my fam. so please stay in dk. love you.

[@maikenvl]

How do you feel about the tap water in America after living in Denmark? That was really weird to me the first time I was in America. The tap water (and even ice cubes in restaurants) taste like swimming pool water 🤢 In Denmark the water is like bottled water - not like chlorine.

[@The_Keeper]

To be fair, the water in Copenhagen, Aarhus, and other major cities *does* have a "poolwater" taste to me. Might be because I'm a country bumpkin...

[@maikenvl]

@@The_Keeper true. But nothing like Florida. Even bottled or canned coke from there tasted like swimming pool (unless it was imported)

[@Zhiperser]

@@maikenvl It varies wildly depending where you are. Florida heavily treats their water, typically you can filter it or let it chill in the fridge for a few hours to help get rid of that.

[@destinodk]

i remember something about the british royal family visiting copenhagen and the hotel had to change the lights in the elevator because they said "i fart" ( in motion in dainsh)

[@denmark98]

Congrats on your language certifications!! I🎉 all the humour and culture is in the language

[@SigneKristineHermind]

The word "Fart" in Danish means "Speed", which is probably why you see many "fart signs" in Denmark. It means there is a speed limit on that road. A fart is called "en prut" in danish.

[@deepakdeb9892]

I moved to Finland . I too had similar thought for first few years that am here only for a while so why spend little time I had into learning a language ;)

[@birkebk9527]

Another great video guys and cool perspective on the language / culture thing - totally agree Humor can seem very different too - and just because countries are close to each other doesn’t mean they always understand the humorous part of the culture. My personal experience having lots of Latin-American friends and connections, surprised me how similar it is to the Danish humor. Im corious about your view on humor in general in Denmark - I guess its similar to the US, maybe a bit more lame and sarcastic, I dont know. Cheers ✌️🇩🇰

[@Gissedk]

Flink is a danish word... it does means nice if it concerns another persons social skills with other if they are nice.

[@renevw5812]

Hi,we are from The Netherlands and also want to move to Denmark. Hopefully finding work around Aalborg. I am searching for people in Denmark who can help me finding work in region Nord Jylland. Past month i had my vacation nearby Blokhus and it felt like coming home (for real) and we were really depressed leaving Denmark. So we booked another vacation at the end of October. I now work for a ERP company as an projectmanager and still a bit as senior business consultant. But since 3 months we now are learning Danish from Duolingo, KZbin, Instagram and a book. Now for someone from The Netherlands , reading is not that difficult, pronounciation a bit harder, writing depends but been spoken to, that is really hard. I always asked people to talk slow to me. I want to learn. So i always start with: Undskyld, jeg komme fra holland og min dansk er ikke sa godt. Kan du tale langsomt, tak. At the bakery in Pandrup, there was a lady saying i was understandable, i was like .....YES ! On the other hand, by ordering a icecream with tre kugler she went English.

[@peterfireflylund]

You are going to have fun with “blødt d” vs -l… “adel”, “ædel”, “adle”, … the distinction between a/e/æ can also be difficult for the Dutch… and then there’s the usual stuff about not aspirating p/t/k enough and saying /f/ every time you see a v. One more thing that’s typical Dutch - which most of you are not aware of - is the Dutch tendency to nasalize certain vowels, such as in “completely”, “compare”, “contain”. Don’t nasalize anything when you speak Danish, it confuses us. Using the wrong gender for a noun is usually not a problem - but if you want to use pronouns such as den/det/denne/dette to refer back to something, then it is a problem if you don’t have the genders down pat. As for jobs: I hope you are on jobindex.dk already… try it-jobbank.dk as well.

[@renevw5812]

@@peterfireflylund Thank you very much for this information i will look at the job websites. Originally i come from the province Zeeland (bit local farmers land). And what i noticed. The more i speak locally (Zeeuws dialect) the better my Danish sounds. The dialect i speak is more inside the mouth (if you know what i mean, we swallow a lot of the end of words). And Zeeuws is close to Frisian. And Frisian is close to German and Danish. The wrong gender, totally agree. And try to pronounce rødgrød med fløde right :)

[@brostenen]

The good part, is that Dutch is this mix of german, danish, english and more. That is, when I hear it as a Dane. So in a way you kind of have the advantage here, in learning Danish. And you will never run out of black salty licorice too.... 😉 Anyway. There is a lack of skilled workers in the industry as of now. But I really dont know were in Denmark the lack is greatest. The biggest issue now, is to find a place that is affordable. As you know. Electricity and heating is going up. My advice is to take your time and perhaps do it next year. Prices on heating and electricity need to go down first.

