Føle | Danish Grammar

Føle means "to feel," but Danish splits the English verb into two distinct constructions depending on what kind of feeling you mean. When you talk about your own emotional or physical state ("I feel tired," "I feel happy"), Danish makes the verb reflexive: føle sig. When you talk about physically perceiving something through touch ("I can feel the warmth," "feel my pulse"), the verb is plain transitive føle with a direct object. Getting this split right is the single most important thing on this page — and the place English speakers most reliably slip.

Principal parts

Infinitive	Present	Past	Past participle	Imperative
(at) føle	føler	følte	følt	føl!

Føle is a weak verb of the -te class: past følte, participle følt. Keep the ø in every form — write føle, never foele. The imperative føl! ("feel!", as in "feel this") is genuinely used: Føl lige, hvor blødt det er!

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Danish verbs do not change for person or number — jeg føler, du føler, vi føler all use føler. What does change is the little reflexive pronoun in føle sig: it must agree with the subject (mig, dig, sig, os, jer). That pronoun is the moving part, not the verb.

Føle sig + adjective — your state

To say how you feel emotionally or physically, use føle sig followed by an adjective. The reflexive pronoun matches the subject:

Subject	Form
jeg	føler mig
du	føler dig
han / hun / man	føler sig
vi	føler os
I	føler jer
de	føler sig

Jeg føler mig træt i dag.

I feel tired today.

Føler du dig bedre nu?

Do you feel better now?

Hun følte sig helt alene i den nye by.

She felt completely alone in the new city.

English has no reflexive pronoun here at all — "I feel tired," not "I feel myself tired." That missing mig/dig/sig is exactly what learners forget. In Danish it is obligatory whenever you describe your own state.

Føle + object — touch and perception

When you physically perceive something — heat, pain, a texture, a heartbeat — føle is a plain transitive verb taking a direct object. No reflexive pronoun.

Jeg kan føle varmen fra ovnen.

I can feel the warmth from the oven.

Kan du føle min puls?

Can you feel my pulse?

Hun følte en hånd på sin skulder.

She felt a hand on her shoulder.

Past and present perfect

The past is følte; the perfect uses har + følt (the default auxiliary). Both constructions — reflexive føle sig and transitive føle — inflect the same way; only the presence or absence of the reflexive pronoun tells them apart.

Jeg har aldrig følt mig så velkommen.

I've never felt so welcome. (reflexive, my state)

Jeg har følt en forandring de sidste par uger.

I've felt a change over the last couple of weeks. (transitive, perception)

In the past, the same split holds: Jeg følte mig tryg ("I felt safe", my state) versus Jeg følte regnen mod ansigtet ("I felt the rain against my face", perception). The reflexive pronoun is the whole signal.

Føle for — to feel like

The phrase føle for (informal) expresses inclination — feeling like doing something. Føle for at + infinitive is common in casual speech, though many Danes prefer the slightly fuller have lyst til ("have a desire to"). Both are everyday; føle for is a touch more colloquial.

Jeg føler ikke rigtig for at gå ud i aften.

I don't really feel like going out tonight.

Gør, hvad du føler for.

Do whatever you feel like. (set phrase)

Common collocations and fixed expressions

føle sig hjemme — to feel at home
føle sig syg / utilpas — to feel ill / unwell
føle sig overset — to feel overlooked
føle med nogen — to feel for / sympathise with someone
det føles … — it feels … (impersonal, e.g. det føles forkert)

Jeg føler virkelig med dig — det lyder hårdt.

I really feel for you — that sounds tough.

Det føles forkert at sige nej.

It feels wrong to say no.

A short dialogue

— Hvordan har du det? — Jeg føler mig lidt sløj. Føl lige min pande — jeg tror, jeg har feber.

— How are you? — I feel a bit under the weather. Feel my forehead — I think I have a fever.

This one little exchange shows both patterns: føler mig sløj (reflexive, my own state) and føl min pande (transitive imperative, touch). That is the whole lesson in two sentences.

Føle vs virke

Keep føle (how you feel, from the inside) apart from virke ("to seem / appear," how something comes across from the outside). Jeg føler mig rolig is your inner state; Han virker rolig is the impression he gives others. For more on the family of state-and-emotion verbs and the reflexive pattern, see reflexive verbs and the feelings expressions page.

Common mistakes

❌ Jeg føler træt.

Wrong — for your own state you need the reflexive pronoun: føle sig.

✅ Jeg føler mig træt.

I feel tired.

❌ Hun føler glad i dag.

Wrong — again, the reflexive sig is missing.

✅ Hun føler sig glad i dag.

She feels happy today.

❌ Jeg kan føle mig varmen fra solen.

Wrong — touch/perception is plain transitive; drop the reflexive.

✅ Jeg kan føle varmen fra solen.

I can feel the warmth from the sun.

❌ Jeg har følte mig syg hele ugen.

Wrong — the perfect uses the participle følt, not the past følte.

✅ Jeg har følt mig syg hele ugen.

I've felt sick all week.

Key takeaways

Føle is a regular -te weak verb: føle / føler / følte / følt; perfect with har.
Use føle sig + adjective for your own emotional or physical state; the reflexive pronoun agrees with the subject (mig, dig, sig …).
Use plain føle + object for touch and perception — no reflexive.
Føle is how you feel from the inside; virke is how something seems from the outside.

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