The 5 Stages of Learning Danish as a Foreigner (ft. Conrad Molden)

The 5 Stages of Learning Danish as a Foreigner
#denmark #danish #danmark
With Conrad Molden in the studio, we decided to have some fun and explain the five stages of learning Danish that every foreigner in Denmark goes through. Of course, this is all a bit satirical and fun, but we weave our real experiences throughout.
Buried in all the laughs and parody are a lot of good tips about learning Danish and some humorous stories from our experiences. Of course, learning Danish isn't impossible, but it's definitely not easy for foreigners in Denmark.
We discuss the false confidence that apps like DuoLingo give you, how Danes react to non-Danes trying to learn the language, and Conrad's method for avoiding Danish altogether.
Thank you to @ConradMolden for contributing to this video and joining us on our podcast! Don't forget to watch the full episode out now on all podcast platforms!
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Chapters:
intro 0:00 - 0:22
stage 1 0:22 - 1:23
stage 2 1:23 - 2:44
stage 3 2:44 - 5:51
stage 4 5:51 - 6:51
stage 5 6:51 - 7:39
bonus tips 10:16 - 12:31

[@RobeTrotting]

🔥Listen to the full 2-part podcast episode with Conrad here ➡ linktr.ee/robetrotting or search What Are You Doing in Denmark wherever you stream your podcasts

[@Bjowolf2]

They are NOT laughing at you! - they are laughing WITH you in sympathy with all your efforts and understandable problems. Please don't give up just because of a grin and a smile from a Dane - sometimes you do actually say hilarious things or get similarly sounding words mixed up, but we really mean no harm by it 😊

[@RobeTrotting]

It's only "laughing with" if we're also laughing. If we're actually trying our best, it's immensely discouraging. I know it's different online than in real life where you can actually hear someone's tone and context, but it's why we won't do any videos in Danish tbh.

[@Bjowolf2]

​​@@RobeTrottingI am very sorry to hear that 😢 Please don't let our stupid grins and "clever" remarks discourage you - I guess we are just assuming that you are in on it and able to see the funny side of it. We often screw up in English as well, especially since there are so many very tempting direct basic words for very similar basic words "translations", which often come out as sheer nonsense or having very different meanings in English 😂 For instance "skrue op" [skroo-e up] ( to turn up something), which is unfortunately not the same thing as "screw up" 🙄😂

[@mr.fisher3379]

@@RobeTrotting it might be a culture clash - in Danish culture we root (and laugh) with the underdog. You've talked about this earlier about our sarcasm and irony, and this is also a part of a bit of tough love comedy. We surely will only like you more if you mess up. it's very anti American, (I love you guys, don't take it the wrong way) to laugh at someone's shortcomings, but it's a part of Danish culture to take pride in humility. We certainly do not do it to discourage you, even though it feels like that because you guys were brought up in a country were people mostly laughed at you to discourage you, not with you. This episode was great! Conrad is a good match for your energy, keep it up!

[@Pchlster]

​@@RobeTrotting Sorry about that. We do sometimes laugh when someone messes up pronunciation, but it's generally not meant to be laughing at the person, more at what happened. I remember a "joke book" when I was a kid about our elected representatives, what they had said in English as opposed to what they had meant; a female minister standing on the podium and explaining that she's at the beginning of her period, when she should have said at the beginning of her term brings laughs, sure, but I don't think anyone thought less of her for a slip-up. And we know Danish is hard to learn. And we might joke at the absurdity at that to a foreigner without realizing it might come off as off-putting. The classic childrens "Får får får?" "Nej, får får lam" exchange is impenetrable to someone who doesn't know that those three "får" words are all different in that sentence, despite being spelled and pronounced exactly the same. If I happen to run into you guys some day, you'll get an "undskyld" from here.

