Kalde | Danish Grammar

Kalde ("to call, to name") is the verb you reach for when you give something a name or label — de kaldte hunden Sokker ("they named the dog Sokker") — and when you summon help: kalde på hjælp. It is a tidy regular weak verb, so its forms hold no surprises. The real work is keeping it apart from two neighbours English merges under "call": hedde ("to be named/called," what your name is) and ringe til ("to phone someone"). Danish never uses kalde for telephoning.

Principal parts

Form	Danish	English
Infinitive	(at) kalde	to call, to name
Present	kalder	call(s)
Past	kaldte	called
Past participle	kaldt	called
Imperative	kald!	call!

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Kalde is a regular weak -te verb: past kaldte, participle kaldt. And as always in Danish there is no agreement — kalder is the whole present (jeg kalder, du kalder, hun kalder, vi kalder, de kalder) and kaldte the whole past, for every subject. One present form and one past form serve all six persons.

Present: kalder

Subject	Form	Example
jeg	kalder	jeg kalder ham bare Per
du	kalder	du kalder altid på mig
han / hun	kalder	hun kalder katten Mis
vi	kalder	vi kalder det en succes
de	kalder	de kalder hinanden skat

Alle kalder ham Storebjørn, selvom han hedder Anders.

Everyone calls him Storebjørn, even though his name is Anders.

Hvad kalder man sådan en fugl på dansk?

What do you call a bird like that in Danish?

The naming pattern: kalde nogen noget

The core construction is kalde + object + name — "to call someone something." Two noun phrases sit side by side: first the person or thing, then the name you give it. There is no preposition between them, which surprises English speakers expecting "call him by the name."

De kaldte hunden Sokker, fordi den havde hvide poter.

They named the dog Sokker because it had white paws.

Min farmor kaldte mig altid sin lille prinsesse.

My grandmother always called me her little princess.

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Note the difference in direction: kalde is the active "give a name," while hedde is the passive "have a name." Jeg kalder ham Bo ("I call him Bo") — but han hedder Bo ("his name is Bo"). You can say both about the same person: you call him a nickname; his actual name is something else.

Past: kaldte

Vi kaldte vores første bil Beten, fordi den var rusten.

We called our first car Beten because it was rusty.

Hun kaldte på hjælp, men der var ingen i nærheden.

She called for help, but there was no one nearby.

Present perfect: har kaldt

The perfect uses the default auxiliary har plus the participle kaldt.

Folk har altid kaldt det kvarter for det grønne hjørne.

People have always called that neighbourhood the green corner.

Har du nogensinde kaldt din chef ved fornavn?

Have you ever called your boss by their first name?

Kalde på: to call for / summon

With the particle på, kalde means "to call for, to summon, to call out to" — you call på someone to get their attention or to fetch them. This is the verb for shouting a name across a room or calling for assistance.

Læreren kaldte på de elever, der manglede.

The teacher called for the pupils who were missing.

Råb ikke — kald bare på mig, hvis du har brug for noget.

Don't shout — just call for me if you need anything.

The passive: blive kaldt and så-kaldt

Because kalde gives a name, its passive blive kaldt ("to be called/nicknamed") is everywhere — it is how you say what a person or thing is called by others. From the participle comes the very common adjective såkaldt ("so-called"), written as one word.

Han bliver kaldt Lange, fordi han er to meter høj.

He's nicknamed Lange (Tall) because he's two metres tall.

Den såkaldte ekspert vidste mindre end os andre. (formal)

The so-called expert knew less than the rest of us.

Imperative: kald!

Kald på mig, når maden er klar.

Call me when the food is ready.

Common collocations and fixed expressions

kalde nogen noget — to call/name someone something
kalde på (hjælp / nogen) — to call for (help / someone), summon
blive kaldt — to be called, be nicknamed
såkaldt — so-called (adjective)
kalde til møde — to call a meeting (formal)
det kan man da kalde held — now that's what you call luck (idiomatic)

Direktøren kaldte til møde med kort varsel. (formal)

The director called a meeting at short notice.

A natural exchange

— Hvad kalder I jeres nye kat? — Vi kaldte den Pjevs, men børnene kalder den bare Misser. — Og hvad hedder hunden så? — Den hedder Karl, men alle kalder den Bamse.

— What are you calling your new cat? — We named it Pjevs, but the kids just call it Misser. — And what's the dog's name then? — Its name is Karl, but everyone calls it Bamse.

Notice how the exchange threads kalde (give a name / nickname) against hedde (the official name). That contrast is the whole game with this verb.

Common mistakes

❌ Jeg kalder dig i aften.

Wrong verb — kalde is not 'phone'; to telephone someone is ringe til.

✅ Jeg ringer til dig i aften.

I'll call (phone) you tonight.

❌ Hvad kalder du? — Jeg kalder Mette.

Wrong verb for stating your own name — use hedde, not kalde.

✅ Hvad hedder du? — Jeg hedder Mette.

What's your name? — My name is Mette.

❌ Jeg kaldede hunden Sokker.

Incorrect — kalde takes the -te past; the form is kaldte, not kaldede.

✅ Jeg kaldte hunden Sokker.

I named the dog Sokker.

❌ Hun kaldte for hjælp.

Wrong particle — to call for help is kalde på, not kalde for.

✅ Hun kaldte på hjælp.

She called for help.

❌ Han har kaldte det en god idé.

Wrong form after har — the perfect needs the participle kaldt, not the past kaldte.

✅ Han har kaldt det en god idé.

He has called it a good idea.

For the verb that states what your name is, see Hedde; for phoning someone, see Ringe til.

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