Kunne lide is the everyday Danish way to say "to like." It is not a single verb but a fixed two-word idiom: the modal kunne ("can / be able to") followed by the bare infinitive lide. Word for word it means "be able to stand / endure" — but nobody hears it that way; it simply means "like." Because of its odd structure, learners conjugate it wrongly more than almost any other expression. This page makes it automatic.
Principal parts
The conjugation lives entirely in the modal kunne. The second word, lide, never changes — it stays a bare infinitive in every tense.
| Form | Danish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | (at) kunne lide | (to) like |
| Present | kan lide | like(s) |
| Past | kunne lide | liked |
| Past participle | kunnet lide | liked |
Notice that the past tense kunne lide ("liked") is spelled identically to the infinitive kunne lide ("to like"). Context tells them apart. The present perfect uses har: jeg har kunnet lide.
How to say you like something
The everyday pattern is subject + kan + godt + lide + object. The little word godt is almost always there in the affirmative; jeg kan lide without godt sounds slightly incomplete to a Danish ear.
Jeg kan godt lide kaffe.
I like coffee.
Kan du lide din nye lærer?
Do you like your new teacher?
Hun kan rigtig godt lide at danse.
She really likes dancing.
In questions and negatives, godt often drops out: Kan du lide …?, Jeg kan ikke lide ….
Jeg kan ikke lide lakrids.
I don't like liquorice.
Han kan ikke lide at stå tidligt op.
He doesn't like getting up early.
Liking to do something
To say you like doing something, add at + infinitive after kan (godt) lide:
Vi kan godt lide at gå tur om søndagen.
We like going for a walk on Sundays.
Børnene kan ikke lide at gå i seng.
The kids don't like going to bed.
In the past
The past kunne lide means "liked." Because it looks like the infinitive, lean on the surrounding tense markers to read it.
Som barn kunne jeg ikke lide grøntsager.
As a child I didn't like vegetables.
Vi kunne rigtig godt lide den lille restaurant.
We really liked the little restaurant.
Jeg har aldrig kunnet lide vinterkulden.
I've never liked the winter cold.
The affection scale: kunne lide vs elske
English softens "love" to "like"; Danish has a clear ladder, and using the wrong rung sounds off.
| Danish | Strength | English |
|---|---|---|
| kan ikke lide | negative | don't like |
| kan godt lide | neutral, everyday | like |
| kan rigtig godt lide | strong liking | really like |
| elsker | love | love |
Reserve elske ("love") for genuine love — people you love, and things you feel passionate about. Using elske for a casual preference can sound gushing. For everyday "I like it," kan godt lide is the right rung. (See elske for the love end of the scale, and likes and wants for the whole family of preference expressions.)
Jeg elsker min familie, men jeg kan bare godt lide naboerne.
I love my family, but I just like the neighbours.
Beware the English loan "like"
Younger speakers sometimes use the borrowed verb at like — but in modern Danish that almost always means clicking "like" on social media, not the feeling. For the emotion, use kunne lide.
Jeg likede dit billede på Instagram.
I liked your picture on Instagram. (clicked the 'like' button)
Jeg kan godt lide dit billede.
I like your picture. (the feeling)
Common collocations
- kan godt lide — like (the default affirmative)
- kan rigtig / virkelig godt lide — really like
- kan ikke lide — don't like
- kan ikke fordrage / udstå — can't stand (stronger dislike)
- kan lide at
- verb — like doing something
Jeg kan virkelig ikke fordrage, når folk kommer for sent.
I really can't stand it when people are late.
A short dialogue
— Kan du lide din nye lejlighed? — Ja, jeg kan rigtig godt lide den! Men jeg kunne ikke lide den første, vi så.
— Do you like your new flat? — Yes, I really like it! But I didn't like the first one we saw.
Common mistakes
❌ Jeg liker kaffe.
Wrong — 'like' as a loan means social-media liking; for the feeling use 'kunne lide'.
✅ Jeg kan godt lide kaffe.
I like coffee.
❌ Jeg kan lider kaffe.
Wrong — 'lide' is a bare infinitive and never takes an ending.
✅ Jeg kan lide kaffe.
I like coffee.
❌ Jeg elsker din nye frisure.
Too strong if you merely like it — 'elske' is 'love'.
✅ Jeg kan godt lide din nye frisure.
I like your new haircut.
❌ Som barn lidte jeg ikke grøntsager.
Wrong — the idiom is 'kunne lide'; you can't conjugate 'lide' alone.
✅ Som barn kunne jeg ikke lide grøntsager.
As a child I didn't like vegetables.
❌ Jeg kan lide kaffe.
Understandable, but it sounds bare — everyday Danish adds 'godt'.
✅ Jeg kan godt lide kaffe.
I like coffee. (the natural affirmative)
Key takeaways
- Kunne lide = "to like." Only kunne is conjugated (kan → kunne → kunnet); lide is a frozen bare infinitive — never lider.
- The everyday affirmative is kan godt lide; the negative is kan ikke lide.
- Don't reach for elske ("love") for a casual preference, and don't use the loan like for the feeling — that's the social-media verb.
Now practice Danish
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Danish→Related Topics
- ElskeA1 — Full reference for elske ('to love') — principal parts, the regular -ede pattern across all core tenses, and the Danish affection scale that puts elske above holde af and kunne lide.
- Saying What You Like and WantA1 — Building Danish sentences with kunne lide, vil gerne have, elske and foretrække — and why 'like' and 'want' don't translate word for word.
- Kunne: Ability and PossibilityA2 — The modal kunne (kan/kunne/kunnet) — ability, possibility, the kan + language idiom for skills, permission, and the polite past kunne du...?
- Modal Verbs: An OverviewA2 — The six core Danish modals — kunne, ville, skulle, måtte, burde, turde — their present and past forms, and the iron rule that they take a bare infinitive with no at.
- The Infinitive and the Marker AtA1 — The Danish infinitive, the infinitive marker at ('to'), when to use it and when to drop it — and the notorious at/og spelling trap.