[@ninarudbeckmolberg2290]

agreed! sometimes we laugh to try to lighten up the situation and show foreigners not to worry too much about little pronunciation mistakes. But I can see why the effect could be the opposite. or if the word you said sounded like a dirty word... danes are very childish when it comes to naughty words... :)

[@jaynorris3722]

Danish language, in my opinion, is such a beautiful sounding language. It's just wonderful. I could listen all day to it, I'd not understand a single word, but just listening is good and make me happy.

[@williamjones4716]

Traumatic brain injury, eh?

[@Bjowolf2]

You would be totally amazed by how many very similar basic words we have in D compared with their English counterparts - even though you "poor" E speaking folks unfortunately can't hear it straight away typically, when they are being spoken quickly. There are also many grammatical similarities between our two languages, so all in all E is actually a fairly easy language to learn for Danes - and the other Scandinavians with their very similar languages - , since we as if by magic already "know" half of the basics of E in advance - like some sort of a mysteriously parallel world of a simplistic older English so to speak 😉 Some examples: D Skal vi [ve] gå [go] ud [ooð] igen [ee-gain] nu [noo*] for at finde min [meen] fader [fað-er !], så (at) han kan se din [deen] fine [feen-e] nye [ne(w)-e] hund [hoon*]? E Shall ( OE sceal ! ) we go out again now (for) to find my father, so that he can see your / thine fine new dog / hound? D Hvad [vað] vil du ( orig. "thu" !) give dem først [first] fra os [us]? E What will you / thou give them first from us? D Jeg [yigh] kan se en åben [o-ben] dør [dur] i(n) [ee*] det [de'] lille hvide hus [hoos] under det [de'] høje [hoygh-e] birke-træ [ beer-ke - trai*]. E I can see an open door in the little white house under the tall / "high" birch tree. D Vi kan sende alle {v}ore gode kager over til ham [hAm] i England næste [nest-e] sommer, så han kan have en god tid der [dair]. We can send all our ( OE ure ! ) good cakes over to him in England next summer, so he can have a good time / "tide" there. ... And so on and on 😉

[@michaelburggraf2822]

​@@Bjowolf2that's looking really amazing to me as a German. It's quite like an alternative route from German to English via Dutch. What appears to be obskure by looking at Dutch might become obvious by looking at Danish. Except for the parts of English derived from French or latin.

[@Bjowolf2]

@@michaelburggraf2822 Yes, and there are also a lot of mutual or borrowed words with / from German - mainly from Low German - that are now typically just slightly distorted with respect to their spelling. It's typically the bigger non-Latin words ( umulig = unmöglich, forsvinde = verschwinden, overtage / "overtake" (take over) = übernehmen ( loan translation), overgive = übergeben, angribe = angreifen, undersøge = untersuchen, oversætte = übersetzen, overdrive = übertreiben, formidle = vermitteln etc. ). If you check out our public service TV DR, which has many programmes with selectable subtitles in Danish, you will probably be amazed by how much you are able to understand directly or guess without too much effort - and the grammar is even a lot simpler than that of German, a bit along the lines of that of English in many respects.

[@Bjowolf2]

dr dk / DRTV

[@ConradMolden]

👋 Thank you so much for having me! 🤩

[@evavitola3961]

Det var så lidt! Selv tak🤣

[@Purplefishish]

You guys are developing such a good dynamic. This was very funny

[@RobeTrotting]

Thank you so much! 😊 It's always a breeze with Conrad though, but the new format is really nice and we're enjoying creating videos and the podcast this way.

[@dbussa81]

You guys are the best I am in Esbjerg would love meet up with guys for a coffee

[@janlindtner305]

A little tip, when you speak Danish, do it slowly, don't be in a hurry, savor the words and people won't ask so much "hvad siger du? sig det igen!"

[@spyro257]

i was born in Skagen, raised in Århus, live in Esbjerg, and been to København many times, but i cant understand people from Bornholm...

[@BenjaminVestergaard]

Det eeneste ordr du behøver kjenne er knoldert. 😉

[@sifrasmussen2315]

Do as Conrad says and mix it up, and then just say. We are practising for the Julekalender. Everyone loves the Julekalender.

