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2005-12-21T00:36:45Z

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^ [[Danish Tutorial|Contents]] ^ [[Danish_Lesson_2|Lektie 2: Familie]] ^ [[Danish_Lesson_3|Lektie 3: Tal og Farver]] ^
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===A note on pronunciation===
Danish words are extremely difficult for English-speakers to pronounce correctly when given only the written form. Even when heard the sounds can be frustrating to reproduce. The [[Danish:Alfabet|pronunciation guide]] is an attempt to explain how the words should be said, but these rules are quite hard to follow when confronted with a word like ''Smørrebrødsjomfru'' (sandwich maker).

Here's a very incomplete list of tips for the simple greetings in this lesson:

*'''Hej''' = just like the English ''Hi''.
*'''Dav''' = say ''Dau''.
*'''Goddag''' = the last ''g'' is silent.
*'''Godmorgen''' = "''go-moarn''". The ''r'' is pronounced in the back of the throat, nearly silent.

==Hellos and Goodbyes in Danish==
Hellos:
Hello! ''Hej!''
''Hejsa!''
''Dav!''
''Goddag!''
Good morning! ''Godmorgen!''
Good evening! ''Godaften!''

Goodbyes:
Goodbye! ''Farvel!''
Bye! ''Hej hej!''
Later! ''Vi ses!''
Good night! ''Godnat!''

==Samtale 1 ~ Conversation 1==

Sofie and Louise are friends. They meet and talk about their day.

''Louise:'' Hej Sofie, hvordan går det? 
''Sofie:'' Det går godt, tak. Hvad med dig? 
''Louise:'' Jeg har det fint. 
''Sofie:'' Hvad så? 
''Louise:'' Ikke noget særligt 
''Sofie:'' Hej hej, Louise. 
''Louise:'' Vi ses. 

===Ordforklaringer ~ Vocabulary===
{| style="background-color: #f2fff2; border: solid 1px #bfffbf; padding: 1em;" valign=top
|
{| cellspacing="3"
| Hej
| =
| Hi, hello
|-
| Hvordan går det?
| =
| How's it going? (more literally: "How goes it?")
|-
| Det går godt / Jeg har det fint
| =
| I'm fine
|-
| Tak
| =
| Thanks
|-
| Hvad med dig?
| =
| How about you?
|-
| Hvad så?
| =
| What's up? (literally: "What then?")
|-
| Ikke noget særligt
| =
| Nothing in particular ("Not anything particular")
|}
|}

You can probably figure out the rest, with the help of the ''Hellos and Goodbyes'' table.

==Samtale 2==

Take a look at this short formal conversation to see how Danes address eachother formally.

''Hr. Nilsen:'' Goddag! Hvordan har De det? 
''Hr. Klaaborg:'' Davs! Jeg har det fint, tak. 
''Hr. Nilsen:'' Godt, Farvel! 
''Hr. Klaaborg:'' Farvel! 

===Ordforklaringer===
{| style="background-color: #f2fff2; border: solid 1px #bfffbf; padding: 1em;" valign=top
|
{| cellspacing="3"
| Hr.
| =
| Mister (mr.)
|-
| Frøken
| =
| Ms., Miss
|-
| Frue
| =
| Mrs.
|}
|}

You may have noticed that hr. Nilsen referred to hr. Klaaborg as ''De''. This is the polite form for ''you'', as opposed to the casual ''du'', which Sofie and Louise used. This is rarely used in Danish today though, but can still be seen when titulating people whom demand great respect, like for example the nobility.

===Flere ordforklaringer ~ More vocabulary===

besøge visit
bro bridge
ven, venner friend, friends
samtale, samtaler conversation, conversations
grammatik grammar
lektie lesson
gade, vej street, road
ordforklaringer word explanations, vocabulary

at gå to go/walk
med with
at være to be

at møde to meet
at besøge to visit
at forstå to understand

men but, however
også also, too, as well
tak thank you; thanks
det it (pronoun)
nej no
ja yes
korrekt correct
allerede already
smuk beautiful
meget very
og and

==Pronomer ~ Pronouns==
The Danish pronouns shouldn't be too hard to memorize, as they are most of the time close to their English equivalents. '''vi''' = ''we'' and '''os''' = ''us'', for example.

{| style="background-color: #f2fff2; border: solid 1px #bfffbf; padding: 1em;" valign=top
|
{| cellspacing="5" style="background: transparent;"
!
!colspan=2| Subject (nominative)
!colspan=2| Object (accusative)
|-
!
! Danish
! English
! Danish
! English
|-
| 1st Person Singular
| jeg
| I
| mig
| me
|-
| 2nd Person Singular
| du
| you
| dig
| you
|-
| 3rd Person Singular
| han hun den/det
| he she it
| ham hende den/det
| him her it
|-
|  
|  
|  
|  
|  
|-
| 1st Person Plural
| vi
| we
| os
| us
|-
| 2nd Person Plural
| I
| you
| jer
| you
|-
| 3rd Person Plural/ Polite 2nd Person Singular
| de
| they
| dem
| them
|}
|}

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^ [[Danish Tutorial|Contents]] ^ [[Danish_Lesson_2|Lektie 2: Familie]] ^ [[Danish_Lesson_3|Lektie 3: Tal og Farver]] ^
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Danish Lesson 1 - Revision history

Christoph: Started article