Let's explore the chilling thrills of Danish winter swimming! Along the way, we will learn a neat trick about how Danish handles possession when talking about personal items and our own bodies.
Clothing: Skipping the Possessives
In English, we say "He takes off his bathrobe." In Danish, when it is obvious who owns a piece of clothing—usually because the owner is the subject performing the action—you do not need a possessive word like hans or sin. Instead, you simply use the noun's definite form (the attached -en, -et, or -ne ending).
| The man takes off his bathrobe before he goes into the sauna. | Manden tager badekåben af før han går ind i saunaen. |
Notice how the Danish sentence literally translates to "takes the bathrobe off." This convenient shortcut applies to all personal clothing items, such as a swimsuit.
| She always puts on her swimsuit before the cold dip. | Hun tager altid badedragten på inden det kolde dyp. |
Body Parts
This same rule applies to body parts. If a person is shivering, washing themselves, or feeling the cold, their body parts take the definite article rather than a possessive determiner. Therefore, "our hands" becomes hænderne (the hands) and "the back of her neck" becomes nakken (the back of the neck).
| After the winter swimming, we always shiver, and our hands are cold. | Efter vinterbadningen skælver vi altid, og hænderne er kolde. |
| The woman washes the back of her neck when she has taken off her swimsuit. | Kvinden vasker nakken når hun har taget badedragten af. |
| Do you dare to jump in, or are your legs shaking? | Tør du hoppe i, eller ryster benene? |
The Winter Swimming Routine
Winter swimming is a popular and invigorating Danish tradition. A typical routine involves sprinting down the bathing pier (badebroen) for a freezing dip (et dyp), and then rushing straight into a hot sauna (saunaen).
| They run quickly down the bathing pier to take a dip. | De løber hurtigt ned ad badebroen for at tage et dyp. |
| We are fond of the sauna after the winter swimming, provided that it is hot. | Vi er glade for saunaen efter vinterbadningen forudsat at den er varm. |