[@RobeTrotting]

Yes 🙌🏼 it’s hard to be a nisseman

[@Bjowolf2]

Yez, we speak Danglish very vel her 😂

[@thomasbarnes2275]

I had a German customer, a priest, who moved to Denmark just to learn to read the original language that Søren Kierkegaard wrote in. Respect! It always makes me think that I too should read Kierkegaard, now that I am Dane 🙂

[@Summer_and_Rain]

It is not that easy to read XD but there are some fun stuff you can use in conversations later ;)

[@birterasmussen9479]

Lidt sjovt, at I siger, at kun danskere kan høre de forskellige dialekter af det danske sprog - for lige efter peger I jo selv på nogle danske dialekter (sønderjysk og jysk fra Nordjylland).... Så der beviste I da, at I faktisk kan mere, end I selv tror! 👍 Det er godt gået - bare hæng i, så kommer det 😊👍

[@RS-fy9hb]

Jeg har selv haft skulle lære trykfordeling, og udtalelse af det danske sprog, idét jeg kommer fra Færøerne, og flyttede efter 9. klasse til en efterskole hvor jeg havde konstant kontakt med og brug af det danske sprog, og selv der tog det mig flere måneder at få ordentlig styr på det, således at det ikke var svært at snakke med folk længere, men jeg havde stadig en accent, og der var allerede med al den hjælp du overhovedet kan få med at lære selve sproget xD. Det er ikke umuligt, men så snart man begynder at trække sig tilbage fordi det bliver svært, er det op ad bakke med at lære udtalelsen. Men jeg kan dog forestille mig, at hovedstads området nok er lidt nemmere, fordi du ikke er i konstant kontakt med 10 lidt forskellige dialekter samtidig. Hvis man som udlænding tænker at lære dansk, skal man nok starte med ret så små mål, specielt når det kommer til udtalelse.

[@domenico26752]

As a Sicilian I can assure you that it is pretty normal to be able to pinpoint the exact city from which someone comes from, if you are from a small country/region with a strong and ancient culture. In the northeastern part of Sicily you need to travel only 15 km to hear a change in accent, and moving 50 Km is already enough to have different words being used (example: Pitone becomes Pidone, when moving from Milazzo to Messina. Those two words are a variation of the calzone). I can tell you for sure this happens in Switzerland too. To be honest I am quite surprised this is not the case in England too.

[@williamjones4716]

It is the case of England, and there are still regional accents, of course everyone points to East London's Cockney accent, moreover the power of Liverpool pop music may have helped to blend regional accents a bit. My Vest Vendelbo Danish father-in-law, who could not speak English, said he could understand Gaelic Scots fishermen.

[@Gert-DK]

I have noticed, that newcomers are best at Danish, when they talk about something they rally care of. Then the Danish word are flowing like "skidt fra en spædekalv".

[@RobeTrotting]

Yeah, I definitely did that and probably said things in a very awkward manner - like a very long string of simple words because my vocabulary was small 😂

[@ThomasVSGyldborg]

My parents have an american friend who actually speaks danish, so whenever anybody talks with her it starts in Danish, but somehow during every conversation it switches to English and you never notice when it happened. Suddenly you just realize that you are speaking english for no reason what so ever.

[@RobeTrotting]

I'm guessing it's because she has some sort of accented Danish, but I don't know. Maybe she's just using Conrad's trick though LOL

[@muhest]

One of the sadder things about grown ups learning a new/other language is the shame. We are so aware *not* to make mistakes and make fools of ourselves, that we often times, don’t even try. I’ve said it before, and will say it again. If you move to another country … get your firstjob to be among small children. I’m talking about children who are themselves learning to speak. They have absolutely no hidden agendas in correcting you if you misspoke. Because in a childs world: That’s not the name for it! Whereas an adults world is: That’s not the name for it (idiot).

[@williamjones4716]

Well said.

