Mor, far, bror, søster — and everything built from them
Danish makes its family words like building blocks. Mor is mother, far is father, and the first part always tells you whose side of the family you mean:
| Danish | literally | English |
|---|---|---|
| mormoren | mother's mother | grandmother |
| morfaren | mother's father | grandfather |
| farmoren | father's mother | grandmother |
| farfaren | father's father | grandfather |
| morbroren | mother's brother | uncle |
| farbroren | father's brother | uncle |
| mosteren | mother's sister | aunt |
| fasteren | father's sister | aunt |
| My grandmother (mother's mother) lives in Odense. | Min mormor bor i Odense. |
| My aunt (father's sister) comes from Aalborg. | Min faster kommer fra Aalborg. |
Bedstemor and onkel are fine too, but Danes nearly always say which side.
Big and little
storebroren and storesøsteren are older than you; lillebroren and lillesøsteren are younger. All your brothers and sisters together are your søskendene — the word has no singular form.
| Do you have siblings? | Har du søskende? |
Only one
eneste comes after den, det or a possessive: den eneste, hans eneste søster. And kalde is what you call someone:
| I am the only boy in the family. | Jeg er den eneste dreng i familien. |
| What do you call your grandmother (mother's mother)? | Hvad kalder du din mormor? |
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