Learn how to say "help yourself"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Gina: Hello and welcome back to DanishClass101.com. This is Absolute Beginner, season 1, lesson 11 - Help Yourself to This Delicious Danish Dish! I’m Gina. |
| Anna: Hej! And I’m Anna. |
| Gina: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to say and use the phrase “help yourself” in Danish. |
| Anna: This is a very useful phrase that's good to know for everyday situations. |
| Gina: It certainly is. So let’s get started! |
| Anna: The conversation takes place in an apartment and is between Emma, William, and Peter. |
| Gina: The speakers are friends, and they’re using standard Danish. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Let's listen to the conversation. |
| Emma: Værsgo! |
| William: Lækkert! Brændende kærlighed! |
| Peter: Hvad er brændende kærlighed? |
| Emma: Det er kartoffelmos med stegte løg og bacon. |
| Peter: Mmm, mums! |
| Let's hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Emma: Værsgo! |
| William: Lækkert! Brændende kærlighed! |
| Peter: Hvad er brændende kærlighed? |
| Emma: Det er kartoffelmos med stegte løg og bacon. |
| Peter: Mmm, mums! |
| Now let's hear it with the English translation. |
| Emma: Værsgo! |
| Emma: Help yourself! |
| William: Lækkert! Brændende kærlighed! |
| William: Yummy! Brændende kærlighed! |
| Peter: Hvad er brændende kærlighed? |
| Peter: What is brændende kærlighed? |
| Emma: Det er kartoffelmos med stegte løg og bacon. |
| Emma: It's mashed potatoes with fried onion and bacon. |
| Peter: Mmm, mums! |
| Peter: Mmm, yum! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Gina: And now it’s time to talk about one of my favorite topics in Danish culture… Food! |
| Anna: Yes. The new Nordic food wave has taken the world by storm, and definitely put the capital Copenhagen on the world’s culinary map. |
| Gina: So what's this food revolution all about? |
| Anna: It’s about cooking gourmet dishes by using old techniques, like drying or smoking. |
| Gina: Doesn’t this make everything much slower and more complicated? |
| Anna: Well, the point is to use local ingredients and focus on creating a more authentic or natural taste, to do the produce justice. |
| Gina: But we don’t have to eat dirt, right? |
| Anna: Of course not! But hay, for example, is often used in the smoking techniques to add a richer flavor. |
| Gina: I think I'd like to try some gourmet Danish food! But before I get too hungry. |
| VOCAB |
| Gina: Now let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we shall see is |
| Anna: værsgo |
| Gina: here you go, dinner is ready, help yourself, please, go ahead |
| Anna: (SLOW) værsgo, værsgo |
| Next: |
| Anna: lækker |
| Gina: delicious, yummy, gorgeous, dishy |
| Anna: (SLOW) lækker, lækker |
| Next: |
| Anna: brændende kærlighed |
| Gina: name of a Danish dish (lit. burning love) |
| Anna: (SLOW) brændende kærlighed, brændende kærlighed |
| Next: |
| Anna: hvad er |
| Gina: what is? |
| Anna: (SLOW) hvad er, hvad er |
| Next: |
| Anna: kartoffelmos |
| Gina: mashed potatoes |
| Anna: (SLOW) kartoffelmos, kartoffelmos |
| Next: |
| Anna: med |
| Gina: along, with, by, in |
| Anna: (SLOW) med, med |
| Next: |
| Anna: stegte løg og bacon |
| Gina: fried onion and bacon |
| Anna: (SLOW) stegte løg og bacon, stegte løg og bacon |
| Next: |
| Anna: mums |
| Gina: yum |
| Anna: (SLOW) mums, mums |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Gina: Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. Anna, what do we have first? |
| Anna: First we have the adjective lækker. |
| Gina: This means “delicious” or “yummy,” and as you’ve probably guessed, it's used when referring to how something tastes. |
| Anna: Yes. For example, Det er lækkert means “It's delicious.” |
| Gina: Remember to add a -t to the adjective when it refers to a neuter gender noun. |