[@celeluwhen]

Yes! And often children will speak about things that are painfully obvious, and extremely useful if you're learning. Yes, please go on for 15 more minutes about the contents of your sandwich, I'm taking notes over here!

[@sole129]

All 3 of you guys are a bonus for the rest of us:)

[@RobeTrotting]

🥰♥️🇩🇰 mange tak

[@williamjones4716]

You might try reading Danish newspapers and magazines in adjunct to your language class. My AOF and FOF language classes in Hjørring were crap, but reading the in-law's daily JP and weekly gossip magazines added immeasurably to my vocabulary. Had you a Danish farmwife mother-in-law, the opportunity to discuss sensational lille land crime stories is an opportunity not to be missed. 🤣 Under the circumstances we'll leave out the added benefit of reading Miss Solskin captions.

[@cashonly8385]

I leave for Copenhagen in 2 days. Back in January I picked up Duo Lingo to start learning Danish. I spent about 2 months with it. I got the section where I learned “Taler du Engelsk?” And found acceptance. Thank you, your videos have been good for preparing for Copenhagen!

[@icelandicshtuff7750]

I'm Irish and I learned Danish through online classes in about 2 and a half years - the best confidence boost I ever got was when I went into a computer shop on my first trip to Copenhagen and the guy spoke Danish back to me! I just passed PD3 in May/June btw. Love Conrad's shows and I must have seen all Mike and Derek's videos, cheers guys

[@Summer_and_Rain]

must have felt good :) I mostly speak danish to foraners if I feel they will understand it or if I know it is the only language we both can understand. Middle easterns often only do danish, which is also why they pick it up so well :)

[@mobomouse]

I first thought that you were mobbing poor Conrad with the “røde” label on the mic stand, but later I discovered that all of them have the label 😂 Keep up the good work. Great to hear about your experiences in DK with a twist 😊

[@RobeTrotting]

🤣😂 Oh yes, they’re an Australian company that makes microphones but the founder liked the way an Ø looked instead of an O 🙈 cultural appropriation haha. It is fun to pronounce Conrad’s name with a soft D though.

[@saalllmmmmaaaa]

Is mobbing bullying in danish? Cuz mobbing is also german haha :)

[@whitelucifax6700]

First of all, we have the oldest flag, I doubt you're gonna outwait our language. Second, I don't know a whole lot about learning languages, but I have heard that if you want to get used to thinking in a certain language, you gotta make everything you can into that language, sounds, texts, etc. I'd suggest you try out reading some books, translate what you need when you come to them, and later on it might be easier to read. If you want to, I'd suggest "Den Store Djævlekrig", great book series.

[@RobeTrotting]

It’s not the oldest flag, flags existed long before 1219 😉

[@whitelucifax6700]

"Denmark's national flag Denmark's national flag is the world's oldest and longest-running flag. In 1625, the current design of a white Scandinavian cross on a red background was established, and the square shape was adopted in 1748. The 'Dannebrog' or 'Danish cloth' is how it's known in Denmark.. " ^^@@RobeTrotting

[@RobeTrotting]

@@whitelucifax6700 oldest national flag that's been in continuous use is different than your original statement that it's "the oldest flag". Flags were used long before the Dannebrog - even current national flags that had have not been in continuous use, like the Japanese flag.

[@HXTz0]

The advice I've been given is: Learn the accent first, otherwise your brain won't be playing the music. Speaking Spanish, Danish, English, and German, and having lived in Germany for a long time I still find German the most difficult and I think it comes down the accent mixing too much with Danish so I end up mixing Danish grammar into it more often, which is horrific to Germans!

