INTRODUCTION |
This lesson will teach you how to introduce yourself in Danish, and how to say where are you from. Danes are a very curious people. Depending on the region, they might be more or less sociable, but in general, they are nice and hospitable. A self introduction in Danish will be a pleasant surprise. Let’s begin the lesson. |
GRAMMAR POINT |
Let’s imagine that your name is John, and you are from Canada. You came to Denmark and met a person who asked you “What are you called?” that sounds like this in Danish: |
Hvad hedder du? |
Let’s break it down: |
(slow) Hvad hed-der du? |
Once more: |
Hvad hedder du? |
The first word hvad means “what”. |
(slow) Hvad. |
Hvad. |
The second word hedder, which literally means “states you”, can also be translated as “are called” |
(slow) Hed-der. |
Hedder. |
The last word du is the personal pronoun “you” |
(slow) Du. |
Du. |
Let’s hear the expression again: |
Hvad hedder du? |
(slow) Hvad hedder du? |
Hvad hedder du? |
The more formal version of this phrase is |
Hvad er dit navn? |
(Slow) Hvad er dit navn? |
Hvad er dit navn? |
Hvad is, as you know, “what”. |
It’s followed by er which is the form of the verb to be that in this case means “is” |
(slow) Er. |
Er. |
The next word is dit, which is “your” |
(slow) Dit. |
Dit |
And lastly we have navn, “name” |
navn (slow) |
navn |
・ |
The answer to the first question Hvad hedder du? in our case will be... |
Jeg hedder John, which means “ I am called John.” |
(slow) Jeg hed-der John. |
Jeg hed-der John. |
First, we have the personal pronoun jeg meaning “I”. |
(slow) Jeg. |
Jeg. |
It’s followed by hedder meaning “am called” |
And at the end comes your name. |
Let’s hear that again: |
Hvad hedder du? |
Jeg hedder John. |
The answer to the next, more formal question, Hvad er dit navn? becomes Mit navn er John. “My name is John.” |
The first word mit means “my” |
(slow) Mit. |
Mit. |
It’s followed by the words navn er which mean “name is” |
(slow) Navn er. |
Navn er. |
And at the end, just add your name. |
Let’s hear it one more time: |
Hvad er dit navn? |
You will answer: |
(slow) Mit navn er John. |
Mit navn er John. |
The next question you will usually be asked is “Where are you from?” |
Hvor er du fra? |
(slow) Hvor er du fra? |
The first word hvor is translated as “where” in this case. |
(slow) Hvor. |
Hvor. |
The next word er is the form of the verb “to be”, “are” |
(slow) Er. |
Er. |
The third word is du, “you” |
And last we have fra which means “from”. So literally it becomes “Where are you from?” |
Let’s break down the phrase |
(slow) Hvor er du fra? |
Hvor er du fra? |
You may also be asked Hvor kommer du fra? This is the polite version and is equivalent to the English “Where do you come from?” |
Let’s hear the question one more time. |
(slow) Hvor kom-mer du fra? |
Hvor kommer du fra? |
The new word here is kommer which means “come” |
Once again: |
(slow) Kom-mer |
Kommer |
・ |
Your answer to the first question Hvor er du fra? will be “I’m from Canada.” In Danish that will sound like this: Jeg er fra Canada. |
(slow) Jeg er fra Ca-na-da. |
The first word jeg is the personal pronoun “I”. |
(slow) Jeg. |
Jeg . |
This time, er, the form of the verb “to be” becomes “am” in English. So jeg er together means “I am” |
And at the end we have the name of the country; in our case, Canada. |
Let’s hear the whole phrase one more time. |
Jeg er fra Canada. |
The answer to the second question Hvor kommer du fra? becomes Jeg kommer fra Canada. “I come from Canada.” |
Once more: |
(slow) Jeg kom-mer fra Ca-na-da. |
Jeg kommer fra Canada |
As you might have noticed by now, you simply take the verb or noun used in the question to form the correct answer. |
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