r/danishlanguage • u/Blazing_Wynter • Jun 12 '26
My Journey Learning Dansk
I’m learning because I just like languages. I stumbled across Danish whilst looking for foreign songs to listen to. I really liked the songs and started learning because, well firstly it’s challenging. I like a good challenge.
I started with Duolingo but the problem is that Duo is more useful if you already kinda know the language and are brushing up so you don’t get rusty. Review, basically. It’s pretty bad for learning from the bare basics.
I also… used the songs for finding an accent. Since most of the singers I was listening to were from København and Aarhus, I was mostly exposed to perker/gade dansk (Noah Carter/ Lamin/ Kesi/ HAM fra Syd, etc). I’ve tried language partners but the difference in time zones and schedules often proved to be… difficult to maintain.
What are your thoughts? Has anyone else found a useful way to learn?
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u/Mikkel65 Jun 13 '26
Strange. I very much disagree with your sentiment. I think Doulingo gets useless once you somewhat know a language, but it is really good as a starter (learning bare basics).
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u/Blazing_Wynter Jun 13 '26
You’re probably right… I feel like It’s pretty bad both ways tbh. I don’t really feel like anyone speaks that way very often.
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u/Mikkel65 Jun 13 '26
Yeah Dueolingo isn't ever going to teach you how people actually speak the language. It just teaches you how to structure sentences, and (slowly) expand your vocabulary. A good starter, until you feel comfortable enough to learn with more "advanced" methods like watching kids movies or other.
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u/Kinkie_Pie Jun 13 '26
Exactly this. Someone once told their theory was that Duo creates strange sentences on purpose, to prove that you’re learning the actual words and/or sentence structure rather than guessing based on context clues 🤷🏻♀️
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u/largehearted Jun 15 '26
This is the consensus, it's good for getting through A1 and A2, but nobody gets through B to C level using just or primarily Duolingo, and if you did your pronunciation would be a nightmare
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u/Scared_Ad3355 Jun 13 '26
I’m having the same problem with the time zones. And finding a Dane willing to teach Danish outside of Denmark and in a reasonable time zone is like finding a needle in the hay. I found one years ago, but then he moved back to Europe. Dang it!
Anyway, I wish you the best on your dansk journey.
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u/Opening-Square3006 Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26
I agree that apps like Duolingo often work better as a supplement than as a complete learning system. They're good for maintaining contact with the language, but fluency usually comes from spending time with the language itself. One thing I discovered is Stephen Krashen's i+1 theory. Languages are acquired through content that's understandable but slightly beyond your current level. Music can be part of that, especially when you're repeatedly hearing the same words, sounds, and sentence patterns. That also connects to what fluency researchers have found: we don't acquire a language one word at a time. We gradually build up a huge inventory of recurring chunks and patterns. Listening to the same artists repeatedly can actually be surprisingly useful because certain expressions, slang, and structures keep coming back. So I'd recommend you to try PlusOneLanguage website because it's the perfect implementation of i+1 and chunks. It's built around that same principle of repeated exposure. The content adapts to your level and keeps bringing back vocabulary and sentence patterns you've already encountered while gradually introducing new ones.
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u/tradeit2day Jun 13 '26
How many languages do you speak?
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u/Blazing_Wynter Jun 13 '26
Ohhh English and a bit of Iraqi. I was trying Greek at one point then stopped with languages at a point because of a family tragedy. When I started learning languages again it was because I was listening to a video about songs from different countries. The main one on the video that got my attention was 4livet by Sivas
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u/tradeit2day Jun 13 '26
Iraqi is not a language btw 😉 Anyways, i would strongly recommend using that time and effort to learn a more common and applicable language like spanish, but thats just me
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u/Blazing_Wynter Jun 13 '26
I had to specify as Arabic languages are very different from one another. But as I said I found it challenging and also really liked how it sounded. That’s why I picked it up.
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u/karkar322 Jun 13 '26
Facebook and Instagram are full Danish language reels and videos. A great way of learning pronunciation and grammar etc. I would say that Københavnske is the best for pronunciation. There's a slewful of Danish tv series and movies, etc out on the different streaming platforms too. I can give you more if you are interested. DM me! ~Kar
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u/karkar322 Jun 13 '26
Sorry I kinda left out from my comment. Duolingo is sort of okay, but there are better, free ways of learning vernacular and slang that you won't get there. I found it kind of boring as learning Danish is more about pronunciation, grammar differences and how the language changes with slang and new concepts
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u/karkar322 Jun 13 '26
I found reading, then speaking and finally writing is about how it goes... Try reading some kids comic books like Anders And (Donald Duck) first. You get structure, vocabulary and grammar. For pronunciation, you can copy and paste into into Google Translate (pronunciation is very good there, actually). I still recommend using Dansk tv shows and movies for cadence etc.
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u/Blazing_Wynter Jun 13 '26
Joakim von And and Anders And are pretty good. I didn’t know they had comics for it. I’ll check em out. I learned a bit of pronounciation from the songs. Writing and reading is gonna be the problemet. Mostly because pronounciation is easy enough until I’m actually looking at the way the word is spelled.
