Learn how to introduce yourself
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Gina: Hello and welcome back to DanishClass101.com. This is Absolute Beginner season 1, lesson 2, Self-introductions in Danish. I’m Gina. |
| Anna: Hej. And I’m Anna. |
| Gina: In this lesson you’ll learn how to introduce yourself in Danish. |
| Anna: That's right! This is very important when learning a new language and meeting new people. |
| Gina: So let's get started! |
| Anna: The conversation takes place at a university between Emma and William, who are meeting for the first time. |
| Gina: The speakers are introducing themselves in standard Danish, since there are no formality levels. So let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Emma: Hej. Jeg hedder Emma. Hvad hedder du? |
| William: Jeg hedder William. |
| Emma: Rart at møde dig. |
| William: I lige måde. |
| Gina: Let's hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Emma: Hej. Jeg hedder Emma. Hvad hedder du? |
| William: Jeg hedder William. |
| Emma: Rart at møde dig. |
| William: I lige måde. |
| Gina: Now let's hear it with the English translation. |
| Emma: Hej. Jeg hedder Emma. Hvad hedder du? |
| Emma: Hi. My name is Emma. What is your name? |
| William: Jeg hedder William. |
| William: My name is William. |
| Emma: Rart at møde dig. |
| Emma: Nice to meet you. |
| William: I lige måde. |
| William: Likewise. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Gina: So Anna, can you share anything important with the listeners that they should know about introductions in Denmark? |
| Anna: Well, when introducing yourself, it's fine to only use your first or given name. Of course, if you want, you can say your last or surname too, but it makes you sound a bit formal. |
| Gina: So it's optional even in business situations? |
| Anna: Yes, because in that case it's completely up to you what kind of impression you want to give. |
| Gina: How do I know if I've shared enough information about myself? |
| Anna: In cases where you are introducing yourself in front of a crowd, for example, your new classmates, your tutor or teacher will most likely let you know how much they'd like to hear. If not, you can decide for yourself. |
| Gina: I see. |
| VOCAB |
| Gina: Now let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we shall see is |
| Anna: hej |
| Gina: hi, hello |
| Anna: (SLOW) hej, hej |
| Next: |
| Anna: jeg hedder |
| Gina: my name is, I’m called |
| Anna: (SLOW) jeg hedder, jeg hedder |
| Next: |
| Anna: rart at møde dig |
| Gina: nice to meet you |
| Anna: (SLOW) rart at møde dig, rart at møde dig |
| Next: |
| Anna: i lige måde |
| Gina: likewise, the same to you |
| Anna: (SLOW) i lige måde, i lige måde |
| Next: |
| Anna: jeg |
| Gina: I |
| Anna: (SLOW) jeg, jeg |
| Next: |
| Anna: hedde |
| Gina: be called, be named |
| Anna: (SLOW) hedde, hedde |
| Next: |
| Anna: rart |
| Gina: nice, kind, sweet, pleasant |
| Anna: (SLOW) rart, rart |
| Next: |
| Anna: møde |
| Gina: meet |
| Anna: (SLOW) møde, møde |
| And last: |
| Anna: dig |
| Gina: you |
| Anna: (SLOW) dig, dig |
| 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: This time we have several phrases that are commonly used, so listen carefully and try to remember them. |
| Gina: The first one is… |
| Anna: Hvad hedder du? |
| Gina: This phrase literally means "What are you called?" but is usually translated as "What's your name?" Isn't that right, Anna? |
| Anna: Yes, and it's the most common way to ask someone their name. As an alternative, you can also use the phrase Hvad er dit navn?, which is actually the literal Danish version of "What is your name?" |
| Gina: Great. What's the next phrase? |
| Anna: Rart at møde dig, which means "Nice to meet you." |
| Gina: It's a very straightforward phrase, and it's used in the same way as "Nice to meet you" in English. |
| Anna: That's why you can also replace rart with other words like godt, which means "good," or dejlig,” which means "lovely." |
| Gina: So what's next? |
| Anna: I lige måde. |
| Gina: This is another straightforward phrase that's used in the same way as in English. |
| Anna: Yes, i lige måde means "likewise" or "the same to you." |
| Gina: And it's also equivalent to "you too." |
| Anna: That's right. For example, when someone says God weekend! which means "Nice weekend!," as in "Have a nice weekend!," you can say I lige måde to that person. |
| Gina: Also, if someone thanks you for something, and you also want to thank that person, you can use I lige måde, right? |
| Anna: Exactly! |
| Gina: Okay, that's all the phrases for this lesson. Now onto the grammar. |
| GRAMMAR POINT |
| Gina: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to introduce yourself by saying your name. |
| Anna: Yes, it's the very first thing you'll do when meeting new people. |
| Gina: So, "My name is …" in Danish is... |
| Anna: Jeg hedder (…). |
| Gina: Can you tell us more about the composition of this phrase? |
| Anna: Sure. The first word, Jeg, is the pronoun "I," and the next word is hedder, which is the present tense of the verb hedde. |
| Gina: And that means? |
| Anna: "to be called" or "to be named." |
| Gina: So how come the phrase means "My name is…" in English and not "I’m called…" or "I’m named…"? |
| Anna: Well, those are the literal translations of Jeg hedder…, but it just sounds more natural in English with "My name is…" Don’t you agree? |
| Gina: I do. But then what about the other way of saying "My name is…" in Danish? |
| Anna: Right. Mit navn er (...) is another way of introducing yourself by saying your name. |
| Gina: This literally means "My name is..." in English. |
| Anna: Yes, mit is the possessive pronoun "my," navn means "name," and er is the present tense of the verb "to be" and means "is." |
| Gina: So that gives us… |
| Anna: Mit navn er (...). |
| Gina: So, why not use this instead of the other phrase, since it matches the English version better? |
| Anna: Good question. I suppose it's because Mit navn er… just makes you sound more formal in your self-introduction. |
| Gina: I see. But both phrases are equally correct, right? |
| Anna: Yes. Jeg hedder… is more commonly used, though. You usually start by greeting the person you are introducing yourself to with a Hej, and then follow this by saying Jeg hedder (...). |
| Gina: And then your name, of course! |
| Anna: Ha ha, yes! Don't forget your name! |
| Gina: So, if you were to introduce yourself in Danish by saying your name in the simplest way, it would be… |
| Anna: Jeg hedder Anna. |
Outro |
|---|
| Gina: Okay, I think that's all for this lesson. |
| Anna: Listeners, make sure to check the lesson notes and practice these phrases. |
| Gina: Until next time, thanks everyone! |
| Anna: Hej hej! |
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