| Words with different senses and meanings. |
| to know |
at vide: To have knowledge of something.
Jeg ved, hvor han bor (I know where he lives) |
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at kende: To be acquainted with someone or something.
Jeg kender John (I know John) |
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| to play |
at spille: Used for games, sport and musical instruments.
Jeg spiller fodbold (I play football) |
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at lege: This is what children do. Used for general playing (with toys, etc.)
Han leger med sine børn (He is playing with his children). |
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| to lose |
at tabe: To lose a game, weight, time, etc.
Vi tabte spillet (We lost the game).
Also used when you drop something by accident: Han tabte bolden (He dropped the ball). |
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at miste: Use when something goes missing.
Jeg mistede mine handsker (I lost my gloves).
Also in the sense of losing your mind, losing touch, losing interest, losing control, losing your life. |
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| to ask |
at spørge: To enquire.
Jeg vil gerne spørge, om du har nogle billetter (I'd like to ask whether you have any tickets). |
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at bede: To request or to beg.
Må jeg bede om nogle frimærker? (Can I have some stamps? Literally: May I ask for some stamps?).
Må jeg bede dig om et stykke brød? (Could I have a piece of bread? Could I ask for a piece of bread?) |
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| to save |
at spare: To save money.
Jeg sparer op til en ny bil (I'm saving up for a new car) |
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at gemme: To stash, put away
Husk at gemme filen (Remember to save the file [on the computer]) |
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| experience |
en erfaring: This is experience you acquire through the years. It can also be an experience that has taught you something.
Han har stor erfaring med vilde dyr (He has lots of experience with wild animals).
Erfaring har lært mig meget (Experience has taught me much)
Also: Det var en god erfaring for den nye ansat (It was a good experience for the new employee) |
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en oplevelse: This is something you experience at a particular time, during an event.
Turen til Tivoli var en dejlig oplevelse (The trip to Tivoli was a nice experience) |
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at prøve: To try/experience.
Har du prøvet det før? (Have you experienced/tried it before?)
When speaking English, Danish speakers will often ask Have you tried it before? when they mean Have you experienced it before? |
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| to go |
at gå: This can mean either to walk or to go.
Generally, it means 'to walk'. If, for example, I say Jeg går til London i næste uge, Danish speakers will interpret this as
I am walking to London next week.
Instead, I should have said Jeg rejser til London i næste uge (I am travelling to London next week ).
You can also say Jeg tager til London... |
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| to grow |
at dyrke: To cultivate.
Jeg dyrker kartofler (I grow potatoes) |
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at vokse: To grow.
Mine kartofler vokser hurtigt. (My potatoes are growing fast) |
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at stige: To increase, escalate.
Korruption stiger in regeringen (Corruption is growing in government) |
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at blive: To become.
Hun bliver gammel (She is growing old) |
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| to live |
at leve: To be alive.
Jeg lever for at spille fodbold (I live to play football) |
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at bo: To reside.
Jeg bor i København (I live in Copenhagen). |
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| to decide |
at beslutte: Is used when you have to make a resolution.
Jeg kan ikke beslutte om jeg skal have den røde eller den blå (I can't decide whether I should have the red or the blue) |
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at bestemme: Is used when you determine something.
Chefen bestemmer, hvem der skal fyres (The boss decides who is to be fired)
Han er for ung. Han kan ikke selv bestemme (He's too young. He can't decide for himself) |
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| to think |
at tænke: This is conscious, processing thinking.
Jeg tænke på dig hele tiden (I think of you all the time). |
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at tro: At tro also means to believe.
Jeg tror ikke, han kommer (I don't think he's coming). |
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at synes: Use synes when you're expressing an opinion.
Jeg synes, du er dejlig (I think you're nice). |
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See tro vs. synes |
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| to change |
at ændre: To make an alteration.
Jeg ændrede et par ting i din rapport (I changed a few things in your report) |
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at skifte: This applies to clothes, opinion, places, direction, jobs, etc. To substitute one thing to another.
Han skiftede tog i Hellerup (He changed trains in Hellerup). |
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at forandre sig: To transform. To become something new or different.
Du har forandret dig (You've changed) |
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at veksle: To exchange (most commonly used for money).
Jeg vekslede mine kroner for dollars (I changed my kroner for dollars) |
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| to expect |
at forvente: To anticipate.
Jeg forventer, at FCK vinder (I expect FCK to win [football club]) |
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at vente: To await.
Jeg venter svar fra dem i dag (I'm expecting an answer from them today) |
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| to work |
at arbejde: To labour.
Jeg arbejder 30 timer om ugen (I work 30 hours a week) |
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at fungere: To function.
Min computer fungerer ikke (My computer's not working) |
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at virke: Same as fungere |
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| to move |
at flytte: To move from one place to another.
