Danish phrasebook
Danish is a Scandinavian language spoken in Denmark. It is closely related to Norwegian and Swedish, and some speakers of the three languages can understand the others. In writing, the difference between the Danish and Norwegian languages are not bigger than the difference between English and American English, though it will often be harder in oral conversations. These Scandinavian languages are North Germanic, strongly influenced by Low Saxon (German).
Pronunciation guide
Alphabet
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V (W) X Y Z Æ Ø Å a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v (w) x y z æ ø å
Acute accent may be used in some words (eg fór), for ease of reading, but it's always optional. C, Q, W, X and Z are only used in loanwords. V and W are treated the same, and W is sometimes left out of the alphabet.
Vowels
a as in cat
e as in sin, but also as æ and murder
i as in see, only shorter
o as [o], but also as å
u as in soon, but also as å
y as in few, but also as ø
æ as in egg, only shorter
ø as [ø], but also as in bird
å as in old, but also caught
Consonants
b as in bed, and wick between vowels and at the end of words
c as k, but sing before e or i
d as in dead, the after vowels, silent before l, n or r and before t or s
f as in ferry
g as in gone, but like y as in yet after a vowel
h as in hope, hv = v, hj = j
j as in yes
k as in kick, and go between vowels and at the end of a syllable
l as in lake
m as in many
n as in near
p as in parry, bit between vowels and at the end of a syllable
qu like English
r is a rolling sound at the back of the throat, silent after vowels and before consonants
s as in smell
t as in trout and dog between vowels, at the end of a syllable and at the end of a word
v as in viking, and hoot at the end of words
Phrase list
Basics
- Hello.
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This page was last edited at 05:57, on 9 December 2008 by Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. Based on work by Daniel, Colin Jensen and Niels Elgaard Larsen, Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel and others.
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