[@RobeTrotting]

On summer holiday in Spain we were mixing danish and Spanish words and just confusing everyone we talked to 😂

[@Bjowolf2]

@@RobeTrotting Danish / Spanish - big deal 😂

[@Bjowolf2]

It's amazing that ze Germans are able to communicate at all with zeire notorious grammar 😂

[@pallew]

Great video :)

[@RobeTrotting]

Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@ebbhead20]

Dereks pronunciation of ØL was tier ten. Cant fault it Derek. 😊

[@hw-art]

LOLOL!!! You just described the trials and tribulations of learning a new language very accurately. And the reactions you face are both a hindrance and a motivating factor. I met this woman in Maine who doubled over when I accidentally said "gunslasses" instead of "sunglasses" - and we still laugh about it. :-D

[@Summer_and_Rain]

most have been a fun moment :D sometimes laughing takes out the tension and lets you realized it is not dangerous to make mistakes, which then becomes the best time to try to speak more

[@SuiGenerisAbbie]

👍 I am enjoying reviewing your older videos from 2 years ago. Actually, I kind of miss your saying “Thank God, you’re here” at the start of each video. ❤

[@RobeTrotting]

Yeah, we scrapped it because some people took it as a literal religious statement 😂

[@SuiGenerisAbbie]

@@RobeTrotting 🤣🤣🤣. Damn are you serious??? Too funny, that!

[@Bjowolf2]

You can tell people from SW Sjælland by the way they pronounce certain vowels in a very dragged out and "quirky" way. For instance they will typically pronounce the word "æg" [aig] as [ai-ai-aiigg], as well as saying "ded" [deð] for "det" etc. 😂

[@Summer_and_Rain]

A jyde will use "træls" where others will use "irriterende" :) (træls/irriterende = means irritating)

[@ninirossau2304]

as a dane I am sorry. I am your problem. I am too damm lazy to try to understand what you are saying and switch to danish straight away. but when I am traveling alone I always find it difficult when I take the plane back home. I have to switch back to danish. some people are better at languages. my sister speaks british and american. I just speak english. she also speaks german and some french and italian. the best I can do is understand a tiny bit german and tell them I dont speak it. but you should keep trying, you will feel better as you understand more. but I dont have a good ear. I cant tell where in Denmark people come from unless I have lived there myself.

[@user-sy8oc5ov3h]

"switch to English straight away" you mean?

[@Summer_and_Rain]

My tip to learning any language, is to watch a shit ton of movies, series in that language. Because as time goes on you realize you need to say word in a specific way, by saying it and knowing "this is not right, let me try again". It seems that english speakers are struggeling to say endings in danish, which makes it almost impossible to know what you are saying. ending -"e" is REALLY importen, it does not go away like french -"e"s does. An example is the name: Jane. It is said very differently in danish then english, and if you do not end with the -e, it will become a different name: Jan. A lot of ending -"e"s use the same sound as the ending on "Jane". But even saying all this, It is freaking hard to learn a language.

[@jeremycline9542]

What stage is it when I realize at the very start I'll never be able to pronounce the soft -D- nor comprehend something called "stød"...but I'm gonna try anyway?

[@RobeTrotting]

That’s actually a part of all 5 stages 😂

[@RS-fy9hb]

Btw, speaking danish is supremely difficult xD. I grew up on Faroe Islands with mountains and mountains of danish entertainment media, books as well as being taught the language from third grade (maybe 2nd, I forgot), al throughout until you graduate, and even then, it took me a solid 3 to 4 months just to speak without TOO much of a noticeable accent, and I still, to this day, having lived in this country for almost 10 years, still get some sayings, or ordsprog wrong. And don't get me started on dialects xD. I live in Jylland, Viborg specifically, and if someone who speaks with too thick of an accent, I literally can't understand half of what they say. I have to intently listen, pick up on the inflections of the words that I do understand to piece together how he feels about the words, before I can try and stitch together a sentence I can understand xD. If you live in the capital region, this is a problem you're not particularly likely to run into, but if you move even just an hour to any direction in Jylland, you'll almost find that it's an entirely different language. I realize this comment is a little dystopian 😅, but the problems I specifically ran into, wasn't about being difficult to understand when speaking danish, but I struggled with assimilating my own accent into one that sounded something like a real danish accent, rather than an amalgation of all the languages I speak, and that process was really long, but I've met plenty of people whose danish I can perfectly understand, even if they have some type of accent, Eastern european being a typical example of that, sometimes french, but it does work. But removing the accent from the spoken language is extremely difficult xD.

