I would say that "Tak for kaffe!" is more like a surprised or shocked expression like "Holy cow!" or "WTF!", whereas many Danes tend to use the phrase "Tak for lort." as in thanks for chit if they want to express the "Thanks for nothing." sentiment. So that also means that most of us actually do say Tak for kaffe if we had coffee. The difference lies in the intonation and strength of the sentence. The exclamation mark at the end is the important bit, If you say it in a calm way it just means what it is, whereas if you say it with energy and vigorously then we know it's because you are surprised or shocked.🙂 Can you use it in the other way? Yes, but I'd reckon it's way less common these days compared to the actual meaning or the surprised meaning.
Agreed! _Tak for kaffe_ expresses that something is more overwhelming, difficult, challenging, numerous, sizeable, impressive, gobsmacking, etc., than you thought it would be. It’s an expression of surprise/shock, and it’s pretty much synonymous with _tak skal du have!_ (‘thank you’) when said in that particular tone of voice that’s reserved for ‘woah’-types of things. I have never heard anyone use _tak for kaffe_ to mean ‘thanks for nothing’; _tak for lort_ is the only phrase I can think of to say that, short of just translating it verbatim and saying _tak for ingenting_ (but that’s not really idiomatic).
@@kokoshneta I have heard people use it like a "thanks for nothing" but it requires context and tone, there is the surprised "tak for kaffe!" said in the "holy cow!" tone, where you put the pressure on the "tak" and "kaffe" to exclaim surprise, but you could say like "..tak for kaffe.." in a low and sarcastic tone and it would be kind of obvious that you are not super satisfied, but i would agree its not something i would hear often ;)
I would probably not use it. To me the "Tak for kaffe!" is as you say something used as "WTF". But an expression I would associate with the series "Matador", dating back to 1940s Danish.
I really love the Danish phrase: "Mæt af dage." which is what you say when someone has had a long life and is ready to pass away. It implies that you've had your fill of life ("mæt" means "full" in the sense of having had enough to eat), and I love that it has a positive connotation when talking about the end of life.
After 40 years in the primary health service I hav met many that were "mæt af dage" As an old lady once declared, 2 weeks before her 108'th birthdag: if I wake up tomorrow and realice that I'm dead, I will be Happy.
Now you said 'hej', I have to share the old joke: Two Danish sharks meet each other. Shark 1: Hej Haj, Shark 2: Hallo Haj. Shark 1: Har du lært Engelsk? Shark 2: Yes in Haj-school.
Haha, true - I guess there's a lot of things you don't think about if you're Danish, and things we notice about the States or even the English language now that we're a bit removed.
Ah yes definitely. Also why i like watching these videos. It's Fun to see what kind of stuff people like you notice and think about that are totally common for us
A welsh friend of mine, who’s learning danish, says speaking danish is like speaking old English. He says he fells like a knight from the medieval times. Also one of my favorite words is “træls”. It’s very useful in many situations and can mean different things depending on the situation.
Yes, it's in many ways like a parallel world of an older and simplistic core English with lots of very similar basic words / ord typically just / just [yoost] differing by some / somme ( old fash.) fairly simple / simple and predictable sound shifts / skift at the most / mest + different spelling traditions of course - as well as having many grammatical similarities ( the same basic word order, a complete lack of cases for nouns and their articles, similar ways of forming tenses, many parallel strong verbs ( give, gav, givet / synge, sang, sunget / drik(ke), drak, drukket / synke, sank, sunket / bringe, bragte, bragt, tage (take), tog, taget / springe, sprang, sprunget ...), and it even has the same verb conjugations for ALL grammatical persons, both singular and plural (!) - English is nearly getting there 😂 D Skal vi [ve] gå [go] ud [ooð] igen [ee-gain] nu [noo*] for at finde min [meen] fader [fað-er !] / moder [mo(u)ð-er !] / broder [bro(u)ð-er !] / søster [s'oe's-ter] / søn [s'oe'n] / datter? E Shall ( OE sceal !) we go out again now (for) to find my father / moder / brother / sister / son / daughter? Btw. the OE word(s) for snail / snegl [snighl] was / were actually "snægel" / "snegel" or "snægl" 😉 Please check out the brilliant video "Viking Influence on the English Language" and Melvyn Bragg's great TV series "The Adventure of English" ( especially episodes 1 & 2 (of 8) in this context ). Both are available on UA-cam 😉
Selvfølgelig / se følj li. Selv comes from self like myself. Følgelig comes from følge: to follow. Lig ( apart from also meaning corpse ) also means like as in they are like each other. So selvfølgelig means: I follow like you ! I agree, naturally, etc..
We lived in Norway because my dad worked for an American oil company when they were exploring the North Sea for oil. He would use the expression "no sweat" and one of the Norwegians in his office one day try to say it and it came out "ingen perspiration." Too funny.
HAHA, that's great - the little "Danglish" translations are always really funny to hear and see. Google translate has gotten better in the years we have been here, but there are still some funny translations even with pretty decent auto-translations.
You guys are super "hygge". Sitting down with you two and a hot cup of coffee have quickly become an important morning ritual for me. Så tak for Latte! ;-)
As to the english words suddenly being used by danes, when they speaking danish. My kids are using english ways of saying stuff, but in danish. fx. "Are you lying to me" in danish is "Lyver du for mig" they will say "Lyver du til mig" ... which is directly translated from english... They probably watch to much UA-cam in english *S*
In some parts of the country, you might also occasionally hear "tak for kaffe" said to express surprise at something unexpected. It's not that common anymore, but it's still worth keeping in mind, just in case you hear it used in that kind of context.
Very interesting video that makes you think about words you take for granted and what they actually mean. Like "selvfølgelig" = "self" + "this follows (or ergo)" . Speaking of the Danish/English mixed language of us Danes, I often find myself being able to think of the English word first, before the Danish one, when trying to articulate sentences. (Comes from watching a lot of English speaking youtube, twitch and being somewhat isolated in real life I guess).
Interesting effect - I guess it works both ways. We do that sometimes too or we say "toilet" instead of "bathroom" and that has a weird sound in the States, almost like you're asking someone "where's the toilet" would be like asking where the actual device is and not the room.
@@jan_Mamu Vaskebjørn = Washing Bear. Because Racoons look like tiny bear-like creatures, and they have a habbit of washing food before eating it (if possible)
Thanks for the video, really enjoy your content. You totally seem like 2 really genuine, charming and nice persons. I just found your channel and its really interesting for me as a dane to hear your perspective and thoughts on Denmark and the danish language. An outside perspective is often the best way to understand something and you notice things Ive never thought of. Also I hope you enjoy it here, and huge props for learning danish. Ive heard its super hard to learn but your pronounciation are really good. Subscribed! :D
my american husband still dont understand why or whut or who when I just default answer: Rolls from Kohberg, when he says: What can I say? I have tried to explain it to him, it does not translate. But every dane knows exactly what I mean when I say... æhh boller fra kohberg. It answers the question so perfect.
Had to see my doctor today bc my blood pressure has been sky-high for the last few days (last night: 204/105!!), and back home, I opened my pc and played this video. I bet this is exactly what my doctor would have prescribed if the pharmacy had run out of the right medicine. And now I'm here, I better watch some more of your videos, (some for the 2. or 3. time), as they for sure are a brilliant medicine for high blood pressure, stress, and whatnot, and with zero negative side effects! Tusinde tak, drenge!! ❤ ❤ Og hvilken fornøjelse at høre hvor godt I taler dansk! 👍👍
You wanted more examples of snails in the danish language; my favourite is is a sentence constructed to practice pronunciation “en snegl på vejen er tegn på regn i Spanien” which is the the danish version of “the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain” from “Pygmalion” but probably more known from “My fair lady” where an entire song is called “the rain in Spain” / “en snegl på vej’n”
Thank you for a great video 😊I noticed something cool, you guys have perfected pronouncing those tricky Danish letters known as æ, ø and å. That is not easy at all!
