Danish Words That Are Hard to Pronounce
Some Danish words trip up nearly every learner. They're not long, but half their letters change or disappear. Here are eight, with audio and what to listen for. The classic test is rødgrød med fløde (red berry pudding with cream); start with rødgrød.
Rødgrød
Two ø's, two soft d's, and the r in grød made in the throat. → Danish vowels, the soft d, the Danish r
- rødgrød
red berry pudding
Til dessert er der rødgrød.For dessert there's red berry pudding.
Smørrebrød
The rr becomes a vowel sound, not an r, and the word ends on a soft d. → The Danish r, the soft d
- smørrebrød
open sandwiches
Til frokost spiser vi smørrebrød.For lunch we eat open sandwiches.
Syvogtredive
The v in syv melts into the vowel, the g in og is silent, and in tredive the d is soft and the i drops out. → The soft g and v, silent letters, the soft d
- syvogtredive
thirty-seven
Hun er syvogtredive.She's thirty-seven.
Æggehvide
The æ, the silent h in hv, and a soft d. → Danish vowels, silent letters, the soft d
- æggehvide
egg white
Pisk en æggehvide.Whisk an egg white.
Øresund
The r after ø turns into a vowel sound, and the d after n is silent. → The Danish r, silent letters
- Øresund
the Øresund strait
Broen går over Øresund.The bridge goes over the Øresund.
Selvfølgelig
The v in selv is silent, the g's soften to almost nothing, and in fast speech the whole word shrinks. → Silent letters, the soft g and v, reduction
- selvfølgelig
of course
Ja, selvfølgelig.Yes, of course.
Frikadeller
The stress is on del, many Danes skip the a, and the -er ending turns into a short vowel. → Reduction, the Danish r
- frikadeller
meatballs
I aften får vi frikadeller.Tonight we're having meatballs.
København
The stress is on havn, not the first syllable. The e after the b nearly disappears, and in havn the v softens toward a w. → Danish vowels, the soft g and v
- København
Copenhagen
Vi bor i København.We live in Copenhagen.