[@Summer_and_Rain]

The media you listen to does a lot, when learning a language and maintaining it. I can barely remember any of the german I was tough in school, because it was the only place I heard german. I can understand Japanses pretty well just because of watching anime for years. English was the same. Now the issue becomes remembering the danish words for things, because almost all my time is spend in english or japanese (^^")

[@barabarakiss]

So relatable! As international itself in Denmark

[@michelleheegaard]

4:57 this was so f**cking funny 😂😂 100p. I always get surprised when i see the name of another '-styrelsen' that I have never heard of before

[@Lorentari]

Conrad was nearly right - You can mix in English into the Danish.. But you'll have to go all in. Like "Really" always turns into "fucking" - "Det er en fucking good idea"

[@RobeTrotting]

😂 so true

[@jaynorris3722]

I've been watching a show called "Sommerdahl Murders" on acorn channel. I don't understand a single word, but the places they film at are amazing. Maybe if I watch and rewatch and read subtitles I might get something from them.😁

[@belindamartin2908]

The reason the guy in 7-eleven speaks englush to you could be that he doesnt speak danish. They talk english to me too and my danish is excelent 😂

[@esteb6544]

The Duolingo fake confidence is so real haha

[@ekrajb]

Hva' snakker I om, mand? Dansk er kafteddermame det bedste sprog i verden, Det da' pis' næm å forstå. 😉 Røget ørred .. Bispens gips gebis .. Jeg plukker frugt med en brugt frugtplukker

[@evilsteph451]

Great video! Drinking usually helps the pronunciation :) and when in doubt, soften your consonants and speed up! You won't sound any worse

[@Gert-DK]

Conrad, hate to tell you, but the Danish language will not die out. It is a protected language in EU. Sorry to disappoint you 🙂

[@drumstick74]

Prøv dog at ha' lidt humoristisk sans. Han mente det som en joke!

[@Gert-DK]

@@drumstick74 Prøv dog at ha' lidt humoristisk sans. Det gjorde jeg også.

[@drumstick74]

@@Gert-DK Sådan opfattede jeg det ikke. :)

[@Gert-DK]

@@drumstick74 Indrømmet jeg kunne have brugt en smiley 🙄

[@BenjaminVestergaard]

One of my first mentors in my education was a British guy, had been in DK for perhaps 8 years, and he knew his Danish well enough to really speak fast when he delivered a shitfall to someone who effed up... I think his secret was that he didn't mind that people could clearly hear his English accent... he didn't waste time figuring out the difference between "om" and "hvis", he had the classic English accent. My experience is that many other English speakers try to obtain a perfect pronunciation today... Danes are quite familiar with the English accent, so the attempts to perfect the sound is actually more confusing to listen to. It's pretty much how you can get used to an Indian accent in English quite easily... Try listen to a Dane that's been to the US for ages, like Ole Henriksen, he does some of the classic English accent mistakes in rhythm and sound as well... and the general public will understand without trouble... Danes can anglify a name in a quarter of a second, if you dare to actually speak anglified Danish we can hear the letters you try to say much easier than if you try too hard.

[@BenjaminVestergaard]

I work with a whole bunch of internationals. Overheard a colleague trying to explain that having a name is something you do, to an Australian. The poor Australian focused too much on pronunciation rather than understanding the concept.