I’ve mostly heard “tak for kaffe” used in a way that expresses surprise. And these days I really only use the phrase after afternoon coffee at my grandparents’ house in the same manner as “tak for mad”. The way you describe its meaning makes my Gen Z brain think of “tak for lort” instead, which is admittedly more vulgar, but you know, in that good old Danish kind of way.
We all get influenced by the enviroment we are living in. I also use some words or phrashes from German, swedish and english from time to time. Have you noticed more words you are using or changes in how you speak english? It is kind of funny to hear how being in Denmark do change you and the way you are thinking/speaking.
Yes, for sure. We notice that we talk more slowly and more clearly (to avoid any accent) and more plainly (to avoid slang and local expressions). We also find that our "normal" speaking comes back within a few hours of being around Americans or back in the States (or with a few drinks). Even being in the UK it's an interesting effect where we talk faster and almost feel more at ease in an English-speaking country.
Thx again for a good video. About the "ja-ja"-thing. Years and years ago I worked for the US in Greenland. And as all the Danes and Greenlandic spoke Danish (of course and English also). Well the Danes and Greenlandic mostly reply "jaaa" or "ja-ja" when agreeing with the US staff. The new-comes from the US often look very surprise and a little strange on the Dane or Greenlandic when replying "jaa" or "ja-ja". But within a few weeks most of them starting using "jaa" or "ja-ja" when reply both to Danes and Greenlandic but also amongst themself... So hej hej.. But wait! - the Danes also still use the word "farvel" for goodbye. Which you guys also know from English as Farewell. Originating from Scandinavian from the word "fare" with in this context means to travel or move. And "well" is Scandinavian also. That means good or being physically good. Bye the way "Hej" has come to Denmark from Sweden within the past 40years. Before that we all use, good-day - "Goddag" and "Farvel" farewell.... But 80% English is actually Scandinavian or specifically Danish/Norwegian,
It can mean just about anything depending on tone and lenght. Its great but might be a nightmare for non Danish. A cool or very slight frown and its meant as to be sarcastic.
Thank you very much for making a longer video about this 😊 Would it be possible for you to make about humor going wrong, if you have enough material for a whole video? You talked about humor in Denmark before, that you have to be fluent in sarcasm, but have you ever experienced it going going wrong, either for you or for other international people around you?
Yeah, we actually have a good friend who does English comedy in Copenhagen and globally that we were considering collaborating with about this. We've discussed with her before that there seem to be two different definitions of sarcasm, and other issues like Danes sometimes take Americans very literally - even though there's not as much of a language barrier, there's a communication or tone barrier that causes misunderstanding, so exaggeration and sarcasm is missed when she thinks it's very obvious etc. Definitely a cool topic we have in the queue and will cover at some point :)
Great vid. :-) And yes, what is it about Dutch and Danish that has so many people confused? I create comic books and an Indian customer was recently interested in buying one. When I told him they are written in Danish, his comment was: "Oh, so you're from the Netherlands?" Jeez! ;-)
Watch out for the jaja thing. Even though its very common in Danish it can be kinda impolite like "yeah yeah whatever"/"jaja rend mig" Its not so common but some will see it like that. Loved your Danish btw
It is funny that you worry about Bae and Bæ. The Danish word is pronounced with a kind of glottal stop know as "stød". This glottal stop carries meaning like the difference between bønner (beans or prayer depending on context) and bønder (plural of farmer). This stød is one of the most difficult things for foreigners to pick up. But it's kind of similar to the difference between dog and duck in English.
Interesting, because I don't think dog and duck sound even remotely similar haha, although with my regional accent I would say "dawg" so I'm a bad judge LOL
@@RobeTrotting Completely agree on the dog and duck. In the same way Danes can easily tell the difference between Bæ and Bae. I think the confusion part here is that if we were to write an "æ" on an English keyboard, we would obviously have to use the "ae" version and thus it becomes the same from a literal standpoint. However, when we say it as an abbreviation, it literally is like "babe" in English where the first part of the word is pronounced "bae" as the whole word is pronounced "baebe". Now what then screws it up is the fact that some Danes are not that great and thoughtful in this pronunciation, and then it becomes this odd "bæ" with like a soft "h" in the end. But many who have good diction and pitch get it more similar to what someone from the UK or the US would say.
Kanelsnegl is probably because it’s formed like a snail house. The English inserting is something I relate to a lot. Most UA-camrs I watch are talking English and they have of course shaped my vocabulary especially when other people my age use the same fraces. And sometimes I will hear a word more in English than in Danish and totally forget what it’s called in my own language. But that’s mostly for specific stuff like maybe an ancient civilization for example
Nice cute video. Selvfølgelig 😉 Yes many might use "ja ja" like agreeing on something/conferming something casualy, but sometimes "Ja Ja" The double yes in Danish can be seen as if you don't care like "yeah whatever" and therefor sound negative. So it depends on when, to whom and how you say that. I've been finding myself saying it sometimes and others have made me aware of it, because I forgot, that it could be seen as negative, so sometimes it's better to just say "Ja" instead of "Ja Ja".
I always told my daughter not to answer me with ja ja because to me it means “rend mig i røven” Or fuck me. Especially from a child not wanting to listen.
You are doing so nice- in explaining how odd we danes often are in languise. Every country has its owns great expressions- thats why its fun to learn a new languise. keep it up
✨ WATCH NEXT: ua-cam.com/video/mnxVB5BT6W8/v-deo.html SEND MONEY INTERNATIONALLY? Get a FREE transfer up to 500 GBP with Wise (formerly TransferWise) using our link: wi.se/robetrotting VPN NEEDS: Try NordVPN Risk-Free for 30 days - nordvpn.com/robe MERCH SHOP: robetrotting.myspreadshop.net/ SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram: instagram.com/robe_trotting Facebook: facebook.com/robetrotting Twitter: twitter.com/robetrotting TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@robetrotting
I love hearing your pronaunciancions ( did I spell that rigth?) When you explain the meaning of the Danish words/language. Thank you so much for sharing my mother language with the world 💙
It's funny. But when my spouse is talking to her family back in England/Ireland she often speaks Danish, and I have to remember her. It's not like we don't speak English, we do, like on a regular basic. I speak Danish and she English, but when it comes to it, she does the danish. It so wired.
In Jutland you might hear 'jo jo' (jow jow) more than 'ja ja'. Jo basically means yes (or Yeah), but the meaning of 'jo jo' is quite different. I'll leave you to figure it out 🙂
I understand it to mean "yes, of course". Often I have heard it as someone was inhaling. I had relatives in southern Jutland who had a very distinct accent but I heard "jo jo" often in TV interviews back in the 1980s.
Really fun video, guys! When you mentioned scat, there are other English (American?) meanings: Think Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong singing (scatting),or shooing a cat or dog away *SCAT!* Also with *yeah yeah*, on the East coast of the US, when you ask someone a question, they’ll often answer very quickly *yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah* Living on the East coast for a few years, like you in Denmark, we started saying the same thing as the long term residents. Now being back on the West coast, we dropped it and are back to one *yeah* 🙂
I have heard ‘tak for kaffe’ from my DK relatives but never thought of it as anything other than ’thanks for coffee’ as it usually followed an afternoon visit where coffee and treats were served. 🤷🏼♀️🇩🇰
It's all about the tone and context. It can be used literally to express appreciation for a cup of coffee, to express surprise/wonder, or to express annoyance just to name a few.