| Anna: Good tip! |
| Gina: What else can you tell us about this adjective? |
| Anna: You can also use it to describe someone’s looks. |
| Gina: Oh yeah, that’s right! Can you give us an example? |
| Anna: Of course! For example, Han er lækker. |
| Gina: Which means... |
| Anna: “He's gorgeous.” Or “He's hot.” |
| Gina: Great. What’s next? |
| Anna: Med. |
| Gina: This word has several meanings, right? |
| Anna: Yes. When med is an adverb, it means “along” and is used the same way as in English. |
| Gina: When it’s a preposition, it can mean “with,” “by,” or “in.” |
| Anna: For example, Kom med os means “Come with us.” And De kørte med bus means “They went by bus.” |
| Gina: How about when it means “in”? |
| Anna: Med andre ord… “In other words.” |
| Gina: It can also be used to say “What about me?” |
| Anna: Hvad med mig? |
| Gina: What about you...? |
| Anna: Hey…! |
| Gina: (laughs), I’m kidding! What’s next? |
| Anna: Mums. |
| Gina: This is an interjection that means “yum,” or “yum yum”, if you will. |
| Anna: You can say it when you think something’s delicious. |
| Gina: Can you repeat it one more time? |
| Anna: Mums… As an alternative, you can say namnam. Especially when you are talking to smaller children. |
| Gina: Great! Okay, now onto the grammar. |
| GRAMMAR POINT |
| Gina: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to say and use “Help yourself.” |
| Anna: “Help yourself” or literally “here you go”, in Danish is Værsgo. [pause] Værsgo. |
| Gina: It's usually the host or the one who cooked the dinner who says it when everyone has sat down at the table. |
| Anna: Yes. Værsgo indicates that everyone can go ahead and start putting food on their plates. |
| Gina: Some Danes also say it before everyone has been seated, to say “Dinner is ready.” |
| Anna: That’s right. |
| Gina: What else can you tell us about this interjection? |
| Anna: Værsgo is often used when offering something to someone. |
| Gina: Can you give us an example? |
| Anna: Sure. Værsgo, tag en sodavand. |
| Gina: Which means “Go ahead, have a soda” or something like that, right? |
| Anna: Exactly. You also say værsgo when handing or |
| passing something to someone. |
| Gina: Like the salt or a gift? |
| Anna: Yes. Let’s pretend we are having dinner and you’ve asked me to pass you the salt. |
| Gina: Then, when you pass me the salt, you say… |
| Anna: Værsgo. |
| Gina: So in this case, it means “Here you are.” |
| Anna: Spot on! |
| Gina: So it’s very easy to learn how to use. Alright, that’s it for this... |
| Anna: Wait! We’re not done yet! |
| Gina: Oh! Sorry… Værsgo. |
| Anna: Thanks. You can also use the word to say “please.” |
| Gina: Oh, yeah that’s right! |
| Anna: If you add the infinitive marker at and a verb in infinitive form after værsgo, you can say “Please (something)” or “Please (do something).” |
| Gina: The "something" is the verb, of course. |
| Anna: Right. |
| Gina: Can you give us some examples? |
| Anna: Sure, Værsgo at sidde ned. |
| Gina: Which means… |
| Anna: “Please sit down.” |
| Gina: And Værsgo at spise. |
| Anna: Which means “Please eat.” |
| Gina: So it’s værsgo, then at and a verb in infinitive form. |
| Anna: Did you know that værsgo is actually a contraction of værsågod? |
| Gina: Yes, but I haven’t heard it for ages. |
| Anna: No wonder, because only a few Danes still pronounce it that way. Everyone says værsgo. |
| Gina: Well, it’s same meaning, different pronunciation, right? |
| Anna: I suppose you could put it that way, yes. |
Outro |
|---|
| Gina: Okay, listeners, that’s all for this lesson. |
| Anna: For real this time! |
| Gina: Make sure to check out the lesson notes for more examples. |
| Anna: Yes, they're very useful when practicing your Danish. |
| Gina: Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time! |
| Anna: Hej hej! |
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