Dansk
Danish
Germanic
Also known as: Danish, Dansk
Danish (dansk) is a North Germanic language and the national language of Denmark; it is also widely taught and used for some official purposes in the Faroe Islands and Greenland, whose principal official languages are Faroese and Greenlandic respectively. Together with Norwegian and Swedish, it forms the mainland Scandinavian group, with substantial but uneven mutual intelligibility that is often greater in writing. Standard Danish uses the Latin alphabet with æ, ø, and å, and its official orthography is maintained by the Danish Language Council. Its grammar has verb-second order in main clauses, two grammatical genders, and definite suffixes on nouns. Danish phonology includes extensive vowel contrasts and reduction, while stød is a prosodic feature involving glottalization or voice quality; it is not the same as the separate “soft d” sound.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Danish
Water
vand
/vanˀ/
Fire
ild
/ilˀ/
Sun
sol
/soːˀl/
Moon
måne
/mɔːnə/
Star
stjerne
/ˈsdjɛɐ̯nə/
Mother
mor
/moɐ̯ˀ/
Father
far
/fɑːˀ/
I
jeg
/jɑ/
You
du
/du/
Name
navn
/nɑwˀn/
Eye
øje
/ʌjə/
Hand
hånd
/hɔnˀ/
Heart
hjerte
/jæɐ̯d̥ə/
Love
kærlighed
/kʰæɐ̯liheð̠ˀ/
Tree
træ
/tʁɛːˀ/
House
hus
/huːˀs/
Dog
hund
/hunˀ/
Cat
kat
/kʰæd̥/
Eat
spise
/sb̥iːsə/
Drink
drikke
/dʁɛɡ̊ə/
One
en
/eːˀn/
Two
to
/tˢoˀ/
Hello
hej
/haj/
Thank you
tak
/tʰaɡ̊/
Good
god
/ɡoːˀ/
Cuckoo
gøg
/ˈɡøˀj/
Woof
vov vov
/vɒu vɒu/
Computer
computer
/kʰʌmˈpʰj̊uːd̥ɐ/
Sushi
sushi
/ˈsuɕi/
Dopamine
dopamin
/dopaˈmiːˀn/
At sign (@)
snabel-a
/ˈsneˀbl̩æˀ/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Germanic languages
| Meaning | Danish | Norwegian | Norwegian Nynorsk | Swedish | Middle English | Low German | Old Norse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | vand /vanˀ/ | vann /vɑnː/ | vatn /vɑːtn/ | vatten /vatːɛn/ | water /watər/ | Water /vɑːtɐ/ | vatn /vɑtn/ |
| Fire | ild /ilˀ/ | ild /ilː/ | eld /ɛld/ | eld /ɛld/ | fyr /fyːr/ | Füer /fyːɐ/ | eldr /eldr/ |
| Sun | sol /soːˀl/ | sol /suːl/ | sol /suːl/ | sol /suːl/ | sonne /sɔnːə/ | Sünn /zʏn/ | sól /soːl/ |
| Moon | måne /mɔːnə/ | måne /moːnə/ | måne /moːnə/ | måne /moːnɛ/ | mone /moːnə/ | Maan /maːn/ | máni /mɑːni/ |
| Star | stjerne /ˈsdjɛɐ̯nə/ | stjerne /ˈʂæːɳə/ | stjerne /ˈʃæːɳə/ | stjärna /ˈɧæːɳa/ | sterre /ˈstɛrːə/ | Steern /steːrn/ | stjarna /ˈstjarna/ |
| Mother | mor /moɐ̯ˀ/ | mor /muːr/ | mor /muːr/ | mamma /mamːa/ | moder /moːdər/ | Moder /moːdɐ/ | móðir /moːðir/ |
| Father | far /fɑːˀ/ | far /fɑːr/ | far /fɑːr/ | pappa /papːa/ | fader /faːdər/ | Vader /fɑːdɐ/ | faðir /fɑðir/ |
| I | jeg /jɑ/ | jeg /jæɪ/ | eg /eːɡ/ | jag /jɑːɡ/ | I /iː/ | ik /ɪk/ | ek /ek/ |
