INTRODUCTION |
In this lesson we'll introduce parting expressions. We will start with the more formal ones. |
GRAMMAR POINT |
A good parting expression that we can use any time of the day to strangers or friends is Farvel! which means “farewell”. In English this greeting is not used as often these days. It is a conjugation of the word far which means “be, fare, travel” and the word vel that means “well, safely”, so the expression becomes “be safe on your journey.” |
Let’s break it down: |
(slow) Far-vel. |
Once more: |
Farvel. |
Farvel can be added to most of the expressions in this lesson. At the beginning is more common, but you can also put it at the end. Just like the English “Goodbye!” |
The next phrase is Hav en god dag! In English this is “Have a good day!” |
The first word is a form of the verb “to have” and many Danes don’t say the last v, so it becomes ha’ instead. |
(slow) Ha’ |
Ha’ |
This is followed by the numeral “one”, en. This is equivalent to the English “a” |
(slow) En. |
En. |
And then we have god, which is “good” |
(slow) God. |
God. |
At the end is the word dag, “day.” This can be changed according to the time of day you say it, or when you wish it to be good. For example: |
Hav en god aften! (3sec) “ Have a good evening!” |
Hav en god nat! (3sec)“ Have a good night!” |
Hav en god morgen! (3sec)”Have a good morning!” |
Let’s hear the expression one more time. |
(slow) Hav en god dag! |
Hav en god dag! |
・ |
An expression that you can use any time of the day to someone that you know for sure you will meet again is Vi ses senere. The English equivalent to “See you later.” |
Let’s break it down: |
(slow) Vi ses se-ne-re. |
Vi ses senere. |
Vi is equivalent to “we” |
(slow) Vi. |
Vi. |
It’s followed by ses, which is a form of the verb “to see” |
(slow) Ses. |
Ses. |
The word senere means “later” |
(slow) Se-ne-re. |
Senere. |
Use it with people you will meet again. |
Let’s hear it one more time: |
Vi ses senere. |
・ |
Now let’s continue with the informal ones. In Danish, Hej hej is the equivalent of “bye bye” in English. |
(slow) Hej hej! |
Hej hej! |
Also, you can say Hej by itself just like the English “bye.” Hej, as you might remember from the previous lesson is “Hello,” but in this case it depends on intonation. |
Danes can be accused of being lazy with their language, and another example of this is the following parting expressions. These are abbreviations of vi ses senere. |
Vi ses! is equivalent to “See you” and Ses! means “See ya” or even “bye” |
Let’s hear them one more time: |
(slow) Vi ses. |
Vi ses. |
And: |
(slow) Ses! |
Comments
Hide