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Danish

### Small words that steer a conversation

Spoken Danish is full of short words that show how you feel about what was just said. They usually come first, before the sentence itself.

| word | what it signals |
|---|---|
| **{{item:1218147}}** | you object or protest: "but …, well …" |
| **{{item:1218150}}** | you hesitate, you are not sure |
| **{{item:1218153}}** | you have understood, or you accept an order |
| **{{item:1218156}}** | surprise or shock: "good heavens" |

{{item:1218148}}

{{item:1218152}}

**Jamen** is *ja* + *men* written as one word. It does not mean "yes, but": it opens an objection, often with *jo* later in the sentence.

### Eller ej

**{{item:1218159}}** is "or not" at the end of a question or an *om*-clause. *Ej* is an old word for *ikke*, and today it lives on mainly in this phrase.

{{item:1218161}}

### Skidt, fatte and en smule

**{{item:1218162}}** is the informal word for "bad": *Det går skidt* (things are going badly), *Han har det skidt* (he feels bad). **Skidt med det!** means "never mind!"

**{{item:1218165}}** is everyday speech for *forstå*, mostly in the negative: *Jeg fatter det ikke!*

**{{item:1218168}}** is "a little bit", a softer *lidt*:

{{item:1218169}}

Well, I see, good heavens (jamen, javel, du godeste)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite nouns and the copula (-en, -et, er)

Indefinite articles (en, et)

Present tense verbs and word order (-r)

Plural subject pronouns (vi, I, de)

The verb to have (har)

Yes/No questions

Wh-questions (hvad, hvem, hvor)

Main clause negation (ikke)

Regular noun plurals (-er, -r)

Short noun plurals (-e)

Definite plurals (-ne)

Neuter adjective agreement (-t)

Plural adjective agreement (-e)

Adjectives with indefinite nouns

Adjectives with definite nouns (den / det / de ... -e)

Numbers 1 to 10

Numbers 11 to 20

Counting by tens to 100

Expressing age (er ... år)

Genitive possession (-s)

Singular possessives (min, din)

Third-person possessives (hans, hendes)

Plural possessives (vores, jeres, deres)

Reflexive possessives (sin, sit, sine)

Singular object pronouns (mig, dig)

Plural object pronouns (os, jer, dem)

The infinitive marker (at)

The modal verb can (kan)

The modal verb want to (vil)

The modal verb must (skal)

Negating modal verbs

Inversion after adverbs

Prepositions of position (i, på)

Prepositions of direction (til, fra)

Days of the week (mandag, tirsdag...)

Months of the year (januar, februar...)

Telling time (hel, halv, kvart)

Coordinating conjunctions (og, men, eller)

Subordinating conjunctions (at, fordi)

Subordinate clause negation

Commands (køb, vent, spis)

Zero-ending neuter plurals

The Human Body: Head and Face

The Human Body: Limbs and Torso

Personal Hygiene

Digital Life

Tools and Hardware

Emergency and Safety

Common Materials

Money and Payments

Short answers (Ja, det gør jeg)

Greetings (hej, godmorgen, farvel)

Thanks and apologies (tak, undskyld)

Jobs and nationalities (Hun er lærer)

Likes and dislikes (kan godt lide)

Somebody and something (nogen, noget, ingen)

How much? (meget, lidt, mere, nok)

With, by, over and under (med, ved, over, under)

Ordinals and dates (den første april)

Wishes for every occasion (tillykke, god bedring)

Times of day (om morgenen, om aftenen)

My day (stå op, gå i seng)

Past tense I: -ede and -te (i går)

My new hat (min nye hat, små, gamle)

Past tense II: irregular verbs (var, havde, gik)

Reacting in a conversation (nå, det lyder godt)

The family and irregular plurals (mænd, børn, fødder)

In the shop (Hvad koster det?)

Demonstratives: that and those (den, det, de)

Demonstratives: this and these (denne, dette, disse)

Adverbs of manner (-t)

Comparing things (-ere, end)

Superlative adjectives (-est)

Definite superlative adjectives (-este)

Irregular adjective comparison

Comparing long adjectives (mere, mest)

The reflexive pronoun (sig)

Reflexive verbs

Reciprocal verbs (-s)

Deponent verbs (-s)

Past opinions (syntes)

Present perfect tense with regular verbs (har... -et/-t)

Present perfect tense with irregular verbs (har...)

Present perfect tense with movement (er...)

Past perfect tense (havde / var...)

Question	Answer
well, but … (objecting)	jamen
But you said so yesterday!	Jamen, det sagde du jo i går!
Well, why didn't you call?	Jamen, hvorfor ringede du ikke?
well … (hesitating)	tja
Are you coming tonight? Well, I don't know.	Kommer du i aften? Tja, det ved jeg ikke.
Well, that may be.	Tja, det kan godt være.
I see; very well	javel
Very well, boss!	Javel, chef!
I see, then I will come tomorrow.	Javel, så kommer jeg i morgen.
good heavens	du godeste
Good heavens, it's so cold!	Du godeste, hvor er det koldt!
Good heavens, is it already ten o'clock?	Du godeste, er klokken allerede ti?
or not	eller ej
Are you coming or not?	Kommer du eller ej?
I don't know whether he is coming or not.	Jeg ved ikke om han kommer eller ej.
bad (informal); never mind	skidt
He is feeling bad today.	Han har det skidt i dag.
It doesn't matter. Never mind!	Det gør ikke noget. Skidt med det!
to grasp, to get (understand)	fatte
I don't get what you are saying.	Jeg fatter ikke hvad du siger.
She could not grasp that he was gone.	Hun kunne ikke fatte at han var væk.
a little bit	en smule
The coffee is a bit too strong.	Kaffen er en smule for stærk.
I am a little bit tired today.	Jeg er en smule træt i dag.

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