[@hrxify]

I allways tell colleagues that Dutch is easy to read. Its a mix of Danish, German and English!

[@ebbhead20]

Also, Carol Burnet is a 60s and 70's star really. She blew up in 58. And i watched her as a kid on german tv in the 70's. Dont recall her from anything 80's.

[@JuhlHolsegaard]

Had to host for a couple of friends' Airbnb and one couple called me immediately after I had let them in telling me that they couldn't lock the door. That was when I realised that those locking mechanisms weren't common 😅

[@Limmosee]

Josh If you make that IG account, you definitely have to snap a pic of Middelfart Turistfart (Bus company), if you ever drives past them😂

[@Valjean666dk]

Flink is a Danish word, that kinda translates to nice. It just isn't used much, to my knowledge. I think a better translation is "helpful" and sometimes "raised well". I can't recall an English word for having been raised well.

[@nemecec01]

Flink is a broad term describing one of a person’s persona. Has different meanings however; like “kind”, “well behaved”; “one that is a good student/ person doing his chores” are examples I from the top of my head can come up with. Thanks for an interesting video. Enjoy your day 🙂

[@Majse0812]

How can you not know who Carol Burnet is. Haven't they seen "Anni"????😳🤪🤣 So funny to hear your experiences, they remind me of my time in the USA. 😃😄😉

[@jandideriksen7847]

@Miranda: Cheasy is pronounced cheesy so that should be very easy to say. 🙂About "Flink" You can say He is nice and translate that to: Han er flink. A lot of things can be nice (nice weather) etc. but "flink" has to be a living thing man, woman, dog etc. (I think)

[@klavshenriksen7113]

About taking stuff personal when moving... I moved to the UK a decade ago and would invite people over for dinner (as a Dane at a specific time) and thought it was very impolite when they just turned up at some point after the agreed time. Still have to remind myself that 19:00 isn't 19:00 but 7pm'ish..

[@TheChiefEng]

Many old lifts in Denmark usually had two indicating lights. One simply said HER basically telling you that the lift was now here at your level and you could open the door to the lift. The other light would read I FART which basically means that the lift was in motion. It should not be difficult to imagine the amazement from English speaking people when they discovered this. One of the hardest things in the world is to befriend Danes but please don't think it's personal. It's just our culture. If you simply just stay yourself and mingle with Danes as much as possible, you will eventually succeed. Danes are usually extremely loyal when it comes to real friends. When you have first succeeded becoming friends with a Dane, you have a friend for life. It's hard but it's worth it.

[@spyro257]

i have a question, same as i asked Robe Trotting, what do u think of the service, when out eating, in Denmark? do u think it's bad service, do u miss the hovering of waiters, asking u "how's the food" every 5min, or have u become more Danish, where hovering waiters is just anoying and u wanna spend 3-4 hours, enjoying the food and atmosphere, with minimal interruptions?

[@andersej]

The door handle thing is a classic. I have only a vague idea of who Carol Burnett is, but as a casual (US) football fan, I know the concept of a Hail Mary. But, again as a casual football fan, the billion dollar industry that is college football is quite amusing to me. I always end up picturing a Danish version of college football: Tonight's game is the classic rivalry game of the Geeks of RUC Roskilde vs the Nerds of DTU Lyngby, and imagining a packed stadium etc...

[@duckmcduck007]

"Flink" does mean "nice". A flink person is a pleasant helpful sort of person, like that neighbour who greets you with a smile, and is happy to lend you a hand or power tools or a cup of sugar. Flink only applies to people however... you can't say what flinkt weather we're having :D

[@MedicGoat]

I think I learned what a 'hail mary' was from 'Married with children' from the early 90s. Pretty sure Al Bundy would use that term. -Also I think you'd pick it up when you hear it in most context.

