Dialogue - Danish

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Vocabulary

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rart nice
at være to be
Goddag Hello.
navn name
mit my, mine
dit your, yours
i lige måde likewise, you too
dig you
at møde to meet
hvad what

Lesson Notes

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Lesson Focus

The Focus of this Lesson is Asking Someone Their Name


To ask someone their name, just ask, Hvad er dit navn? This means, "What is your name?"

The first word, hvad, is a pronoun that means "what."

The next word, er, means "is," followed by dit, which is the second person possessive pronoun "your / yours" in Danish.

The last word navn means "name."

All together, we have: Hvad er dit navn?

The answer is Mit navn er plus your name, which literally means, "My name is ..."

For example:

  1. Mit navn er Maria.
    "My name is Maria."

Please note that there is another common way of asking someone's name in Danish, which is Hvad hedder du? This literally means, "What are you called/named?" But it is equivalent to, "What is your name?" Accordingly, the answer is Jeg hedder plus your name, which literally means, "I'm called / named ..." and is equivalent to, "My name is ..." Both phrases can be used, but Danish people tend to say Jeg hedder... when introducing themselves because it is shorter than Mit navn er ... and also sounds less formal. So basically, it is up to you to decide which one you prefer using.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

At være means "to be" in Danish, and luckily, whether you want to say "am," "are, or "is," this verb is always er in the present tense, no matter which pronoun or noun in the singular or plural you put in front of it. Therefore, it is as easy to tell someone your name as it is to ask someone their name in Danish.

For example:

  1. Mit navn er Peter.
    "My name is Peter."
  2. Hvad er deres navne?
    "What are their names?"

Notice how er remains in both sentences. Besides being easy to remember, er is one of the most important words to know in Danish, as it is often used like "to be" in any other language.

 

Mit and dit are the equivalents of "my"/mine" and "your"/"yours." They are the first and second person possessive pronouns used when referring to a noun that belongs to the neuter gender class, like in the first example above, in which the noun navn ("name") is used. Like in English, mit and dit can also stand alone in a sentence without the actual noun being mentioned.

For example:

  1. Er det mit?
    "Is this mine?"
  2. Er det dit?
    "Is this yours?"

Simply make sure that you know the gender of the noun that det ("this") has replaced. In the examples above, det refers to nouns that belong to the neuter gender class, but if you are referring to a noun of the common gender class, det should be changed to den ("this"), even though the meaning obviously does not change. This also counts for mit and dit, which should be changed to min ("my"/"mine") and din ("your"/"yours") when referring to nouns that belong to the common gender class. When referring to nouns in the plural though, gender does not matter: it is mine ("my"/"mine") and dine ("your"/"yours").

For example:

  1. Er skoene dine?
    "Are the shoes yours?"
  2. Skoene er mine.
    "The shoes are mine."

 

Finally, the phrase i lige måde is equivalent to both "likewise" and "you too," and it is used the same way in Danish as it is in English. Danish people mostly use it when someone has thanked you for something and you want to thank them too.

For example:

A: Tak for godt samarbejde. - "Thanks for good cooperation."
B: Tak, i lige måde. - "Thanks, likewise/you too."

A: Tak for i aften. - "Thanks for tonight/this evening."
B: Tak, i lige måde. - "Thanks, likewise/you too."

I lige måde can also be used when someone wishes you good luck or something pleasant and you want to return the compliment.

For example:

A: Hav en god weekend. - "Have a nice / good weekend."
B: Tak, i lige måde. - "Thanks, likewise / you too."

Cultural Insights

Incentives for Having Children


In 2012 Denmark had 57,916 newborns. The country of Denmark officially needs a birth rate of 2.3 babies per woman, but combined with the increasing age of first timers and the economy, this has been rather hard to achieve. Many incentives to bear more children have been made over the past thirty years. One of the biggest new incentives was the Schlüter checken act from 1987, under which a check is sent to every child under the age of eighteen, regardless of their parents' income. Also almost half of daycare and kindergarten is subsidized, and the more children you have, the bigger the discount.

 

Currently, the most popular girls and boys names in Denmark are:

Girls Names

Boys Names

Emma

Victor

Sofia

William

Freja

Noah

Ida

Frederik

Maja

Lucas

Sofie

Liam

Isabella

Emil

Laura

Oscar

Clara

Magnus

Josefine

Oliver

Lesson Transcript

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INTRODUCTION
Becky: Hi everyone, Becky here, and welcome to DanishClass101.com. This is Basic Bootcamp Lesson 1 - Self Introductions - Basic Greetings in Danish. This is the first in a five-part series that will help you ease your way into Danish.
Anna: Hej! I’m Anna! In this lesson, we’ll go over all the basics that will really help you understand Danish.
Becky: And we’ll have fun doing it! In this lesson, you will learn how to introduce yourself and ask someone their name! This conversation is between strangers.
Anna: The language they are using is very standard.
Becky: Let's listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Peter: Goddag. Mit navn er Peter. Hvad er dit navn?
Maria: Goddag, Peter. Mit navn er Maria.
Peter: Rart at møde dig.
Maria: I lige måde.
Becky: Now, let's hear it with the English translation.
Peter: Goddag. Mit navn er Peter. Hvad er dit navn?
Becky: Good Day. My name is Peter. What's your name?
Maria: Goddag, Peter. Mit navn er Maria.
Becky: Good day, Peter. My name is Maria.
Peter: Rart at møde dig.
Becky: Nice to meet you.
Maria: I lige måde.
Becky: Likewise.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Becky: Talking about names, what are the most common names we’ll hear in Denmark?
Anna: Hm, I guess the most popular girls' names in Denmark are Emma, Sofia, Freja, Ida, Maja, Sofie, Isabella, Laura, Clara, and Josefine.
Becky: And for boys?
Anna: Victor, William, Noah, Frederik, Lucas, Liam, Emil, Oscar, Magnus, and Oliver are pretty common.
Becky: So these are names you are quite likely to hear in Denmark when meeting people.
Anna: That’s right!
Becky: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
VOCAB LIST
Anna Goddag [natural native speed]
Becky Hello.
Anna Goddag [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna Goddag [natural native speed]
Anna mit [natural native speed]
Becky my, mine
Anna mit [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna mit [natural native speed]
Anna navn [natural native speed]
Becky name
Anna navn [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna navn [natural native speed]
Anna at være [natural native speed]
Becky to be
Anna at være [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna at være [natural native speed]
Anna hvad [natural native speed]
Becky what
Anna hvad [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna hvad [natural native speed]
Anna dit [natural native speed]
Becky your, yours
Anna dit [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna dit [natural native speed]
Anna rart [natural native speed]
Becky nice
Anna rart [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna rart [natural native speed]
Anna at møde [natural native speed]
Becky to meet
Anna at møde [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna at møde [natural native speed]
Anna dig [natural native speed]
Becky you
Anna dig [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna dig [natural native speed]
Anna i lige måde [natural native speed]
Becky likewise, you too
Anna i lige måde [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna i lige måde [natural native speed]
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES
Becky: Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is "to be".
Anna: At være. Whether you want to say “am,” “are,” or “is,” this verb is always er in the present tense, no matter which pronoun or noun in the singular or plural you put in front of it.
Becky: So it’s just as easy to tell someone your name as it is to ask someone their name in Danish. Let’s have some examples.
Anna: Sure. Like we just learned, “Mit navn er Peter” means “My name is Peter.” “Hvad er deres navne?” means “What are their names?” Notice how er is the same in both sentences.
Becky: I see. Can you say the phrases again?
Anna: Mit navn er Peter (pause). Mit navn er Peter.
Becky: And
Anna: Hvad er deres navne? (pause). Hvad er deres navne?
Becky: Great. Now the next words “my” and “your.”
Anna: In Danish, you say “mit” when you refer to a noun that belongs to the neuter gender class. For example, “my name” is “mit navn” because “navn” has neuter gender.
Becky: The same goes for “dit” which means “your.”
Anna: “Your name” is “dit navn.”
Becky: Just like in English grammar, “mit” and “dit” can also stand alone in a sentence, without the actual noun being mentioned.
Anna: When referring to nouns that belong to the common gender class, “mit” and “dit,” should be changed to “min” and “din.”
Becky: When referring to nouns in plural though, gender does not matter.
Anna: It is “mine” and “dine.”
Becky: Our next phrases are “Likewise” and “You too.”
Anna: I lige måde is equivalent to both English phrases, and it is used the same way in Danish as it is in English. Danish people mostly use it when someone has thanked you for something, and you also have a reason for saying thank you to that person.
Becky: Let’s break this phrase down.
Anna: “I lige” means "in same"
Becky: And
Anna: “Måde” literally means “way” or “manner”
Becky: So altogether we have...
Anna: I lige måde
Becky: Listeners, listen and repeat
Anna: I lige måde (3 seconds pause after) I lige måde
Becky: It can also be used when someone wishes you good luck or something similar, and you want to wish that person the same. Alright, that’s not too hard, is it? Now let’s move on to the grammar section.

Lesson focus

Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to introduce yourself and ask someone their name. Anna, how do you ask someone their name in Danish?
Anna: Hvad er dit navn?
Becky: It means "What is your name?" Let’s break it down.
Anna: "Hvad"
Becky: Means "what". Again slowly please.
Anna: "Hvad
Becky: Next
Anna: "Er"
Becky: Means "is." Let’s hear it slowly please.
Anna: "Er"
Becky: Next
Anna: Dit
Becky: Means “your”. Again slowly please
Anna: Dit
Becky: And the last one
Anna: Navn
Becky: Which means “name”. One more time slowly
Anna: Navn
Becky: So altogether the question is
Anna: Hvad er dit navn?
Becky: Listeners, listen and repeat.
Anna: Hvad er dit navn? {pause}
Becky: Okay, so now, how do you answer this question?
Anna: You say “Mit navn er” and then add your name. For example, “Mit navn er Maria”. “My name is Maria.”
Becky: Could you say it one more time?
Anna: Mit navn er Maria.
Becky: Great. So that wasn’t too difficult for the first lesson, right? To recap, let’s try a short dialogue. Imagine your name is Maria. Try to answer the question out loud with the phrase we learned in this lesson.
Anna: Hvad er dit navn? {pause} Mit navn er Maria.
Becky: Please note that there is another common way of asking someone’s name in Danish, which is...
Anna: Hvad hedder du?
Becky: This literally means “What are you called or named?” but this is equivalent to “What is your name?” The answer to this question is...
Anna: “Jeg hedder” followed by your name.
Becky: To recap, let’s try a short dialogue using the name Maria again.
Anna: Hvad hedder du? {pause} Jeg hedder Maria. Danish people tend to say Jeg hedder … when introducing themselves because it is shorter than Mit navn er … and also sounds less formal.
Becky: So basically, it is up to you to decide which one you prefer using!

Outro

Becky: And that’s all for this lesson! To reinforce what you’ve learned, make sure to check the lesson notes that accompany this lesson. And if you have a question or comment, leave a post on the lesson page.
Anna: Yes, we’re happy to help! Thanks for listening, everyone.
Becky: And we’ll see you next time! Bye!
Anna: Hej hej!