Or the “far, får får får? Nej, får får ikke får, for får får lam” which translates to something like “dad, do sheep have sheep? No, sheep don’t have sheep, sheep have lamb”
Tak for kaffe: can also be used as an exclamation, like "og my god" If you literally want to thank someone for coffee. Just say "tak for kaffen" using the specific term for coffee, changes the meaning, and then you know you are being thanked for the specific coffee you just had.
Think of "ja ja" more like "sure" or "of course" ;) The double-thing is also like we say "Hej", as hi to open a conversation, and "hej hej" to end it - like in a store enter/exit. Another thing to watch out for is "Det smagte meget godt" (it tasted very good) is not what is implied - "Det smagte rigtigt/virkeligt godt" is what you want to say, as the former implies: It tasted meeh. We as Danes are funny like that ;)
I love your UA-cam channel. I spent 5 years in Norway as a child and attended a Norwegian school for 2 of those years. Very similar to Danish. I'm cracking up over this particular episode and the word "selvfolgelig." (don't know how to put the slash through the O on this American keyboard). I love that word. I will tell you this, it was a lot easier to learn foreign languages as a child than as an adult. I think you guys are doing great.
Thank you so much 😃 I wish we learned some Danish as a kid but this was not really a planned relocation haha. Language is so much easier to learn as a kid, with science to back that up.
Hold down the Alt key and type 0248 on your numeric keypad to get the ø. I've seen a few YT videos by an American girl (15 years old I think) who was an exchange student in Norway and, having arrived in August, her hosts said that by Christmas she understood everything they said to her in Norwegian and after Christmas she was pretty much fluent in the language herself so being young certainly makes learning a new language easier.
can also meen rend mig i røven ! its all about the tone its said in ! as a respons when you dont care about what a person is saying ! its all about how you use the ja ja =P it has so many more layers to it then just yes =P you could be telling me your life history and i be like rolling my eyes saying ja ja =P i grew up with mom saying if i ever say ja ja it mean's rend mig i røven so unless i really meen rend mig i røven ill use ja ja if i meen yes ill say Ja =P
I was kinda hoping and/or expecting you to also mention/talk about “køn” after “kæreste”. Aside from also meaning pretty, it is also a pretty good example at gender/sex in the Danish language. As we just have that word, yes we also have the word “Sex” (spelled with an X as with ks it’s just 6), however, that is only the action of having sex. “Køn”, in Danish means ‘both’ Sex and Gender in English, aka it’s the same. Which can actually make it kinda tough to understand the whole gender/sex ‘discourse’ you see online, as a Dane, I know it did for me, because here it is just that one word, so to me it’s really just the same. And while I’d say I know better understand the whole thing, I think, to me, it is still very similar/much the same.
Men and women are that equal in Denmark and the sexual freedom is so "selvfölgelig" in Denmark, that the whole old bigottery in USA is not very easy to understand anyways, it is not just the words... hope it will be better soon, too many are too unhappy!
Hey Guys I love to watch you and hear your views on us Danes. Thanks for coffee/Tak for kaffe: when it's ment ironicly, it's all in the way you say it. Like in a mocking or a condescending way. But when you actually mean thanks for coffee, it's not just in the way you say it, but you smile when you say it.
What I really like about "kæreste" besides being genderless: It's also ageless. A "boy/girlfriend" sounds like something you have in your teens. Can you have one after you've retired? It sounds a little silly. In English, I would choose to say "partner", but it's not very romantic.
Yes, that's such a great point. I have a friend who's parents divorced and his mom dated a man for years, basically raised him as a step father, and when my friend got married his mom and her kæreste got married at the courthouse a week before because they didn't want to be announced at his wedding as "...escorted by her boyfriend" they just wanted to be "the groom's mother and her husband..."
The ‘yeah yeah’ thing is kind of interesting, actually, because - speaking in very broad terms here - the reduplication mostly has the opposite effect in Danish and English. In _English_ when you repeat an affirmative or negative (more often three times than just two), the effect is to *intensify* - ‘yeah yeah yeah’ essentially means ‘yes, absolutely!’ and ‘no no no’ means ‘oh my god no!’. In _Danish_ that same repetition (more commonly just twice) has the opposite effect and instead *mollifies* - it makes it less categoric and serves to set the asker’s mind at ease. So ‘ja ja’ means ‘uh-huh’ or ‘sure’ (I know you’re expecting me to say yes, and I’m complying), while ‘nej nej’ is more along the lines of ‘nah, that’s all right’ or ‘don’t worry about it’ (you’re expecting me to say no and I’m reassuring you that no is indeed the answer). The mollifying use also exists in English (‘no no, I’m good, don’t worry’), but the intensifying use doesn’t really exist in Danish. And then of course Danish has the phenomenon where repeating an affirmative or negative a whole bunch of times (‘ja ja ja ja ja ja’ or ‘nej nej nej nej nej nej’, etc.) basically means, ‘(yeah/no) all right, keep your hair on!’. That doesn’t really work in English either.
Next Christmas you should watch 'the Julekalender' (the Christmas calendar) it is like you saying we say something in Danish then put some English in the sentence... it is a fun Christmas calendar from the 90th but of the most popular tv Christmas calendar we have
The last one was funny. Hej = Hi / hej hej = bye bye. The same word but has a different meaning when you say it twice. Also the ja vs. ja ja. You're spot on with your comments 🤭😊
@@RobeTrotting Selvfølgelig is actually a pretty hard word to say. Alot of Danes even say: sel'føl'li' . No wonder it is hard for foreigners to learn Danish... we are lazy with our own language.
I know a woman from Turkey who moved to Denmark in the 80's and some men would call her "en lækker sild" (delicious herring) and she got so confused. She knew the word "sild" but she didn't know the saying "lækker sild" (hot babe in English)
You guys are so adorable ! ☺️ so funny and i love your Danish you guys have such a good positive vibe. Another fun one to the list. Is saying I wish i could give you a "bjørne knus" the direct mening is bear hug.. it's like a really big warm long hug. Like when you hug your favorite teddy bear. 🧸.
I was a language scoolteacher for 6 years, and often when you have the last day together with your class, they give you a gift. I had a wonderfull class of Bosnians, and as a goodbyegift, they gave me a beautuful photoalbum - and on the first page they had each written their names and in bigger letters the words TAK FOR ALT. They were a bit surprised, when I started laughing. 😄😄😄
It is funny that you liked the word selvfølgelig. I have never really thought about it, but the literal translation is self-follow, i.e. Something that follows from itself or is selfevident. It can be a noun as well "en selvfølge", which is used to describe something that is expected or common courtesy. It is quite rarely used that way though.
Re: "Selvfølgelig": It's also a word that is very often used ironically. You're perfectly showing sympathy and support if someone describes a turn of events that either made no logical sense at all, or were just really bad luck if you answer "Ja, selvfølgelig!". It's close to the English "Oh, obviously" response to things that are not at all obvious to anyone.
yo dudes. Danes/scandinavian/vikings have influenced so much of the english language through the years. if you look at UK. many of the towns from the east have a lot of danish/scandinavian in their names. we gave you window = vindue and a lot more words, i just can't remember them right now. but you guys should look into it. you'd be suprised how much danes have influenced your language. i am facinated by different languages. how it evolves and so on. i hope you read this comment, i enjoy watching your videos :D i tell my friends about you guys. Here in DK we love to see ourselves from an international perspective. it is such a small 'insignificant' country, everytime we hear the word denmark in any show, we point at the screen and say "heey that's where i am from" even though im eskimo, denmark is awesome. i miss the nature and freedom in greenland. but i love it here.