[@RS-fy9hb]

My own experience with learning danish pronounciation is also rather uninspiring xD. I grew up on Faroe Islands, and have been in direct contact with it for my entire life, and when I graduated from 9th grade, I transferred to an Efterskole. It literally took me 4 to 5 months, just to start sounding like a local, and I constantly kept making mistakes, and watching people trying to parse the broken accent was sometimes funny, and sometimes really fucking annoying xD. The written language is not that difficult, although sometimes there's a little too many exceptions to the rules, where I start to question the rules altogether, but it's manageable, but getting a local dialect correct, is nigh impossible, if you're not literally attempting it constantly all day. It took me months, and I already knew the language, and could spell the words better than essentially everyone else, because of the way we learn danish on Faroe Islands, yet getting the pronounciation, and rhythms / flow of the language was a constant struggle, and I still struggle with word choice and "ordsprog" xD. Danish is by no means easy to speak, and danes, even I, can instantly recognize an accent, to the point it's almost humorous :D.

[@BenjaminVestergaard]

@@RS-fy9hb I've known a few Faroese through my life, their Danish has been really good, to the point where I couldn't tell exactly what part of the country their dialects belong... and I grew up in the middle of jutland and could usually identify whether people came from up north, out west or down south, and of course Aarhus. It's in general been very close to 'rigsdansk which is a Zealand dialect without the extra syllables they tend to add to one syllable words (like e-en, to-o, tre-e)

[@pipkin5287]

Am I the only one getting mild anxiety on their behalf when I hear that they've been deleting messages from e-boks? Omggg 😂😅

[@holdermeddk]

The five stages of grief 🤩🤣

[@RobeTrotting]

😂 😆 😝

[@Joliie]

Moin is also goodbye, good morning, what is up, how are you doing, want a beer, any reference to the current weather and hello

[@williamjones4716]

But you only hear it uttered around the Tysk grænse.

[@mortenjrgensen9138]

who is that Conrad dude?? he is super funny!! but btw Danish is not that hard, the age of 3 i was speaking if fluid!! but maybe im a genius 🤣😅and im Swedish thanks for a great laugh guys 😂

[@nicklasdantes2471]

Yes, the easiest way to learn Danish is to learn Swedish and then speak with a potato in your mouth

[@RS-fy9hb]

Did you have a lot of contact with danish people growing up? Because in my own experience, getting the dialect and pronounciation correct in a sentence, so it doesn't sound like you're a foreigner, is supremely difficult. I grew up on Faroe Islands, and I've found it very difficult to actually assimilate the local accent for months on end when I first moved. And I've been in near constant contact with the language since childhood.

[@laustpeternielsen-norman9569]

But conrads danish is good. We are not laughing at you but with you❤

[@RobeTrotting]

Not if we aren’t laughing too. If we’re really trying our best, you’re laughing AT us and it’s really demoralizing.

[@RS-fy9hb]

Btw, when you're being corrected on pronounciation, you might want to check what accent they're trying to teach you, because there's a lot of people who consider any other accent but their own, or the capital one just simply wrong. In which case, learning the language at all will become extremely hard, because other people out in the country will literally become unintelligible. I have a difficult enough time as it is getting used to people whose accents I haven't heard in a long time as it is, so if you're being taught only one dialect, you do run the risk of not understanding anyone outside the capital region.

[@SuiGenerisAbbie]

Learning any foreign language is no mean feat. It is difficult! Guys, why not speak more Danish? Immerse yourself in your adopted country’s culture. It will never come to you. You have to go to it. Talking about how hard it is to speak Danish whilst speaking English is a bit counter-productive & counter intuitive. Practice really does make perfect. Please keep trying and insisting that people speak Danish to you. They will twig on. 😀 Conrad’s pronunciation is impressive actually.

[@barabarakiss]

Well, you have to take in mind about some life situations. You do not have a lot of time for learning. Kids, Jobs, Studies, trying to find danish friends, trying to not get crazy without your family here and on top of that maybe some other health problems or smth else. Life is so hectic and even though I try to do all those things which you mentioned, I am also left with deep sadness of ignorance or question: How long do you live here and why do you not speak danish???

