Translate English to Danish
Danish is spoken by about 5.8 million people in Denmark, with smaller communities in Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and northern Germany. Denmark is a leader in design, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, and shipping. Whether you are preparing business correspondence for Copenhagen, reading a product manual from a Danish company, or planning a trip to Aarhus, paste your English text above.
Common English to Danish translations
| English | Danish | Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hello | Hej | hay | ||
| Good morning | Godmorgen | go-MOR-en | ||
| Thank you | Tak | tahk | ||
| Please | Vær så venlig | vehr saw VEN-lee | ||
| How much is this? | Hvad koster det? | vad KOS-ter deh | ||
| Where is the bathroom? | Hvor er toilettet? | vor ehr toy-LET-eth | ||
| I do not understand | Jeg forstår ikke | yay for-STOR ik-keh | ||
| Can you help me? | Kan du hjælpe mig? | kan doo YELL-peh may | ||
| I would like coffee | Jeg vil gerne have en kaffe | yay vil GEHR-neh hah en KAH-feh | ||
| The bill, please | Regningen, tak | RYE-ning-en tahk | ||
| Nice to meet you | Hyggeligt at møde dig | HOO-geh-leet at MUH-theh day | ||
| Goodbye | Farvel | fah-VEL | ||
| I need a doctor | Jeg har brug for en læge | yay hahr broo for en LAY-eh | ||
| Excuse me | Undskyld | oon-SKOOL |
Tips for English to Danish translation
Danish pronunciation is famously difficult and bears little resemblance to the written form. The word rødgrød med fløde (a berry pudding with cream) is a classic tongue-twister that Danes use to test foreigners. The soft D (pronounced almost like an L or TH), the glottal stop (stød), and swallowed syllables make spoken Danish much harder to learn from text alone. Use the audio buttons in the table above.
Danish has two grammatical genders (common and neuter) with the articles en and et. Unlike English, the definite article attaches to the end of the noun: hus (house) becomes huset (the house), bil (car) becomes bilen (the car). This suffix-based article system also applies to adjectives, creating combinations that look unfamiliar to English speakers.
Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish are so closely related that speakers can often understand each other. Written Danish and Norwegian Bokmal are particularly similar, sometimes differing only in spelling conventions. This mutual intelligibility means that a Danish translation can sometimes be read by Norwegian speakers with minimal confusion, though vocabulary differences do exist.
The concept of hygge (roughly: cozy togetherness) is central to Danish culture and has no one-word English equivalent. Other culturally loaded Danish words include janteloven (the social norm of not thinking you are special) and overskud (surplus energy/capacity, used about people). Translators approximate these concepts, but the cultural depth is hard to capture in a single English word.
About the Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language descended from Old Norse, the language of the Vikings. It is closely related to Norwegian and Swedish, and more distantly to Icelandic and Faroese. Denmark controlled Norway for several centuries, which is why written Danish and Norwegian Bokmal remain remarkably similar today.
Denmark consistently ranks among the happiest and most prosperous countries in the world. Danish is the gateway language for understanding Scandinavian culture, from the works of Hans Christian Andersen and Søren Kierkegaard to modern Danish television (like Borgen and The Killing) that has gained international audiences. The Danish concept of hygge has become globally known and represents a cultural value that extends far beyond its literal meaning.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. No sign-up, no fees, no limits.
Yes. Click the speaker icon. Danish pronunciation is very different from the written form, so listening is especially important.
Very similar in writing, less so in speech. Danish speakers and Swedish speakers can usually understand each other with some effort.
Ø/ø is a Danish vowel pronounced roughly like the “u” in “burn.” It also appears in Norwegian but not in Swedish (which uses ö instead).
Good for daily use. For legal or medical texts, use a professional.
A Danish concept meaning cozy togetherness and contentment. It has no direct single-word English equivalent.
Visit our Danish to English page.
Yes. All Danish special characters (æ, ø, å) are processed correctly.
Yes. Nothing stored.
Over 60 pairs including Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, German, and many more.
Need the reverse? Try Danish to English translation.