We do have a direct way to say please (be om/bede om), but we don't use it the same way i think.. But "må jeg bede om salten?" is basically "please hand me the salt" but translated more directly it would be "can i please ask for the salt?" so we often use "please" but in situations where we ask for things. If we ask someone to do something for us we would often say "er du sød at hente mine briller?" it would mean "could you please get my glasses" and directly translated its "are you kind to get my glasses" again we have "please" but the words differ from situation to situation and it is almost always followed by a "tak" a thank you :) Danish is such a rich language, with so many variants of the same words or meanings, that's what makes it beautiful and extremely hard to learn! My mom who has lived here since she was 20, still get phrases wrong, but she is excused as she is Norwegian and their phrases often sound soooo similar, haha! I am learning Japanese currently and the hardest part is really that they don't have the same amount of words, they have ONE word for the thing and it mostly does not change no matter the time or context, but when they do it is only the ending of the word that changes haha! Also the structure of the sentences is fun, i am used to translate Danish to English and reverse, now i have to translate from English to Japanese and not even try to think about Danish as its just too weird! haha!
I love the word “kæreste” 😊 Always found it irritating that you could have a boyfriend/boy friend or a girlfriend/girl friend. And why is the one you love “only” a friend? 🤔 It’s so much easier with venner, veninder, bekendte and kæreste. No further explanation needed 😊
Kæreste makes so much sense when you think about it. Like how is danish the only language that has a word that specifically refers to your romantic partner and not just a platonic friend which happens to be the opposite gender of you
@@rasmuspetervammenrsns3353 Norwegians also call their boyfriends/girlfriends "kjæreste" before they get married, then they're "mann og kone" ("husband and wife")
I must say that your Danish has gotten quite a lot better, 'godt gået' But I am 'nysgerrig' since you live in the København do you understand any 'Jysk'
Yeah, we have traveled in Jylland (Fyn too) but have only lived in KBH - so even our Danish friends from elsewhere dislike the København accent that the sprogskole gives us haha.
There is nothing wrong with saying Tak for Kaffe if you actually just had a cup of coffee with someone. If Tak for Kaffe is said in any coalation which did not just involve having a cup of coffee then yeah it usually mean something that has absolutely nothing to do with coffee but often times relate to someone putting on you an extra burden which you did not expect or see comming. Also the tone in which they are used usually differ wastly between the two meanings.
"Forth and back" is a part of the idiom "frem og tilbage er lige langt" (forth and back are of equal distance). Meaning that if you lose something to gain something you have to see if they're of equal importance to you else you just ned up standing still. Like, losing all your friends to get a promotion.
@@RobeTrotting You're welcome. I find idioms fascinating as they along with unique words say a lot about the socio-cultural environment of a country. How come they have a word for exactly that or an idiom that describes a certain thing. For example, the Japanese term 'karoshi' which means "death from overworking" says so much about the Japanese work culture.
I always loved when my aunt would say, "Tak for i dag" to me when I went to bed at night instead of wishing me a good night, she thanked me for the day. I try to say that to my American friends and family as much as I can!
Dane here. To keep everyone on their toes, we have made a language where it's rare to find words or phrases that has only one meaning. Always happy to be a major annoyance!
Everything has been mentioned, but guys!! Your pronunciation is getting naive, well done! 👍 I know it's a difficult language, but things seem to be picking up for you... Have you reached that 'aha' moment where things start falling into place? Where you don't think about the grammatics or sentence structure, but you just go for it?! Keep it up; whatever bc it's working! 😉 hello from Hundested 🌸🌦
Bonus fact: "Hej", as you say, means "hello", but can also mean "goodbye", aswell as "hej, hej" can mean "hello", too. How both are being interpret by us native Danish speakers all comes down to the way they're being pronounced. "Hej" with a little raise in the voice tone on the "-ej" means "hello". "Hej" with a little bit of the famous Danish glottal stop ("stød") means "goodbye". "Hej, hej" with a little lower voice tone on the second "hej" means "goodbye". "Hej, hej" with a clearly raised voice tone on the second "hej" means "hello".
I would say that "Tak for kaffe!" is more like a surprised or shocked expression like "Holy cow!" or "WTF!", whereas many Danes tend to use the phrase "Tak for lort." as in thanks for chit if they want to express the "Thanks for nothing." sentiment.
So that also means that most of us actually do say Tak for kaffe if we had coffee. The difference lies in the intonation and strength of the sentence. The exclamation mark at the end is the important bit, If you say it in a calm way it just means what it is, whereas if you say it with energy and vigorously then we know it's because you are surprised or shocked.🙂
Can you use it in the other way? Yes, but I'd reckon it's way less common these days compared to the actual meaning or the surprised meaning.
Agreed!
_Tak for kaffe_ expresses that something is more overwhelming, difficult, challenging, numerous, sizeable, impressive, gobsmacking, etc., than you thought it would be. It’s an expression of surprise/shock, and it’s pretty much synonymous with _tak skal du have!_ (‘thank you’) when said in that particular tone of voice that’s reserved for ‘woah’-types of things.
I have never heard anyone use _tak for kaffe_ to mean ‘thanks for nothing’; _tak for lort_ is the only phrase I can think of to say that, short of just translating it verbatim and saying _tak for ingenting_ (but that’s not really idiomatic).
I agree
I guess we didn't explain it well
@@kokoshneta I have heard people use it like a "thanks for nothing" but it requires context and tone, there is the surprised "tak for kaffe!" said in the "holy cow!" tone, where you put the pressure on the "tak" and "kaffe" to exclaim surprise, but you could say like "..tak for kaffe.." in a low and sarcastic tone and it would be kind of obvious that you are not super satisfied, but i would agree its not something i would hear often ;)
I would probably not use it. To me the "Tak for kaffe!" is as you say something used as "WTF". But an expression I would associate with the series "Matador", dating back to 1940s Danish.
[ 6:01] - "Tak for kaffe" is also used when you experience something extreme or extraordinary, good or bad. So it's like "wow!"
I really love the Danish phrase: "Mæt af dage." which is what you say when someone has had a long life and is ready to pass away. It implies that you've had your fill of life ("mæt" means "full" in the sense of having had enough to eat), and I love that it has a positive connotation when talking about the end of life.
Agreed.
After 40 years in the primary health service I hav met many that were "mæt af dage"
As an old lady once declared, 2 weeks before her 108'th birthdag: if I wake up tomorrow and realice that I'm dead, I will be Happy.
That's a really sweet sentiment - Going to collect some of these and probably do a part 2 down the line
I teared up reading this commentary, Magnus, because of its sweetness.
@@SuiGenerisAbbie I just finished my 2nd. Office mega binge. Have you heard the podcast called Office ladies.
Now you said 'hej', I have to share the old joke:
Two Danish sharks meet each other. Shark 1: Hej Haj, Shark 2: Hallo Haj. Shark 1: Har du lært Engelsk? Shark 2: Yes in Haj-school.
LOL That's funny! :)
You said the danish so well sir… you both did and Selvfølgelig… nailed it
Tusind tak 😀🇩🇰
I love how you just overanalyze all the Danish words more than Danes ever would 🤣
Haha, true - I guess there's a lot of things you don't think about if you're Danish, and things we notice about the States or even the English language now that we're a bit removed.
