Genkende means to recognise — to identify someone or something as familiar, to realise you have seen, heard, or met it before. It is built transparently from the prefix gen- ("re-, again") and the verb kende ("know, be acquainted with"), so quite literally it is "to know again." For English speakers the verb itself is easy; the hard part is keeping it apart from the cluster of Danish "knowing" verbs — kende, vide, and the more formal anerkende — each of which covers a slice of what English lumps under "know" and "recognise." This page handles both.
Principal parts
Genkende inherits its inflection from kende, which is a mixed verb: weak endings but a short, irregular-looking past kendte / kendt.
| Form | Danish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | (at) genkende | to recognise |
| Present | genkender | recognise(s) |
| Past | genkendte | recognised |
| Past participle | genkendt | recognised |
| Imperative | genkend! | recognise! (rare — mostly used in instructions) |
The gen- prefix
Gen- is Danish's productive "re- / again" prefix, the counterpart of English re-. It attaches to many verbs to mean "do again" or "do back":
| Verb | Built from | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| genkende | kende (know) | recognise — "know again" |
| genbruge | bruge (use) | recycle / reuse |
| genåbne | åbne (open) | reopen |
| genfinde | finde (find) | find again / recover |
| genforene | forene (unite) | reunite |
Recognising the prefix lets you parse — and often guess — a whole family of words. More on this on word-formation/prefixes.
Present: genkender
Jeg genkender stemmen, men jeg kan ikke huske, hvor jeg har hørt den.
I recognise the voice, but I can't remember where I've heard it.
Hun genkender ham straks fra avisen.
She recognises him immediately from the newspaper.
Past: genkendte
Han genkendte mig ikke uden briller.
He didn't recognise me without my glasses.
Vi genkendte melodien med det samme.
We recognised the tune right away.
Present perfect: har genkendt
Politiet har genkendt manden på overvågningsvideoen.
The police have recognised the man on the surveillance footage.
Jeg har aldrig genkendt min egen stemme på en optagelse.
I've never recognised my own voice on a recording.
Common collocations
| Danish | English |
|---|---|
| genkende nogen på stemmen | recognise someone by their voice |
| genkende et ansigt | recognise a face |
| genkende et mønster | recognise a pattern |
| være til at genkende | to be recognisable |
| genkende sig selv i noget | to see oneself in something / relate to it |
Jeg genkender mig selv så meget i den beskrivelse.
I relate to that description so much.
genkende vs kende vs vide vs anerkende
Danish carves up "knowing" into separate verbs, and genkende is one corner of it.
- kende — "know, be acquainted with" a person, place, or thing. Jeg kender ham. ("I know him.") See verb-reference/kende.
- vide — "know a fact," followed by a clause. Jeg ved, hvor han bor. ("I know where he lives.") The kende vs vide split is the subject of choosing/vide-vs-kende.
- genkende — "recognise," identify as previously known, usually by sight or sound.
- anerkende (formal) — "acknowledge / recognise" in the sense of granting status or validity: recognise a country, acknowledge a fact, give someone their due. FN anerkender den nye stat.
Jeg kender hende, men jeg genkendte hende ikke i mørket.
I know her, but I didn't recognise her in the dark.
Mange lande anerkender ikke regeringen.
Many countries don't recognise the government. (formal — grant legitimacy)
In conversation
— Så du ham på stationen? — Ja, men jeg genkendte ham ikke med det samme. Han har skiftet hårfarve. Jeg kender ham jo ellers godt.
— Did you see him at the station? — Yes, but I didn't recognise him at first. He's changed his hair colour. I do know him well, though.
Common Mistakes
1. Using vide for knowing a person. Vide is only for facts; people are kende (and recognising them is genkende).
❌ Jeg ved ham.
Incorrect — vide can't take a person.
✅ Jeg kender ham.
I know him.
2. Confusing genkende (recognise by sight/sound) with anerkende (formally acknowledge).
❌ Jeg anerkendte hende på gaden. (for spotting a friend)
Wrong register and sense — anerkende means to acknowledge/grant status.
✅ Jeg genkendte hende på gaden.
I recognised her on the street.
3. Using kende where the flash of recognition is meant. Kende is ongoing acquaintance, not the moment of spotting.
❌ Jeg kendte ham straks i mængden. (for 'I picked him out')
Off — kende is steady acquaintance, not the act of spotting.
✅ Jeg genkendte ham straks i mængden.
I recognised him at once in the crowd.
4. Building a regular past *genkendede. The verb is mixed: the past is the contracted genkendte.
❌ Han genkendede mig ikke.
Incorrect — the past is genkendte, not *genkendede.
✅ Han genkendte mig ikke.
He didn't recognise me.
5. Using være in the perfect. Genkende is a have-verb.
❌ Politiet er genkendt manden.
Incorrect — genkende takes have.
✅ Politiet har genkendt manden.
The police have recognised the man.
Key takeaways
- genkende / genkender / genkendte / genkendt, perfect with har; mixed verb, so the past is contracted.
- gen- = "re- / again"; genkende is literally "know again."
- kende = be acquainted with; genkende = identify as familiar in the moment; vide = know a fact; anerkende (formal) = officially acknowledge.
- Use genkende, not anerkende, for spotting a familiar face.
Now practice Danish
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Start learning Danish→Related Topics
- KendeA2 — Full reference for kende ('to know, be acquainted with'), the regular -te past, and the crucial contrast with vide.
- Vide vs Kende: Two Kinds of KnowingA2 — When to use vide ('know a fact') versus kende ('be acquainted with a person, place, or thing') in Danish.
- Common PrefixesC1 — The productive Danish prefixes — u-, be-, for-, an-, und-, gen-, mis-, sam-, mod-, over-, under- — their meanings, and why they are unstressed and inseparable.
- Mixed and Irregular VerbsB1 — Danish verbs that change their vowel and add a dental ending — plus the wholly irregular core verbs every learner must memorise.