[@barabarakiss]

Btw, Conrad is a fake international😀 cuz he has practise at home- danish wife😤😤😤😾😀

[@pipkin5287]

​@@barabarakissI'm a Dane trying to learn Japanese with all of those life factors mixed in, whilst not actually living in Japan. I've been studying it for ten or so years now, and I couldn't pass the Japanese Language Profeciency Test on the lowest level, even if I tried. Am I giving up just because it's hard and people don't yet understand me? Of course not! I'm passionate about learning it, and, looking back, I definitely *have* gotten better. Please be patient and kind to yourself. It's not a race. You will get better if you actually put in the effort, and I'm sure that there are people out there who'll want to help you out.

[@MaximDL1410]

@@pipkin5287👏✊💪

[@stagger5863]

This where very instructing, now do it in Danish 😄 Nah JK English are fine but do it in Danish 😉 *Edit* Funny that there are so meany Danish languages, you guys where talking about some of em, Fynsk, one of em try Sønderjysk, Bornholms are just 3 two of em, i as coming from Copenhagen, do understand Sønderjysk and Bornholms to some degree, but understand English much better

[@RobeTrotting]

Nej tak 😂

[@stagger5863]

@@RobeTrotting haha kom nu *(come on)* 😄

[@Bjowolf2]

So why do Danes think that English is fairly or even very easy to learn then? - as if we already "know" half of the basics of E in advance 😉 Surely you must be able to see the many deep similarities with English by now? 🤗

[@Jonassoe]

I've been in a room full of Danes where everyone was speaking English because there was an exchange student in the room, but when the exchange student left people forgot to switch back to Danish and just carried on in English.

[@williamjones4716]

Latin died out? Conrad was obviously not Oxbridge material. Sic transit gloria mundi.

[@plerpplerp5599]

Danish sounds like Swedish after a stroke 😂

[@24jh42]

Frustrated foreigners being annoyed they can not "master" a language that the locals basically just copies from others. Why is it en or et. Why does the word end in en og et? Because that is how the others around you say it, and we are to lazy or indifferent asking why.

[@jandamskier6510]

1. Hvorfor mon kan missionærerne fra Utah tale (ikke snakke) godt dansk? 2. Jeg ville gerne hjælpe de to københavnere, især mht udtale og betoning (jeg er pensioneret spansk- og engelsklærer) , men det går nok ikke, fordi det sikkert ville skulle foregå om aftenen = efter klokken seks.

[@RobeTrotting]

Not too sure about missionaries - I know a lot of Danish mormons moved to Utah in the 1800s though.

[@jandamskier6510]

@@RobeTrotting I am talking about the ones that are trying to make us convert to Mormonism

[@MK-vh9wz]

If you only, talk English every day, you will never learn the language. It's much easier than learn a new language, let the danes do that.😂

[@SunkenCathedral]

I passionately threw myself into Danish studies, but after 5 years I still have nothing to show for it. When Danish people talk, I still can't understand a *single* word. It's not a case of 'I understand some bits, but not others'. No, I can't even make out the individual worlds - any of them. Even though I have a vocabulary of over 2000 Danish words, and have gotten through thousands of hours of classes. It still just sounds like 'blah blah blah blah blah'. On top of that, I have become fatigued from 5 years worth of sneering, mocking, bullying and sometimes complete dehumanization that I've faced from Danes because I struggle with the language. Taking it all into account, learning Danish has undoubtedly been the single biggest waste of time in which I've ever been invested. From thousands of hours of hard work, I've gained absolutely zero ability to converse in the language, and yet I've lost a great deal of dignity and mental wellness to the bullies and naysayers along the way. The whole experience of moving to Denmark was presented as an upbeat, positive and supportive thing, but the reality is just so so different.

[@RobeTrotting]

Sorry you’ve been through all of that and it’s definitely relatable. The lack of grace you receive from not speaking perfectly is why I have little interest besides learning enough to pass necessary tests for residency when I’m eventually qualified.

[@dgh25]

danish is no worse than english, you have just as many idiotic spellings that dont make sense. Just keep speaking it. You will learn.

[@williamjones4716]

However English by and large pronounces consonants owing to its relation to old Saxon.