Ah yes definitely. Also why i like watching these videos. It's Fun to see what kind of stuff people like you notice and think about that are totally common for us
A welsh friend of mine, who’s learning danish, says speaking danish is like speaking old English. He says he fells like a knight from the medieval times. Also one of my favorite words is “træls”. It’s very useful in many situations and can mean different things depending on the situation.
Yes, it's in many ways like a parallel world of an older and simplistic core English with lots of very similar basic words / ord typically just / just [yoost] differing by some / somme ( old fash.) fairly simple / simple and predictable sound shifts / skift at the most / mest + different spelling traditions of course - as well as having many grammatical similarities ( the same basic word order, a complete lack of cases for nouns and their articles, similar ways of forming tenses, many parallel strong verbs ( give, gav, givet / synge, sang, sunget / drik(ke), drak, drukket / synke, sank, sunket / bringe, bragte, bragt, tage (take), tog, taget / springe, sprang, sprunget ...), and it even has the same verb conjugations for ALL grammatical persons, both singular and plural (!) - English is nearly getting there 😂
D Skal vi [ve] gå [go] ud [ooð] igen [ee-gain] nu [noo*] for at finde min [meen] fader [fað-er !] / moder [mo(u)ð-er !] / broder [bro(u)ð-er !] / søster [s'oe's-ter] / søn [s'oe'n] / datter?
E Shall ( OE sceal !) we go out again now (for) to find my father / moder / brother / sister / son / daughter?
Btw. the OE word(s) for snail / snegl [snighl] was / were actually
"snægel" / "snegel" or "snægl" 😉
Please check out the brilliant video "Viking Influence on the English Language" and Melvyn Bragg's great TV series "The Adventure of English" ( especially episodes 1 & 2 (of 8) in this context ).
Both are available on UA-cam 😉
Selvfølgelig / se følj li. Selv comes from self like myself. Følgelig comes from følge: to follow. Lig ( apart from also meaning corpse ) also means like as in they are like each other. So selvfølgelig means: I follow like you ! I agree, naturally, etc..
Træls is old and great :)
Traels is in the Jylland dialect. Not anywhere else in Denmark!
Træls is foreign as well :D
We lived in Norway because my dad worked for an American oil company when they were exploring the North Sea for oil. He would use the expression "no sweat" and one of the Norwegians in his office one day try to say it and it came out "ingen perspiration." Too funny.
HAHA, that's great - the little "Danglish" translations are always really funny to hear and see. Google translate has gotten better in the years we have been here, but there are still some funny translations even with pretty decent auto-translations.
You guys are super "hygge". Sitting down with you two and a hot cup of coffee have quickly become an important morning ritual for me. Så tak for Latte! ;-)
Love that! Thank you so much for the kind words and for watching! So glad we can be part of your day Mikkel 😃🇩🇰
love you guys
Thank you so much :)
Really well composed video, gentlemen, wow! On behalf of all my cousins and countrymen, tusind tak! 😊
3:05 Oooh just wait till you find out how we giggle whenever you say the word "Pick" like "Pickaxe" or pick something up
As to the english words suddenly being used by danes, when they speaking danish. My kids are using english ways of saying stuff, but in danish. fx. "Are you lying to me" in danish is "Lyver du for mig" they will say "Lyver du til mig" ... which is directly translated from english... They probably watch to much UA-cam in english *S*
One of my favorite phrases in Danish and English is " You better handle your shit, or els you get shit on your handle"
In some parts of the country, you might also occasionally hear "tak for kaffe" said to express surprise at something unexpected. It's not that common anymore, but it's still worth keeping in mind, just in case you hear it used in that kind of context.
Very interesting video that makes you think about words you take for granted and what they actually mean. Like "selvfølgelig" = "self" + "this follows (or ergo)" .
Speaking of the Danish/English mixed language of us Danes, I often find myself being able to think of the English word first, before the Danish one, when trying to articulate sentences. (Comes from watching a lot of English speaking youtube, twitch and being somewhat isolated in real life I guess).
same (2nd part)
Interesting effect - I guess it works both ways. We do that sometimes too or we say "toilet" instead of "bathroom" and that has a weird sound in the States, almost like you're asking someone "where's the toilet" would be like asking where the actual device is and not the room.
Selvfølgelig = "Self-following" , which sounds like something being so super logical that it's selv-explanatory, to me.
@@Donnah1979 now explain vaskebjørn please
@@jan_Mamu Vaskebjørn = Washing Bear. Because Racoons look like tiny bear-like creatures, and they have a habbit of washing food before eating it (if possible)
Don't know what else to say than that I enjoyed today's video. 💓
try doing it in sønder-jysk
Thanks for the video, really enjoy your content. You totally seem like 2 really genuine, charming and nice persons. I just found your channel and its really interesting for me as a dane to hear your perspective and thoughts on Denmark and the danish language. An outside perspective is often the best way to understand something and you notice things Ive never thought of. Also I hope you enjoy it here, and huge props for learning danish. Ive heard its super hard to learn but your pronounciation are really good. Subscribed! :D
my american husband still dont understand why or whut or who when I just default answer: Rolls from Kohberg, when he says: What can I say?
I have tried to explain it to him, it does not translate. But every dane knows exactly what I mean when I say... æhh boller fra kohberg. It answers the question so perfect.
Had to see my doctor today bc my blood pressure has been sky-high for the last few days (last night: 204/105!!), and back home, I opened my pc and played this video.
I bet this is exactly what my doctor would have prescribed if the pharmacy had run out of the right medicine.
And now I'm here, I better watch some more of your videos, (some for the 2. or 3. time), as they for sure are a brilliant medicine for high blood pressure, stress, and whatnot, and with zero negative side effects! Tusinde tak, drenge!! ❤ ❤
Og hvilken fornøjelse at høre hvor godt I taler dansk! 👍👍
You wanted more examples of snails in the danish language; my favourite is is a sentence constructed to practice pronunciation “en snegl på vejen er tegn på regn i Spanien” which is the the danish version of “the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain” from “Pygmalion” but probably more known from “My fair lady” where an entire song is called “the rain in Spain” / “en snegl på vej’n”
Thank you for a great video 😊I noticed something cool, you guys have perfected pronouncing those tricky Danish letters known as æ, ø and å. That is not easy at all!
I’ve mostly heard “tak for kaffe” used in a way that expresses surprise. And these days I really only use the phrase after afternoon coffee at my grandparents’ house in the same manner as “tak for mad”. The way you describe its meaning makes my Gen Z brain think of “tak for lort” instead, which is admittedly more vulgar, but you know, in that good old Danish kind of way.
We all get influenced by the enviroment we are living in. I also use some words or phrashes from German, swedish and english from time to time.
Have you noticed more words you are using or changes in how you speak english? It is kind of funny to hear how being in Denmark do change you and the way you are thinking/speaking.
Yes, for sure. We notice that we talk more slowly and more clearly (to avoid any accent) and more plainly (to avoid slang and local expressions). We also find that our "normal" speaking comes back within a few hours of being around Americans or back in the States (or with a few drinks). Even being in the UK it's an interesting effect where we talk faster and almost feel more at ease in an English-speaking country.
Thx again for a good video.
About the "ja-ja"-thing. Years and years ago I worked for the US in Greenland. And as all the Danes and Greenlandic spoke Danish (of course and English also). Well the Danes and Greenlandic mostly reply "jaaa" or "ja-ja" when agreeing with the US staff.