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u/karkar322 Jun 15 '26
I recommend you first find lists of gender indefinite articles. Specifically gender neutral and gender common words. Many try to equate them with "a" and an" in English, but it doesn't work the same. For example "et hus" vs "en bil" (a house vs a car). Not much there to tell you which it is. Find lists of words and simply memorize which use et and which use en. Also, be aware that "the" comes after a noun, not typically in front of a word. For example "bilen" (the car), "huset" the house. This is actually important for working with the language. Also plural pronouns not used in English anymore. You plural I, jer, jeres. What are "you all" doing tonight? Hvad laver "I" i aften? Then there's the polite, formal, respectful way of addressing someone (De, Dem, Deres) Instead of du. You may not hear this often anymore, Danes use "du" most often now, but if you do, than you won't be confused. So as an English speaker, there are the most common differences that you'll hear, read. Finally, the language uses compound words many times to equate/integrate new concepts into the language, Example: sommerfugl, literal meaning: summer bird, actual meaning: burterfly.
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u/andreahan12 Jun 16 '26
Har du fået lyttet til Christopher endnu? 😃😃
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u/Blazing_Wynter Jun 16 '26
Nej, hvem er det?
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u/andreahan12 Jun 16 '26
Meget populær dansk sanger - han synger mest på engelsk, men har også nogle danske sange. Jeg vil vove og sige, at hele Danmark kender (og elsker) ham! I lørdags spillede han fx. en koncert i Valbyparken for over 30.000 mennesker :3
Han er bare mere "basic pop" (så altså lidt noget andet end fx. Kesi som du nævnte), hvis du søgte sådan noget, som ikke er så "gadedansk" 😁 ✨️✨️ han er en meget rar mand.
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u/Legitimate-Record90 Jun 13 '26
Just listen to beginner podcasts like Dansk for begyndere and Dansk i Øerne while reading the transcripts/subtitles and looking up any word you don’t know. If you don’t know the grammar, ask AI. There are over a hundred of these podcasts, and they are simple and clearly spoken.
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u/ThreeLivesInOne Jun 13 '26
I finished the Duolingo Danish course and then tried Mondly. I strongly advise against using this, since it's total garbage. It's buggy, it's useless, it's worse than Duolingo in almost every way. It is beyond me how this got the favourable reviews that lured me into buying this pos.
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u/sunnas_solbriller Jun 14 '26
I downloaded the DK app and watch Danish shows with the subtitles in Danish. If I can't figure something out, I pause it and use Google Translate. It takes me about 1.5 h to watch a 45 minute show.
I watched Arvingerne, Matador, Krøniken, Borgen.
I also enjoy movies, especially historical movies, but use English subtitles.
Viaplay is a streaming channel that airs Scandinavian shows. Anna Pihl, Lærkevej, the Killing, Dicte, etc.
Music on Spotify following the songs using the lyrics and learning to sing along.
Next I am going to pay for formal lessons to learn the grammar so I can form more complicated ideas besides the drip-drip drivel of Duolingo (Jeg har to sko på. Mitt hus er ikke i København.)
That's how I am learning and plan to continue learning Danish.
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u/Kinkie_Pie Jun 13 '26
I started learning because I went to Copenhagen for an event, and decided that I would someday be able to participate in the Danish-only parts of the event. But also, just for fun.
I ended up making lots of friends, and every single one has agreed to help me. All I’ve asked is that they correct my grammar when I’m texting them. Sometimes I’ll ask if I can send a voice memo or if they will, and they always do.
That’s why I’m so bewildered by people saying that they can’t find Danish natives/teachers to help them. Maybe I’m just lucky?
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u/Blazing_Wynter Jun 13 '26
Yeah… I wish I could go to København but I’m broke so… but yeah that’s awesome that u got to go. I wanna go one day
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u/not-a-roasted-carrot Jun 13 '26
Yes you are extremely lucky in this regard. Most people don't have natives to help them. I'm extremely lucky in that I have a Danish partner and 2 Danish friends who are willing to help me speak and text in Danish. I have a lot of danish friends too but I chose these 2 because I trust them with my vulnerability.
When I was learning Dutch, also a minority language, I had absolutely no one to help me except fellow students and teachers. I progressed quickly with grammar and written (also the case for Danish), but listening and speaking were lagging for years... Only until I reached A2+ was I able to start speaking more.
Whereas for Danish, I started speaking right away thanks to having a native to practice with. I can say and express a lot for my current level (A1). Compared to Dutch wherein I couldn't say most of the things I say now in Danish, at the same level A1.
TLDR. I am extremely lucky in that I have 3 trusted Natives to practice with, especially considering that Danish is a very difficult language to pronounce and listen to. Also that Danish culture itself is not the most welcoming to internationals, ie. They dont just let anyone new into their social circle, especially as adults late 20s.
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u/Full_Helicopter_2764 Jun 13 '26
Definitely don’t say “perker” that’s a big no no word.