[@mizzoutigger]

I learned the joy of fart through a German friend many years ago. I get you! And it was also via......fart wagon

[@anettesnderskov8480]

Tillykke med jeres danskeksaminer 🎉

[@MIB_63]

I'm a native Dane who have been subscribing to your videos for about a year. My fiance is an American citizen who lives in Los Angeles. She plans to move here at some point and have watched many of your videos too. She likes Denmark but finds the Danish language difficult like I guess most foreigners do. Personally I find her accent quite sexy and charming.

[@Litvan]

Speaking of parking tickets. One year I was celebrating Christmas with some family in Roskilde, and my cousin bought her dad one of those automated parking-timers. Very next day, first thing in the morning, he goes downstairs to install the thing. Later in the day, we went "shopping" to return some presents (wrong size clothes, colour ect) and we parked at a parking garage. When we returned to the car, lo n behold, a parking ticket. The parking-timer adhesive hadn't been strong enough, so it had fallen down onto the floor of the car, and thus, boom, ticket. I just looked at my cousin and said "Best Christmas present EVER! It's the gift that just keeps on giving!" while laughing my ass off. She just looked mortified :D

[@annemargrethe3626]

'Flink' is absolutely a danish word. It means nice, but ONLY about a person. You could also say 'rar' or 'venlig' 👍🤗

[@thomasbarnes2275]

My dad would laugh out loud, every time he saw the sign in the elevator saying "I fart" (in movement)... ha ha :D

[@thegoofydane]

Congrats with your passed exams. Now that you are talking about immigration, I´ve just say, that I think you are doing an amazing job. I talk to a lot of foringers, and then they ask about Denmark. I referer them to your KZbin page, because you are some of the best representative of our country I know of.

[@Drikkerbadevand]

I know what a hail mary is and even use it myself and I never heard where it came from

[@Valjean666dk]

You will probably have noticed that in Denmark, pretty much any useful job here, is respected. Parking attendant is not considered one of those.

[@jrnmller1551]

Your friend at work was proberly younger!!! Older danes will know Carol Burnett since the Lucy Show was sent on danish TV, maybe research which programs were running on Danish TV long time ago (Dean Martin show/Laredo/Lucy Show etc.etc)

[@citizenkane4831]

Congratulations to your exam´s I hope you soon will pass to level 4 Josh. There are other product words we don´t understand why they are so funny when one english speaking are confronted with them for the first time. Take the chocolate made by Cloetta, Plopp. For instance

[@filosof2408]

In a way, 'flink' does mean nice, but we only use it when describing a person, who is friendly and polite. "En flink ung mand" (A nice/polite young man) would be correct. Calling a cake 'flink' would be wrong. 🙂

[@pergotfredsen4681]

When in the late sixties and early seventies new US exchange students arrived at my school every year in July, nobody were allowed to speak English to them except in English class. By Christmas every one of them spoke, wrote and read danish. No special treatment what so ever.

[@TheKIMANO]

I really like your reflections on trying to adapt to living in Denmark. Even though Danes have thoughts about our own country, we could be more or less blind to the real picture. I watch a lot of these videos to get wiser on Danes' impact on the world. From some of these videos, I get the impression that Danes are considered "cold" or hard to befriend. Maybe this applies to most Scandinavians but I wonder if respect for private space is sometimes misunderstood as being cold. To interact with a "stranger" requires a special circumstance or really good or bad weather. Respect for private space in a Scandinavian context is the opposite of being rude, but I do understand that it may be viewed in another way by people from around the world. From the videos, I frequently studie I get the impression that once you unlock this little bit of Scandinavian or Danish culture a lot of things get easier. Learning Danish must be a nightmare since many Danes are pretty good at English and we tend to cut the crap and be direct when the issue that we talk about is more important than the language used for the purpose. Even though a lot of Danes have a very proud sense of a "danish" culture we are actually very very good at adapting to the world around us. And there is a reason for that,- Denmark is a very small country and if we were not that good to adapt we wouldn't exist! ;-). 1/4 of Danish words are actually danish and the rest is Latin, German, or English. A Dane traveling back 300 years in time wouldn't be able to understand a fellow danish citizen. To hear a language remotely similar to old Danish you would have to travel to Island and very few Danes understand what they are saying :-). Would you consider sharing your thoughts about Democracy and the parties in Denmark? Although you´re not able to vote for a general election in Denmark but only for Region og Kommunalvalg, you might have some thoughts on that topic ;-).