The new-comes from the US often look very surprise and a little strange on the Dane or Greenlandic when replying "jaa" or "ja-ja".
But within a few weeks most of them starting using "jaa" or "ja-ja" when reply both to Danes and Greenlandic but also amongst themself...
So hej hej.. But wait! - the Danes also still use the word "farvel" for goodbye. Which you guys also know from English as Farewell. Originating from Scandinavian from the word "fare" with in this context means to travel or move. And "well" is Scandinavian also. That means good or being physically good. Bye the way "Hej" has come to Denmark from Sweden within the past 40years. Before that we all use, good-day - "Goddag" and "Farvel" farewell....
But 80% English is actually Scandinavian or specifically Danish/Norwegian,
My boyfriend is Dutch and his favourite Danish word is also "selvfølgelig"! I was happily surprised that it's your favourite too 😊
That's so funny! But obviously he has good taste!
It can mean just about anything depending on tone and lenght.
Its great but might be a nightmare for non Danish.
A cool or very slight frown and its meant as to be sarcastic.
I loved these as shorts... thanks for making a full video. ⚡
Thank you very much for making a longer video about this 😊
Would it be possible for you to make about humor going wrong, if you have enough material for a whole video? You talked about humor in Denmark before, that you have to be fluent in sarcasm, but have you ever experienced it going going wrong, either for you or for other international people around you?
Yeah, we actually have a good friend who does English comedy in Copenhagen and globally that we were considering collaborating with about this. We've discussed with her before that there seem to be two different definitions of sarcasm, and other issues like Danes sometimes take Americans very literally - even though there's not as much of a language barrier, there's a communication or tone barrier that causes misunderstanding, so exaggeration and sarcasm is missed when she thinks it's very obvious etc. Definitely a cool topic we have in the queue and will cover at some point :)
@@RobeTrotting that sound amazing. Thank you for your reply. I will keep an eye out for it 😊
As a Dane, who grew up abroad, this is such fun to see. You have some great points about the inclusivity of the language.
So glad you enjoyed it 😃
Skat in English is the same as hun, hunny ore like, thanks love. My spouse is English/Irish
Love your videos, but this one withoutr the toorhpaste-ad smiles is GOooood!
Great vid. :-) And yes, what is it about Dutch and Danish that has so many people confused? I create comic books and an Indian customer was recently interested in buying one. When I told him they are written in Danish, his comment was: "Oh, so you're from the Netherlands?" Jeez! ;-)
TAK FOR ALT is really Heart felt !!! Not formal at all !!! It's meant to express gratefulness and Love !!!
Watch out for the jaja thing. Even though its very common in Danish it can be kinda impolite like "yeah yeah whatever"/"jaja rend mig"
Its not so common but some will see it like that. Loved your Danish btw
For mig betyder ja ja
Rend mig i røven
Great episode 👍👍👍
Thanks Kasper, glad you enjoyed this one! We'll definitely bring out a part 2 in a little while.
It is funny that you worry about Bae and Bæ. The Danish word is pronounced with a kind of glottal stop know as "stød". This glottal stop carries meaning like the difference between bønner (beans or prayer depending on context) and bønder (plural of farmer). This stød is one of the most difficult things for foreigners to pick up. But it's kind of similar to the difference between dog and duck in English.
Interesting, because I don't think dog and duck sound even remotely similar haha, although with my regional accent I would say "dawg" so I'm a bad judge LOL
@@RobeTrotting Same thing 😎
@@RobeTrotting Next time you meet a Dane on foggy day, just ask them to describe the weather and see what happens 😉
@@RobeTrotting Completely agree on the dog and duck. In the same way Danes can easily tell the difference between Bæ and Bae. I think the confusion part here is that if we were to write an "æ" on an English keyboard, we would obviously have to use the "ae" version and thus it becomes the same from a literal standpoint. However, when we say it as an abbreviation, it literally is like "babe" in English where the first part of the word is pronounced "bae" as the whole word is pronounced "baebe".
Now what then screws it up is the fact that some Danes are not that great and thoughtful in this pronunciation, and then it becomes this odd "bæ" with like a soft "h" in the end. But many who have good diction and pitch get it more similar to what someone from the UK or the US would say.
@@mpwithad 😂😂😂
In English, mind you 😉
I love your channel
The "skat"-rant had me lol :D
You Guys are much much better than GOOGLE in the way of speakin`and understand Danish . Just lovin`you Guys...
Top notch video👍🏻
well done - good explained, selvfølgelig 🙂
Kanelsnegl is probably because it’s formed like a snail house.
The English inserting is something I relate to a lot. Most UA-camrs I watch are talking English and they have of course shaped my vocabulary especially when other people my age use the same fraces. And sometimes I will hear a word more in English than in Danish and totally forget what it’s called in my own language. But that’s mostly for specific stuff like maybe an ancient civilization for example
Nice cute video. Selvfølgelig 😉 Yes many might use "ja ja" like agreeing on something/conferming something casualy, but sometimes "Ja Ja" The double yes in Danish can be seen as if you don't care like "yeah whatever" and therefor sound negative. So it depends on when, to whom and how you say that. I've been finding myself saying it sometimes and others have made me aware of it, because I forgot, that it could be seen as negative, so sometimes it's better to just say "Ja" instead of "Ja Ja".
We heard that a few times and now we're questioning if this has sent the wrong signals recently haha
I always told my daughter not to answer me with ja ja because to me it means “rend mig i røven” Or fuck me. Especially from a child not wanting to listen.
When two positives make a negative
Its nice seeing your progress in your danish language skills troughout the years. Keep practicing and all the best to you guys.
You are doing so nice- in explaining how odd we danes often are in languise.
Every country has its owns great expressions- thats why its fun to learn a new languise.
keep it up
Thank you for another great, funny and informative video! 🙂❤🤗
✨ WATCH NEXT: ua-cam.com/video/mnxVB5BT6W8/v-deo.html
SEND MONEY INTERNATIONALLY? Get a FREE transfer up to 500 GBP with Wise (formerly TransferWise) using our link: wi.se/robetrotting
VPN NEEDS: Try NordVPN Risk-Free for 30 days - nordvpn.com/robe
MERCH SHOP:
robetrotting.myspreadshop.net/
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Instagram: instagram.com/robe_trotting
Facebook: facebook.com/robetrotting
Twitter: twitter.com/robetrotting
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@robetrotting
Elsker det og tak! Grinte en del faktisk... haha...hej og hej hej, ja, det er sjovt kan jeg se.
I really like you guys, you seeme so nice and sympatisk og rare, and you make a lot of very interesting videos :)
Thank you so much! :)
I love hearing your pronaunciancions ( did I spell that rigth?) When you explain the meaning of the Danish words/language. Thank you so much for sharing my mother language with the world 💙
Pronunciation
@@lisbetsoda4874 Thank you
So glad you enjoyed it and thank you for watching :)
It's funny. But when my spouse is talking to her family back in England/Ireland she often speaks Danish, and I have to remember her. It's not like we don't speak English, we do, like on a regular basic. I speak Danish and she English, but when it comes to it, she does the danish. It so wired.
Love your show😊🎤
wow i say yeah yeah and didn't know it till i saw this. crazy. I love it.
In Jutland you might hear 'jo jo' (jow jow) more than 'ja ja'. Jo basically means yes (or Yeah), but the meaning of 'jo jo' is quite different. I'll leave you to figure it out 🙂
I understand it to mean "yes, of course". Often I have heard it as someone was inhaling. I had relatives in southern Jutland who had a very distinct accent but I heard "jo jo" often in TV interviews back in the 1980s.
