Kende | Danish Grammar

Kende ('to know, be acquainted with') is the second half of a pair that trips up nearly every English speaker, because English uses a single verb "know" for two distinct ideas. Danish splits them: kende is for knowing a person, place, or thing (being acquainted with it), while vide is for knowing a fact. Learn the two together and the contrast becomes one clean lesson instead of two confusing ones.

Principal parts

Infinitive	Present	Past	Past participle	Imperative
(at) kende	kender	kendte	kendt	kend!

Kende is a weak verb of the -te class: the past adds -te (kendte) and the participle ends in -t (kendt). This is the regular pattern for verb stems ending in certain consonants, so unlike the strong verbs on the neighbouring pages, kende has no vowel change to memorise — just the -te / -t endings.

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Danish verbs never change for person or number. Jeg kender, du kender, han kender, vi kender, de kender — one present form for all subjects.

Present: kender

Kende always takes a direct object — a person, a place, or a thing you are acquainted with. You cannot use it before a that-clause stating a fact.

Jeg kender ham godt — vi gik i skole sammen.

I know him well — we went to school together.

Kender du byen? Jeg er helt fortabt.

Do you know the town? I'm completely lost.

Hun kender alle på arbejdet.

She knows everyone at work.

Past: kendte

Vi kendte hinanden, før vi blev kolleger.

We knew each other before we became colleagues.

Jeg kendte ikke vejen, så jeg brugte GPS.

I didn't know the way, so I used GPS.

Present perfect: har kendt

Kende takes have in the perfect — har kendt — and is often used to say how long an acquaintance has lasted.

Jeg har kendt hende i tyve år.

I've known her for twenty years.

Vi har kendt hinanden, siden vi var børn.

We've known each other since we were children.

The core contrast: kende vs vide

This is the heart of the page. Use a single test:

Followed by a person, place, or thing (a noun, a pronoun) → kende.
Followed by a fact — a that-clause, an indirect question (where / when / who / whether), or any statement of information → vide.

Jeg kender Anna.

I know Anna. (a person → kende)

Jeg ved, at Anna er syg.

I know that Anna is ill. (a fact → vide)

Kender du restauranten på torvet?

Do you know the restaurant on the square? (a place → kende)

Ved du, hvornår restauranten åbner?

Do you know when the restaurant opens? (a fact → vide)

English masks this split — "I know Anna" and "I know that Anna is ill" use the same verb — so the error runs in both directions. See the dedicated decision guide Vide vs Kende and the vide reference for the other half of the pair.

Key expressions with kende

kende til — to know of, be aware of

A slightly weaker acquaintance: you know of something without necessarily knowing it intimately.

Jeg kender godt til problemet, men jeg har ikke løst det.

I'm well aware of the problem, but I haven't solved it.

kende forskel — to tell the difference

Kan du kende forskel på de to vine?

Can you tell the difference between the two wines?

kende igen — to recognise

Jeg kunne dårligt kende ham igen med skæg.

I barely recognised him with a beard.

kende nogen ud og ind — to know someone inside out

Efter tyve års ægteskab kender de hinanden ud og ind.

After twenty years of marriage they know each other inside out.

Why two verbs for one English word

This split is not a quirk of Danish — it runs through most of Europe. German has kennen (acquaintance) and wissen (facts); French has connaître and savoir; Spanish has conocer and saber. English is the odd one out, having flattened both into "know" around the late Middle Ages. So if you have studied any of those languages, kende lines up exactly with kennen / connaître / conocer, and vide with wissen / savoir / saber. The deeper logic is about the object of knowing: you can be familiar with a thing through experience (that is kende), or you can hold a piece of information as true (that is vide). A person can only be the first kind; a fact can only be the second. Keep asking "am I familiar-with, or do I hold-as-true?" and the choice resolves itself.

A short dialogue

— Kender du ham, der står ved døren? — Nej, men jeg ved, at han arbejder her. — Hvordan ved du det? — Jeg kender hans søster.

— Do you know the man standing by the door? — No, but I know that he works here. — How do you know that? — I know his sister.

Notice how naturally the dialogue alternates: kender ham (a person), ved, at... (a fact), ved du det (a fact), kender hans søster (a person).

Common mistakes

The signature error is using kende before a that-clause, where Danish requires vide. If a fact follows, switch to vide.

❌ Jeg kender, at han bor i Odense.

Wrong — a fact-clause follows, so you need 'vide', not 'kende'.

✅ Jeg ved, at han bor i Odense.

I know that he lives in Odense.

❌ Kender du, hvor stationen er?

Wrong — an indirect question is a fact, so use 'vide'.

✅ Ved du, hvor stationen er?

Do you know where the station is?

Conversely, don't use vide with a person — you can't "know-a-fact" a human being.

❌ Jeg ved ham fra universitetet.

Wrong — a person requires 'kende'.

✅ Jeg kender ham fra universitetet.

I know him from university.

Remember the regular -te / -t forms; don't invent a strong past.

❌ Jeg kandt hende dengang.

Wrong — 'kende' is weak; there is no vowel change.

✅ Jeg kendte hende dengang.

I knew her back then.

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