[@Shifu56]

Congratulation with the danish test. 👏 Carol Burnett like in Carol Burnett & Julie Andrews?

[@rorschak47]

I've wanted to ask for a while, what is on the poster with the moon and the owl?

[@TravelinYoung]

It is from a Gregory Alan Isakov concert, very good musician! He’ll be at DR Koncerthuset in October.

[@SkaegSkater]

I'm moving to DK soon and can't find any good resources for the language. Any suggestions of where to start?

[@TravelinYoung]

Start with Duolingo for basics and when you get to DK talk to your commune about the free courses you can take.

[@theco1987]

Flink does mean nice. But more in the meaning of; kind, helpful or accommodating to others.

[@thorfischer-olsen6504]

I love Hellerup Station elevators which have the "I fart" status.

[@danishgirl4781]

Are you serious about “fart” signs? I am half Danish in central USA, and my dad was full Danish. All of your information is sooo interesting!

[@ane-louisestampe7939]

Congrats on the Danish exams! Josh, don't waste time on "if" this or that. Just learn to say: Hvis og hvis min røv var spids, så ku' jeg skide i en flaske! - and move on to level 4 🤣

[@MrFtoudalk]

Tillykke med resultaterne!!

[@spyro257]

i saw an American trying to buy milk, a long time ago, but when i saw him grab an A38, i had to stop him, only coz i knew he was from USA, the accent, and had absolutely no idea, of what he was doing... i kindly told him the differences and all he was like "wow ty... that's confusing tho, they should have a different packing for it"...

[@nicolaiblaze8584]

i still have trouble with doors sometimes....

[@Scruples4444]

You look happy and content. which is what lots of danes want out of life. 🙂and yes it looks like you have integrated well. 🙂

[@KHValby]

Many years ago Queen Elisabeth II (may she rest in peace), visited CPH. Now back then, elevators would often show a small sign, when you pressed the call button. "I Fart" 🤣(basically just meaning "running"in this case). They actually changed the sign, in the building, she visited. True story. Yeah! Driving on the highways here, you'll a lot of "Fart limit" signs 🤣🤣🤣, but in those cases Fart signs, tell you what the speed limit is! Joshua! Your not 12 any longer 😆😆😆 ! I just LOVE your stories 😍😍😍 !!

[@antenna5726]

Was driving with my ex husbands American relatives, when the phone alerted: FART KONTROL😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 They were crying laughing🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@KenJepsen]

Can we please have a video in Danish, and lissen to your skils ? ;-)

[@TC-by3il]

Rar and flink could both reasonably be translated as nice. Don't quite understand what the issue with flink was.

[@kristofferkraghvandyk4896]

i think its like "that's nice" where flink doesn't fit

[@amberalysonRIP]

you are nice - could be Du er flink - but this is nice - can't be Det er flink - I would say that Flink are more like Kind then Nice

[@mortenbork6249]

Flink is "formally nice" allowing someone to visit your home, being polite, etc. Rar is more caring, being a caring person, that allows people to feel at ease.

[@TC-by3il]

@@kristofferkraghvandyk4896 Ahh, yeah in that context it wouldn't work! There's not really a direct translation for when something is nice, which is probably why we use the word nice so much in Danish as well. But if a person is nice, then "han er flink" works.

[@amberalysonRIP]

@@TC-by3il But you could also use "He is NICE" as in "He is cool" and then Flink would not work again

[@tw418]

Congrats on passing your exams 🌸

[@srirachagodzilla]

OMG my first time trying to buy corn starch I absolutely bought corn meal by mistake 😂😂

[@TravelinYoung]

Ha I still get mixed up about if I need majsmel or majsgryn when I make cornbread at home