Really fun video, guys! When you mentioned scat, there are other English (American?) meanings: Think Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong singing (scatting),or shooing a cat or dog away *SCAT!*
Also with *yeah yeah*, on the East coast of the US, when you ask someone a question, they’ll often answer very quickly *yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah* Living on the East coast for a few years, like you in Denmark, we started saying the same thing as the long term residents. Now being back on the West coast, we dropped it and are back to one *yeah* 🙂
I have heard ‘tak for kaffe’ from my DK relatives but never thought of it as anything other than ’thanks for coffee’ as it usually followed an afternoon visit where coffee and treats were served. 🤷🏼♀️🇩🇰
It's all about the tone and context. It can be used literally to express appreciation for a cup of coffee, to express surprise/wonder, or to express annoyance just to name a few.
As an American, I laughed a little too hard to hear than in Denmark, their "IRS" is called Scat. 😆
Next time you're back in the US, you can teach them how to say "hello, shark" and "goodbye, shark" 😁 Hej haj! Hej hej, haj!
hahaha
LOL That's hilarious! :)
Or the “far, får får får? Nej, får får ikke får, for får får lam” which translates to something like “dad, do sheep have sheep? No, sheep don’t have sheep, sheep have lamb”
Tak for kaffe: can also be used as an exclamation, like "og my god"
If you literally want to thank someone for coffee.
Just say "tak for kaffen" using the specific term for coffee, changes the meaning, and then you know you are being thanked for the specific coffee you just had.
Think of "ja ja" more like "sure" or "of course" ;) The double-thing is also like we say "Hej", as hi to open a conversation, and "hej hej" to end it - like in a store enter/exit.
Another thing to watch out for is "Det smagte meget godt" (it tasted very good) is not what is implied - "Det smagte rigtigt/virkeligt godt" is what you want to say, as the former implies: It tasted meeh. We as Danes are funny like that ;)
I love your UA-cam channel. I spent 5 years in Norway as a child and attended a Norwegian school for 2 of those years. Very similar to Danish. I'm cracking up over this particular episode and the word "selvfolgelig." (don't know how to put the slash through the O on this American keyboard). I love that word. I will tell you this, it was a lot easier to learn foreign languages as a child than as an adult. I think you guys are doing great.
Thank you so much 😃 I wish we learned some Danish as a kid but this was not really a planned relocation haha. Language is so much easier to learn as a kid, with science to back that up.
Hold down the Alt key and type 0248 on your numeric keypad to get the ø.
I've seen a few YT videos by an American girl (15 years old I think) who was an exchange student in Norway and, having arrived in August, her hosts said that by Christmas she understood everything they said to her in Norwegian and after Christmas she was pretty much fluent in the language herself so being young certainly makes learning a new language easier.
Ja, ja also kind of means selvfølgelig 👍 And I think your Danish is getting better!
Love the channel :)
Thank you 😊
can also meen rend mig i røven ! its all about the tone its said in ! as a respons when you dont care about what a person is saying ! its all about how you use the ja ja =P it has so many more layers to it then just yes =P you could be telling me your life history and i be like rolling my eyes saying ja ja =P i grew up with mom saying if i ever say ja ja it mean's rend mig i røven so unless i really meen rend mig i røven ill use ja ja if i meen yes ill say Ja =P
I was kinda hoping and/or expecting you to also mention/talk about “køn” after “kæreste”.
Aside from also meaning pretty, it is also a pretty good example at gender/sex in the Danish language.
As we just have that word, yes we also have the word “Sex” (spelled with an X as with ks it’s just 6), however, that is only the action of having sex.
“Køn”, in Danish means ‘both’ Sex and Gender in English, aka it’s the same. Which can actually make it kinda tough to understand the whole gender/sex ‘discourse’ you see online, as a Dane, I know it did for me, because here it is just that one word, so to me it’s really just the same.
And while I’d say I know better understand the whole thing, I think, to me, it is still very similar/much the same.
Men and women are that equal in Denmark and the sexual freedom is so "selvfölgelig" in Denmark, that the whole old bigottery in USA is not very easy to understand anyways, it is not just the words... hope it will be better soon, too many are too unhappy!
Hey Guys
I love to watch you and hear your views on us Danes.
Thanks for coffee/Tak for kaffe: when it's ment ironicly, it's all in the way you say it. Like in a mocking or a condescending way.
But when you actually mean thanks for coffee, it's not just in the way you say it, but you smile when you say it.
You two sweethearts make my day.😊
Aww 🥰
I love how you say to descibe the word you say "the f-word" and then you accidentally say f**k without thinking about it yourselves. (timestamp 10.23)
The "tak for alt" is more like the family and friends saying thanks for everything to their lost loved one.
What I really like about "kæreste" besides being genderless: It's also ageless. A "boy/girlfriend" sounds like something you have in your teens. Can you have one after you've retired? It sounds a little silly. In English, I would choose to say "partner", but it's not very romantic.
Yes, that's such a great point. I have a friend who's parents divorced and his mom dated a man for years, basically raised him as a step father, and when my friend got married his mom and her kæreste got married at the courthouse a week before because they didn't want to be announced at his wedding as "...escorted by her boyfriend" they just wanted to be "the groom's mother and her husband..."
100 % agreement from me!
The ‘yeah yeah’ thing is kind of interesting, actually, because - speaking in very broad terms here - the reduplication mostly has the opposite effect in Danish and English.
In _English_ when you repeat an affirmative or negative (more often three times than just two), the effect is to *intensify* - ‘yeah yeah yeah’ essentially means ‘yes, absolutely!’ and ‘no no no’ means ‘oh my god no!’.
In _Danish_ that same repetition (more commonly just twice) has the opposite effect and instead *mollifies* - it makes it less categoric and serves to set the asker’s mind at ease. So ‘ja ja’ means ‘uh-huh’ or ‘sure’ (I know you’re expecting me to say yes, and I’m complying), while ‘nej nej’ is more along the lines of ‘nah, that’s all right’ or ‘don’t worry about it’ (you’re expecting me to say no and I’m reassuring you that no is indeed the answer).
The mollifying use also exists in English (‘no no, I’m good, don’t worry’), but the intensifying use doesn’t really exist in Danish.
And then of course Danish has the phenomenon where repeating an affirmative or negative a whole bunch of times (‘ja ja ja ja ja ja’ or ‘nej nej nej nej nej nej’, etc.) basically means, ‘(yeah/no) all right, keep your hair on!’. That doesn’t really work in English either.
Next Christmas you should watch 'the Julekalender' (the Christmas calendar) it is like you saying we say something in Danish then put some English in the sentence... it is a fun Christmas calendar from the 90th but of the most popular tv Christmas calendar we have
The last one was funny. Hej = Hi / hej hej = bye bye. The same word but has a different meaning when you say it twice.
Also the ja vs. ja ja. You're spot on with your comments 🤭😊
You guys say the word 'selvfølgelig' more accurately than I do, and I'm 38 years worth of Danish.
Wow, thank you! It IS our favorite so I guess we practice it a lot haha
@@RobeTrotting Selvfølgelig is actually a pretty hard word to say. Alot of Danes even say: sel'føl'li' . No wonder it is hard for foreigners to learn Danish... we are lazy with our own language.
They are not danish. They are normal people. Selvfölgelig (Självföljlig) is simple to say and pronounce. Danes.....
@@brickan2 you're a Swede, your opinion is automatically invalid.
@@Dakotaen I yield good sir!
