Snakke is the verb Danes reach for when they just want to talk — to chat, to catch up, to have a conversation. It is one of the most frequent verbs in spoken Danish, and getting comfortable with it is one of the fastest ways to sound natural rather than bookish. Its near-synonym tale covers the same ground but lands in a higher, more formal register, so choosing between the two is itself a small lesson in Danish style.
Principal parts
| Form | Danish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | (at) snakke | to talk, to chat |
| Present | snakker | talk(s) |
| Past | snakkede | talked |
| Past participle | snakket | talked |
| Imperative | snak! | talk! |
Snakke is a regular weak verb of the -ede class: the past tense ends in -ede (snakkede) and the past participle in -et (snakket). Note the doubled k in every inflected form. Danish doubles a final consonant before an ending when the vowel before it is short and stressed — keeping snakk- signals that the a stays short, exactly as it is in the infinitive.
Present tense
The present form snakker covers both the English simple present ("I talk") and the present continuous ("I am talking"). Danish has no separate progressive tense, so context tells you which English rendering fits.
Vi snakker tit om vejret.
We often talk about the weather.
Hvad snakker I om?
What are you (plural) talking about?
Hun snakker for meget i telefon.
She talks too much on the phone.
Past tense
The simple past snakkede describes a completed action at a definite point in the past. It is the form you use to tell a story.
Vi snakkede sammen hele aftenen.
We talked together all evening.
Jeg snakkede med din mor i går.
I talked to your mother yesterday.
Present perfect
The present perfect is built with the auxiliary har ("have") plus the past participle snakket. Like most Danish verbs that describe an activity rather than a change of place or state, snakke takes har, never er. Danes use the perfect for actions that connect the past to the present moment, or whose exact time is left vague.
Vi har ikke snakket sammen i lang tid.
We haven't talked in a long time.
Har du snakket med lægen endnu?
Have you talked to the doctor yet?
Common collocations and particles
Snakke lives inside a handful of fixed combinations you will hear constantly:
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| snakke med (nogen) | to talk to / with (someone) |
| snakke om (noget) | to talk about (something) |
| snakke sammen | to talk together, to have a chat |
| snakke godt sammen | to get on well, to "click" |
| snakke udenom | to dodge the issue, talk around it |
Notice that snakke med uses med ("with") where English often uses "to": snakke med læreren is "talk to the teacher." The notion is that talking is something you do with another person, not at them.
Jeg skal lige snakke med chefen om min ferie.
I just need to talk to the boss about my holiday.
Vi snakkede om gamle dage.
We talked about old times.
Du snakker udenom — svar mig nu!
You're dodging the question — just answer me!
A natural dialogue
— Hej, har du tid til at snakke? — Ja, hvad er der?
— Hi, do you have time to talk? — Sure, what's up?
— Vi snakkes ved! — Ja, vi snakkes!
— Talk soon! / We'll be in touch! — Yes, talk soon!
That last exchange uses the -s form snakkes, a reciprocal/passive ending meaning "talk to each other." Vi snakkes ved ("we'll talk later") is one of the most common ways Danes sign off a casual conversation — far more idiomatic here than anything built on tale.
Snakke vs. tale — a register split
Here is the heart of the matter for an English speaker: snakke and tale can both translate as "talk" or "speak," but they are not freely interchangeable.
- snakke is colloquial and warm. It is the default in conversation, texts, and informal writing. It implies an exchange — chatting, catching up.
- tale is neutral-to-formal. It dominates in writing, public speech, official contexts, and set phrases. You taler a language, you holder en tale ("give a speech"), and a presenter on the news taler, never snakker.
So in everyday life you will use snakke far more often, but you should not drop it into a job application or a formal speech. See tale for the formal counterpart, and choosing between tale, snakke, sige and fortælle for the full map of Danish "talk/say/tell" verbs.
Common mistakes
❌ Statsministeren snakkede til nationen.
Wrong — too colloquial for a head of state addressing the nation.
✅ Statsministeren talte til nationen.
The prime minister spoke to the nation.
❌ Jeg snakkede engelsk flydende.
Wrong — for naming a language you command, Danish prefers tale.
✅ Jeg taler flydende engelsk.
I speak fluent English.
❌ Jeg snakker til min bror hver dag.
Wrong preposition — snakke takes med, not til, for two-way conversation.
✅ Jeg snakker med min bror hver dag.
I talk to my brother every day.
❌ Vi har snakkede i timevis.
Wrong — after har you need the participle snakket, not the past tense snakkede.
✅ Vi har snakket i timevis.
We've talked for hours.
❌ Han snaker meget.
Wrong — the consonant must double to keep the vowel short.
✅ Han snakker meget.
He talks a lot.
Key takeaways
- Snakke is a regular -ede verb: snakker / snakkede / snakket, with a doubled k throughout.
- It takes har in the perfect: har snakket.
- The particles to memorise are snakke med (talk to), snakke om (talk about), and snakke sammen (talk together).
- Reach for snakke in any casual setting; switch to tale for formal speech and for naming languages.
Now practice Danish
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Start learning Danish→Related Topics
- TaleA2 — Full reference for tale ('to speak / talk') — the model verb for the weak -te class — with principal parts, all core tenses, the key collocations tale med / tale om / tale dansk, and the everyday contrast with the more casual snakke.
- Tale, Snakke, Sige, Fortælle: Say/Speak/TellB2 — Four Danish verbs cover English say, speak, talk and tell — choose by the complement: a language, a casual chat, an uttered statement, or informing someone.
- SigeA1 — Full reference for sige ('to say') — principal parts, all core tenses in natural sentences, its job as a reporting verb (han siger, at...), the idiom det vil sige, and how it differs from fortælle, tale and snakke.
- Weak Past: The -ede ClassA1 — The largest, productive class of Danish regular verbs — past in -ede, participle in -et — and the safe default for any verb you don't recognise.
- The Present TenseA1 — How to form the Danish present (add -r) and why one present form covers English's simple present, present continuous, and 'going to' future.