Hedde is the verb you will use in your very first Danish conversation. It means "to be called / named," and it is how Danes give their own name: jeg hedder Anna — literally "I am-called Anna," i.e. "My name is Anna." English has no single-word equivalent; we paraphrase with "to be called" or "my name is." That mismatch is the whole challenge: English speakers reach for er ("am") or kalde ("call"), where Danish wants its own dedicated naming verb. Learn hedder as a fixed unit and your introductions will sound native from day one.
Principal parts
| Form | Danish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | (at) hedde | to be called / named |
| Present | hedder | am / is / are called |
| Past | hed | was / were called |
| Past participle | heddet | (been) called |
| Imperative | — | (no imperative in normal use) |
Present: hedder
| Subject | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| jeg | hedder | jeg hedder Anna |
| du | hedder | du hedder Mads |
| han / hun | hedder | hun hedder Sofie |
| vi | hedder | vi hedder det samme |
| de | hedder | de hedder Jensen til efternavn |
Hej, jeg hedder Anna. Hvad hedder du?
Hi, my name is Anna. What's your name?
Min nye kollega hedder Mikkel.
My new colleague is called Mikkel.
This Hvad hedder du? / Jeg hedder... exchange is the bedrock of every introduction — see introductions for the full opening routine.
Hvad hedder det på dansk? — naming things, not just people
Hedde is not only for people. It is the natural verb for asking what something is called — a word, a place, a dish. This is how you ask for vocabulary in Danish.
Hvad hedder det her på dansk?
What's this called in Danish?
Den lille by hedder Ribe og er Danmarks ældste.
The little town is called Ribe and is Denmark's oldest.
Past: hed
The past is the bare hed — used to say what something or someone used to be called.
Før hun blev gift, hed hun Sørensen.
Before she got married, her name was Sørensen.
Hvad hed den restaurant, vi spiste på sidste år?
What was that restaurant called where we ate last year?
Present perfect: har heddet
Gaden har altid heddet Nørregade.
The street has always been called Nørregade.
Han har heddet det samme hele sit liv.
He's had the same name his whole life.
Past perfect: havde heddet
Firmaet havde heddet noget andet, før det blev solgt.
The company had been called something else before it was sold.
Hedde vs. være: 'my name is' vs. 'I am'
You can say Jeg er Anna — it is grammatical and you will hear it, especially when identifying yourself in a specific role ("I'm Anna [the one you're looking for]"). But Jeg hedder Anna is the unmarked, idiomatic way to give your name, exactly the way English defaults to "My name is Anna" over the blunter "I am Anna." When in doubt at an introduction, use hedder.
Jeg hedder Anna, og jeg er din nye nabo.
My name is Anna, and I'm your new neighbour. (hedder for the name, er for the role)
Hedde vs. kalde: being named vs. naming someone else
This is the key contrast. Hedde describes the name something has (intransitive — no object): han hedder Bo. Kalde is the active verb for giving a name or addressing someone by one (transitive — it takes an object): vi kalder ham Bo ("we call him Bo"). You never use kalde for your own name.
Han hedder Robert, men alle kalder ham Bo.
His name is Robert, but everyone calls him Bo.
Vi kaldte hunden Sokker, fordi den var hvid på poterne.
We named the dog Socks because it had white paws.
Det hedder sig at... — the idiom
The reflexive det hedder sig at... means "it is said that / the story goes that..." — a slightly formal or folksy way to report a claim.
Det hedder sig, at suppen er bedst dagen efter.
They say the soup is best the day after.
Common collocations and fixed expressions
- Hvad hedder du? — What's your name?
- Jeg hedder... — My name is...
- Hvad hedder det på dansk? — What's that called in Danish?
- det vil sige (dvs.) — that is to say, i.e. (a fixed phrase, not from hedde but its frequent neighbour in defining)
- det hedder sig, at... — it is said that..., the story goes that...
Vi mødes på torsdag, det vil sige om to dage.
We're meeting on Thursday, that is to say in two days.
A natural exchange
— Hej, jeg hedder Sofie. Og du? — Jeg hedder Mikkel, men alle kalder mig Mik. — Hyggeligt! Hvad hed din hund nu igen? — Den hedder stadig Vaffel.
— Hi, my name is Sofie. And you? — My name is Mikkel, but everyone calls me Mik. — Nice to meet you! What was your dog called again? — It's still called Vaffel.
Common mistakes
❌ Jeg kalder Anna.
Wrong verb for your own name — kalde needs an object (you call someone something). Use hedde.
✅ Jeg hedder Anna.
My name is Anna.
❌ Hvad er dit navn kaldet?
A clumsy English-style paraphrase — Danish just asks Hvad hedder du?
✅ Hvad hedder du?
What's your name?
❌ Byen heddede Ribe i gamle dage.
Incorrect — hedde is irregular; the past is the bare hed, not a -ede form.
✅ Byen hed Ribe i gamle dage.
The town was called Ribe in the old days.
❌ Han hedder Robert, men alle hedder ham Bo.
Wrong — naming someone else takes kalde, not hedde.
✅ Han hedder Robert, men alle kalder ham Bo.
His name is Robert, but everyone calls him Bo.
❌ Hvordan er denne ting på dansk?
Asks 'how is this thing?' not its name — to ask a word, use hedde.
✅ Hvad hedder denne ting på dansk?
What's this thing called in Danish?
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Start learning Danish→Related Topics
- Introducing YourselfA1 — Meeting people in Danish — jeg hedder, hvad hedder du, hyggeligt at møde dig — and why introductions hinge on the verb hedde, not 'be'.
- KaldeB1 — Full reference for kalde ('to call, to name') — principal parts, all core tenses in natural sentences, the give-a-name pattern kalde nogen noget, the phrase kalde på, the passive blive kaldt, and how kalde differs from hedde (be named) and ringe til (phone).
- VæreA1 — Full reference for være ('to be') — principal parts, all core tenses in natural sentences, der er existentials, and the single non-agreeing form er.
- Yes/No QuestionsA1 — Form yes/no questions by fronting the finite verb, and answer them with ja, nej — or the special jo that contradicts a negative.
- Danish Verbs: An OverviewA1 — A big-picture map of the Danish verb system — no person agreement, one present and one past form per verb, compound perfects, the passive, and modals.