En snegl på vej'n (vejen), er tegn på regn 😊
I know a woman from Turkey who moved to Denmark in the 80's and some men would call her "en lækker sild" (delicious herring) and she got so confused. She knew the word "sild" but she didn't know the saying "lækker sild" (hot babe in English)
That one is really funny, and we react to it in the video we mention at the end haha
Have you ever come across the fabled "fart kontrol" sign?
Ha, yeah all the time :)
You guys are so adorable ! ☺️ so funny and i love your Danish you guys have such a good positive vibe. Another fun one to the list. Is saying I wish i could give you a "bjørne knus" the direct mening is bear hug.. it's like a really big warm long hug. Like when you hug your favorite teddy bear. 🧸.
I was a language scoolteacher for 6 years, and often when you have the last day together with your class, they give you a gift. I had a wonderfull class of Bosnians, and as a goodbyegift, they gave me a beautuful photoalbum - and on the first page they had each written their names and in bigger letters the words TAK FOR ALT.
They were a bit surprised, when I started laughing. 😄😄😄
One of the very Danish things I can come up with is "Tak for mad".
It is funny that you liked the word selvfølgelig. I have never really thought about it, but the literal translation is self-follow, i.e. Something that follows from itself or is selfevident. It can be a noun as well "en selvfølge", which is used to describe something that is expected or common courtesy. It is quite rarely used that way though.
I am still living in Florida 30 min south of Disney. You are both doing well in Dansk!
Mange tak 🫶
You two are making me very self-conscious about the way I speak... do I do the double ja ja? hmmmm now I'll definitely be very aware if I do :P
Re: "Selvfølgelig": It's also a word that is very often used ironically. You're perfectly showing sympathy and support if someone describes a turn of events that either made no logical sense at all, or were just really bad luck if you answer "Ja, selvfølgelig!". It's close to the English "Oh, obviously" response to things that are not at all obvious to anyone.
Nice videos 👌 however, Tak for kaffe is more like Oh my goodness.
when you use it, when you want something or nag for something, please = be om or be be
yo dudes. Danes/scandinavian/vikings have influenced so much of the english language through the years.
if you look at UK. many of the towns from the east have a lot of danish/scandinavian in their names.
we gave you window = vindue
and a lot more words, i just can't remember them right now. but you guys should look into it. you'd be suprised how much danes have influenced your language.
i am facinated by different languages. how it evolves and so on.
i hope you read this comment, i enjoy watching your videos :D i tell my friends about you guys. Here in DK we love to see ourselves from an international perspective.
it is such a small 'insignificant' country, everytime we hear the word denmark in any show, we point at the screen and say "heey that's where i am from" even though im eskimo, denmark is awesome. i miss the nature and freedom in greenland. but i love it here.
We do have a direct way to say please (be om/bede om), but we don't use it the same way i think.. But "må jeg bede om salten?" is basically "please hand me the salt" but translated more directly it would be "can i please ask for the salt?" so we often use "please" but in situations where we ask for things.
If we ask someone to do something for us we would often say "er du sød at hente mine briller?" it would mean "could you please get my glasses" and directly translated its "are you kind to get my glasses" again we have "please" but the words differ from situation to situation and it is almost always followed by a "tak" a thank you :)
Danish is such a rich language, with so many variants of the same words or meanings, that's what makes it beautiful and extremely hard to learn! My mom who has lived here since she was 20, still get phrases wrong, but she is excused as she is Norwegian and their phrases often sound soooo similar, haha!
I am learning Japanese currently and the hardest part is really that they don't have the same amount of words, they have ONE word for the thing and it mostly does not change no matter the time or context, but when they do it is only the ending of the word that changes haha! Also the structure of the sentences is fun, i am used to translate Danish to English and reverse, now i have to translate from English to Japanese and not even try to think about Danish as its just too weird! haha!
I love the word “kæreste” 😊
Always found it irritating that you could have a boyfriend/boy friend or a girlfriend/girl friend. And why is the one you love “only” a friend? 🤔
It’s so much easier with venner, veninder, bekendte and kæreste. No further explanation needed 😊
Kæreste makes so much sense when you think about it. Like how is danish the only language that has a word that specifically refers to your romantic partner and not just a platonic friend which happens to be the opposite gender of you
@@rasmuspetervammenrsns3353 Snarare nordiskt, vi svennar säger "min käraste"
@@rasmuspetervammenrsns3353 Norwegians also call their boyfriends/girlfriends "kjæreste" before they get married, then they're "mann og kone" ("husband and wife")
Are we getting a full video in Danish soon? 😉😂
Probably never, we're pretty self-conscious about it.
I must say that your Danish has gotten quite a lot better, 'godt gået'
But I am 'nysgerrig' since you live in the København do you understand any 'Jysk'
Yeah, we have traveled in Jylland (Fyn too) but have only lived in KBH - so even our Danish friends from elsewhere dislike the København accent that the sprogskole gives us haha.
Man kan sige "tak", og man kan sige "tak tak". "Tak tak" er afgjort en tak mindre. - Piet Hein
There is nothing wrong with saying Tak for Kaffe if you actually just had a cup of coffee with someone. If Tak for Kaffe is said in any coalation which did not just involve having a cup of coffee then yeah it usually mean something that has absolutely nothing to do with coffee but often times relate to someone putting on you an extra burden which you did not expect or see comming. Also the tone in which they are used usually differ wastly between the two meanings.
"Forth and back" is a part of the idiom "frem og tilbage er lige langt" (forth and back are of equal distance). Meaning that if you lose something to gain something you have to see if they're of equal importance to you else you just ned up standing still. Like, losing all your friends to get a promotion.
A cool to get a little more context. Thanks Niels :)
@@RobeTrotting You're welcome. I find idioms fascinating as they along with unique words say a lot about the socio-cultural environment of a country. How come they have a word for exactly that or an idiom that describes a certain thing.
For example, the Japanese term 'karoshi' which means "death from overworking" says so much about the Japanese work culture.
I always loved when my aunt would say, "Tak for i dag" to me when I went to bed at night instead of wishing me a good night, she thanked me for the day. I try to say that to my American friends and family as much as I can!
Den med "tak for kaffe", er det ikke en Københavner ting? Har aldrig hørt tak for kaffe brugt den måde.
One of the first thing my kids laughed about when translated.. in many elevators there is a screen stating "I fart" which mean "in motion"
Dane here. To keep everyone on their toes, we have made a language where it's rare to find words or phrases that has only one meaning.
Always happy to be a major annoyance!
😂😂😂
Everything has been mentioned, but guys!!
Your pronunciation is getting naive, well done! 👍 I know it's a difficult language, but things seem to be picking up for you...
Have you reached that 'aha' moment where things start falling into place?
Where you don't think about the grammatics or sentence structure, but you just go for it?! Keep it up; whatever bc it's working! 😉
hello from Hundested 🌸🌦
“Naive”? I’m sure you meant “like the natives” or something?
A cinnamon snail is also called a langsom on Fyn, it is slowly. I would like a “slowly”
Bonus fact:
"Hej", as you say, means "hello", but can also mean "goodbye", aswell as "hej, hej" can mean "hello", too.
How both are being interpret by us native Danish speakers all comes down to the way they're being pronounced.
"Hej" with a little raise in the voice tone on the "-ej" means "hello".
"Hej" with a little bit of the famous Danish glottal stop ("stød") means "goodbye".
"Hej, hej" with a little lower voice tone on the second "hej" means "goodbye".
"Hej, hej" with a clearly raised voice tone on the second "hej" means "hello".