| You | du /du/ | du /dʉː/ | du /dʉː/ | du /dʉː/ | thou /θuː/ | du /duː/ | þú /θuː/ |
| Name | navn /nɑwˀn/ | navn /nɑʋn/ | namn /nɑmn/ | namn /namn/ | name /ˈnaːmə/ | Naam /naːm/ | nafn /nafn/ |
| Eye | øje /ʌjə/ | øye /øjə/ | auga /æʉɡɑ/ | öga /øːɡa/ | eye /iːə/ | Oog /oːx/ | auga /ɑuɣɑ/ |
| Hand | hånd /hɔnˀ/ | hånd /hɔnː/ | hand /hɑnd/ | hand /hand/ | hand /hand/ | Hand /hant/ | hǫnd /hɔnd/ |
| Heart | hjerte /jæɐ̯d̥ə/ | hjerte /jæɾtə/ | hjarte /jɑːrtə/ | hjärta /ˈjæʈːa/ | herte /hɛrtə/ | Hart /haɐt/ | hjarta /hjɑrtɑ/ |
| Love | kærlighed /kʰæɐ̯liheð̠ˀ/ | kjærlighet /çæːɾliheːt/ | kjærleik /çæːrlɛik/ | kärlek /ɕæːɭɛk/ | love /lʊvə/ | Leev /leːf/ | ást /ɑːst/ |
| Tree | træ /tʁɛːˀ/ | tre /treː/ | tre /treː/ | träd /trɛːd/ | tre /treː/ | Boom /boːm/ | tré /treː/ |
| House | hus /huːˀs/ | hus /hʉːs/ | hus /huːs/ | hus /hʉːs/ | hous /huːs/ | Huus /huːs/ | hús /huːs/ |
| Dog | hund /hunˀ/ | hund /hʉnː/ | hund /hʉnd/ | hund /hɵnd/ | hound /huːnd/ | Hund /hʊnt/ | hundr /hundr/ |
| Cat | kat /kʰæd̥/ | katt /kɑtː/ | katt /kɑtː/ | katt /katː/ | catte /katːə/ | Katt /kat/ | kǫttr /kɔtːr/ |
| Eat | spise /sb̥iːsə/ | spise /spiːsə/ | eta /eːtɑ/ | äta /ɛːta/ | eten /eːtən/ | eten /eːtn̩/ | eta /etɑ/ |
| Drink | drikke /dʁɛɡ̊ə/ | drikke /drɪkːə/ | drikka /drɪkːɑ/ | dricka /drɪkːa/ | drinken /drɪŋkən/ | drinken /drɪŋkn̩/ | drekka /drekːɑ/ |
| One | en /eːˀn/ | en /eːn/ | ein /ɛɪn/ | en /eːn/ | oon /oːn/ | een /eːn/ | einn /ɛinː/ |
| Two | to /tˢoˀ/ | to /tuː/ | to /tuː/ | två /tvoː/ | two /twɔː/ | twee /tveː/ | tveir /tveir/ |
| Hello | hej /haj/ | hei /hɛɪ/ | hei /hɛɪ/ | hej /hɛj/ | hail /hɛːl/ | Moin /mɔɪn/ | heill /hɛilː/ |
| Thank you | tak /tʰaɡ̊/ | takk /tɑkː/ | takk /tɑkː/ | tack /takː/ | thank /θank/ | Dankschöön /daŋkʃøːn/ | þǫkk /θɔkː/ |
| Good | god /ɡoːˀ/ | bra /brɑː/ | god /ɡuːd/ | bra /brɑː/ | good /ɡoːd/ | good /ɡoːt/ | góðr /ɡoːðr/ |
| Cuckoo | gøg /ˈɡøˀj/ | gjøk /jøːk/ | gauk /ɡæʉk/ | gök /jøːk/ | cuccu /ˈkukuː/ | Kukuk /ˈkuːkuk/ | gaukr /ˈɡɔukr̩/ |
| Woof | vov vov /vɒu vɒu/ | voff voff /vɔf vɔf/ | — | voff voff /vɔf vɔf/ | — | — | — |
| Computer | computer /kʰʌmˈpʰj̊uːd̥ɐ/ | datamaskin /ˈdɑːtamaˌʃiːn/ | datamaskin /ˈdɑːtamaˌʃiːn/ | dator /ˈdɑːtɔr/ | rekenere /ˈrɛkənɛːrə/ | Computer /kɔmˈpjuːtɐ/ | — |
| Sushi | sushi /ˈsuɕi/ | sushi /ˈsʉːʃi/ | sushi /ˈsʉːʃi/ | sushi /ˈsʉːɧi/ | stokfish /ˈstɔkfiʃ/ | Sushi /ˈzuʃi/ | skreið /ˈskreið/ |
| Dopamine | dopamin /dopaˈmiːˀn/ | dopamin /dʉpaˈmiːn/ | dopamin /dʉpaˈmiːn/ | dopamin /dɔpaˈmiːn/ | — | Dopamin /dopaˈmiːn/ | — |
| At sign (@) | snabel-a /ˈsneˀbl̩æˀ/ | krøllalfa /ˈkrœlːɑlfɑ/ | — | snabel-a /ˈsnɑːbɛlɑː/ | — | — | — |
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