Danish Vowels: The Sounds English Doesn't Have
Danish writes its vowels with nine letters but uses many more vowel sounds. Start with the four letters English doesn't have: æ is close to a sound you already make, while y, ø and å have no English equivalent at all. Once you can make those, most of the rest is fine-tuning.
æ: the e in bed
The one special Danish letter English nearly has: the e in bed. Short in mælk, held longer in æble and læse. Danish also often says a written e this way before an r: her sounds like hær.
- æble
apple
Jeg spiser et æble.I'm eating an apple.
- æg
egg
Til morgenmad spiser jeg et æg.For breakfast I eat an egg.
- mælk
milk
Vil du have mælk?Would you like milk?
- læse
to read
Jeg kan godt lide at læse.I like to read.
y: an i with rounded lips
Say i as in ni, keep your tongue exactly where it is, and round your lips as if to whistle. That's y. If you know German, it's the ü in über.
- by
town
Say ee with your lips rounded.
Vi bor i en lille by.We live in a small town.
- syv
seven
Say ee with your lips rounded.
Klokken er syv.It's seven o'clock.
- lys
light
Say ee with your lips rounded.
Tænd lige et lys.Light a candle.
ø: an e with rounded lips
The same trick, starting from e: tongue still, lips rounded. Like the German ö.
- øl
beer
The ur in fur, with no r and your lips rounded.
Jeg vil gerne have en øl.I'd like a beer.
- brød
bread
The ur in fur, with no r and your lips rounded.
Vi køber brød.We're buying bread.
- søster
sister
The ur in fur, with no r and your lips rounded.
Det er min søster.That's my sister.
å: an open, rounded o
Close to the vowel in English law, with rounder lips.
- år
year
Hun er ti år.She is ten.
- gå
to go, walk
Skal vi gå?Shall we go?
- blå
blue
Bilen er blå.The car is blue.
Use a mirror
For y and ø the difference you can see is your lips. Watch them: if they don't round, the sound won't either.
One vowel, another word
Get a vowel slightly wrong and a Dane hears a different word. These pairs differ only in the vowel.
nine
Klokken er ni.It's nine o'clock.
new
Bilen er ny.The car is new.
Same tongue position; for y you round your lips as if to whistle.
animal
Det er et vildt dyr.It's a wild animal.
door
Der er en dør.There's a door.
Both rounded; ø is a little more open than y.
laughed
Hun smilede, og han lo.She smiled, and he laughed.
lay
Det var der, bogen lå.That's where the book was lying.
o is a tight, rounded vowel; å is more open, close to English 'aw'.
Which did you hear?
Listen to one word and pick which one it was. 3 rounds, no account needed.