Danish A1
CEFR A1 · Beginner
At A1 Danish rewards you immediately for one thing: verbs never change for person, so jeg taler, du taler, hun taler is the whole present tense. You learn the two noun genders (en bil, et hus) and that 'the' is glued onto the end of the noun (bilen, huset), count to a hundred past the famous halvtreds and halvfjerds, tell the time with halv pointing to the NEXT hour, and order coffee and smørrebrød in short sentences. The real work is the ear: the soft d, the stød and the swallowed endings make spoken Danish sound very different from what is written.
154 words · 3 units · 12 grammar points
What you learn at Danish A1
Greetings & introductions
Say hello, give your name, ask someone else's, and where they're from.
- Greet at different times of day
- Say goodbye politely
- Introduce yourself by name
- Use 'jeg hedder' and 'jeg er'
- Ask someone their name
- Use 'og du?'
- Say where you're from with 'jeg kommer fra'
- Ask 'where are you from?'
Numbers, days, time
Count, talk about days and months, give the time, and handle numbers in real situations.
- Count 0-10
- Use numbers for age and quantities
- Use numbers up to 100
- Give your age and phone number
- Name the days and months
- Say what day it is
- Ask and give the time
- Use 'klokken er'
Food & ordering
Order at a café or restaurant, ask for the bill, and talk about basic food and drink.
- Name common drinks
- Order a drink politely
- Name common foods
- Say what you want to eat
- Read a menu
- Ask the waiter for things
- Ask for the bill
- Ask for items by quantity
A1 grammar points
- Verbs never change for person
- Personal pronouns and their object forms
- Asking a question: verb first
- Saying where you are from
- 'Halv' points to the NEXT hour
- Plural nouns: -er, -e or nothing
- Days and months take på and i
- Saying no: ikke after the verb
- 'En' or 'et': two noun genders
- At have and at være
- Adjectives agree: -t and -e
- This and that, and asking the price
Danish A1 vocabulary
The first 40 of 154, in frequency order.
| Danish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| en | a/an (common gender) | en mand |
| et | a/an (neuter gender) | et hus |
| -en | the (common, suffixed) | manden, bilen, kvinden |
| -et | the (neuter, suffixed) | huset, bordet, barnet |
| -(e)ne | the (plural, suffixed) | mændene, husene, bilerne |
| jeg | I | Jeg hedder Anna. |
| du | you (sg.) | Hvor bor du? |
| han | he | Han er min bror. |
| hun | she | Hun er læge. |
| den | it (common) | Bilen? Den er ny. |
| det | it (neuter); that | Det er en god idé. |
| vi | we | Vi bor i København. |
| I | you (pl.) | Hvor kommer I fra? |
| de | they | De arbejder her. |
| mig | me | Giv mig bogen. |
| dig | you (sg., object) | Jeg kan se dig. |
| os | us | Han hjælper os. |
| jer | you (pl., object) | Vi besøger jer i morgen. |
| dem | them | Jeg kender dem godt. |
| min | my (common) | Min mor er hjemme. |
| mit | my (neuter) | Mit hus er stort. |
| din | your (common, sg.) | Hvor er din bil? |
| dit | your (neuter, sg.) | Dit barn er sødt. |
| hans | his | Hans hund hedder Max. |
| hendes | her | Hendes far er lærer. |
| vores | our | Vores lejlighed er ny. |
| jeres | your (pl.) | Hvor er jeres bil? |
| deres | their | Deres børn er små. |
| være | to be | Jeg vil gerne være læge. |
| have | to have | Vil du have en kop kaffe? |
| gøre | to do | Hvad skal jeg gøre nu? |
| gå | to walk; to go | Skal vi gå hjem nu? |
| komme | to come | Jeg kommer fra Danmark. |
| se | to see; to watch | Jeg vil se en film i aften. |
| høre | to hear | Kan du høre mig? |
| spise | to eat | Jeg spiser et æble. |
| drikke | to drink | Jeg drikker vand. |
| sove | to sleep | Barnet skal sove nu. |
| arbejde | to work | Jeg arbejder på et kontor. |
| bo | to live, to reside | Jeg vil gerne bo i Aarhus. |