Kan du flytte din bil? (Could you move your car?)
Jeg flytter til Århus i morgen (I'm moving to Aarhus tomorrow) |
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at bevæge: This is general movement (not being still)
Kan du bevæge din arm? (Can you move your arm?)
Du skal bevæge dig mere (You need to get more exercise [move yourself more]) |
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| to turn |
at dreje: To turn while moving in a certain direction.
Drej til ventre ved krydset (Turn left at the crossing) |
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at vende: To turn so it faces a new or opposite direction.
Vend dig om (Turn [yourself] around)
Vend om (Turn around [e.g. make a U-turn])
Vend dig mod nord (Turn and face north) |
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| to mean |
at betyde: The implicit meaning of something: A means B
Hvad betyder det? (What does it/that mean?)
Det betyder ikke noget (It doesn't mean anything) |
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at mene: To intend or to think
Hvad mener du? (What do you mean? [intention] or What do you think? [opinion]) |
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| to fail |
at fejle: To fail generally
Hun er bange for at fejle (She's afraid to fail) |
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at dumpe: To fail in school
Han dumper matematik hvert år (He fails mathematics every year) |
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| to suck |
at suge: Sucking something into your mouth or lungs, like through a straw |
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at sutte: Sucking on something, like candy |
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| to swallow |
at synke: To swallow normally |
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at sluge: To swallow normally or to gobble/devour |
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| to seem |
at se ud: Refers to physical appearance (to appear)
Hun ser dejlig ud (She looks lovely) |
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at virke: Is used to express the speaker's impression of something or someone
Hun virker lidt nervøs (She seems a bit nervous)
Det virker lidt underligt (It seems a bit strange) |
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at synes: Der synes at være enighed om det (There seems to be agreement about it) |
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| when |
hvornår: Used in normal wh- questions.
Hvornår kom du til Danmark? (When did
you come to Denmark?) |
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når: Used in the present or the future tense.
Jeg går hjem, når jeg er færdig. (I go [am going] home when I'm finished)
Når jeg bliver stor, vil jeg være rig. (When I grow
up [become big], I want to be rich) |
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da: Used in the past tense and if the action happened
only once.
Da jeg kom hjem, var mit fjernsyn væk. (When I came
home, my TV was gone).
Jeg var atlet, da jeg var ung. (I was an athlete when I was young) |
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| safe |
tryg: Comfortable, secure, not scary
Jeg føler mig tryg hos ham (I feel safe with him)
Jeg havde en tryg barndom (I had a safe/happy childhood) |
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sikker: Secure, not dangerous
Min Volvo er meget sikker (My Volvo is very safe) |
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| before |
før: Means before:
Jeg har ikke set ham før (I haven't seen him before)
or earlier:
Jeg så ham lige før (I saw him a bit earlier)
or formerly:
Før var han lærer i Kina (He used to be a teacher in China) |
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inden: Means before (same as før above)
but
It must separate 2 events:
Inden han kom til Danmark, var han lærer i Kina (Before he came to Denmark, he was a teacher in China)
Skal vi spise inden vi ser filmen? (Shall we eat before we see the movie?)
Jeg så ham inden han blev gift (I saw him before he got married)
You can't say Jeg har ikke set ham inden. Another event will be expected here (Before what?)
English can also express the idea of before using within:
Jeg skal være færdig inden 24 timer (I have to be done within 24 hours) |
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| only |
kun: Indicates a single alternative.
Du har kun et liv (You have only one life) |
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bare: Simply, just
Bare slap af (Just relax)
Bare vent (Just wait)
Jeg kigger bare (I'm just looking) |
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blot: Same as bare. |
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først: Is used after an event. It is more accurately translated as only after:
Jeg så din besked først da jeg kom hjem (I saw your message only after I got home) |
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| different |
forskellig: When making a comparison:
De sælger flere forskellige slags ost (They sell several different kinds of cheese) |
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anderledes: When differing from the norm. Special or odd.
Din accent er lidt anderledes (Your accent is a bit different) |
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| a memory |
en hukommelse: Your ability to remember |
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en minde: A remembrance, reminiscence |
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| both |
både: Alike:
Jeg kan lide både klassisk musik og heavy metal (I like both classical music and heavy metal) |
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begge: Both of something:
Jeg skal bruge begge hænder til at løfte sækken (I need both hands to lift the bag) |
*I use polyseme broadly here:
To live has 2 possible meanings and 2 words to express them (to live, to reside).
It is therefore easy to choose the corresponding Danish word (at leve = to live, at bo = to reside).
However, to know has to suffice, as a single word, to express both its possible meanings (at vide, at kende)
These are two different kinds of polysemes, but I lump them together here for the sake of simplicity. |
