Making a New Friend - S1 Ep4

In this episode, you'll learn how to introduce yourself when meeting someone for the first time. We'll practice asking and answering questions about your name, where you live, and where you're from. By the end of the episode, you'll be able to introduce yourself and get to know someone new.

We'll also continue working on Danish pronunciation by practicing the soft d and stød, two sounds that are essential for sounding more natural in Danish.

Words of the Day

Hvordan - How

Hvad - What

Hvor - Where

Hedder - Am called / Is called

Jeg - I

Du - You

Bor - Live

Kommer fra - Come from

Godt at møde dig - Nice to meet you

Main Dialogue

Victoria: Hej.

Andrew: Goddag.

Victoria: Hvad hedder du?

Andrew: Jeg hedder Andrew.

Andrew: Hvad med dig? Hvad hedder du?

Victoria: Jeg hedder Victoria.

Victoria: Hvor kommer du fra? England eller Canada?

Andrew: Nej, jeg kommer fra USA.

Victoria: Hvor bor du?

Andrew: Jeg bor i Danmark.

Andrew: Hvad med dig? Kommer du fra Danmark?

Victoria: Ja, og også fra Spanien.

Andrew: Fedt. Godt at møde dig.

Victoria: I lige måde.

Words and Phrase Varriations

Different ways to say "Nice to meet you":

Godt at møde dig - Nice to meet you

Dejligt at møde dig - Lovely to meet you

Spændende at møde dig - Nice to meet you (literally "Interesting to meet you")

When meeting someone again:

Godt at se dig - Good to see you

Different ways to ask someone's name:

Hvad hedder du? - What is your name?

Hvad er dit navn? - What is your name? (more formal)

Different ways to answer:

Jeg hedder... - My name is...

Mit navn er... - My name is...

Useful Country Names

USA - USA

Danmark - Denmark

England - England

Canada - Canada

Spanien - Spain

Frankrig - France

Italien - Italy

Tyskland - Germany

Polen - Poland

Ukraine - Ukraine

Bangladesh - Bangladesh

Nepal - Nepal

Kina - China

Syrien - Syria

Tyrkiet - Turkey

Pronunciation Focus

This episode continues practicing two important features of spoken Danish:

The soft d, heard in words like:

Hedder

Møde

And stød, the small "catch" in the voice that appears in many Danish words, including:

Hedder

Kommer

Coming Next Time

Join us next time as we continue introducing ourselves by talking about our nationality, the languages we speak, and where we're from.

Vi ses!

Transcript

Speaker 0:02 Speaker 0:02

Hi, Alsam.

Speaker 1 0:04

Hey everyone. Welcome to Daily Danish Pod, a language learning podcast for beginners focusing on everyday scenarios.

Speaker 0:11

My name is Victoria, and I will be the teacher.

Speaker 1 0:14

My name is Andrew, and I will be the learner. Hi, Victoria.

Speaker 0:32

But then how dock?

Speaker 1 0:42

Yeah? Tell me more.

Intro to the Episode

Speaker 0:44

Well, today we're gonna look at a basic conversation for when you first meet someone new. You and the listener at home will learn how to tell someone your name, where you come from, and where you live.

Speaker 1 0:56

Sounds like a plan.

Speaker 0:58

We'll make sure to take it slow, break it down bit by bit along the way. So are you ready?

Speaker 1 1:05

I am ready.

Speaker 1:07

Let's begin.

Words of the Day

Speaker 1 1:12

We will begin this episode, as always, with words of the day. These are the new words and phrases that we will have in today's dialogue. Victoria will say the word of phrase. We will leave a space for you to repeat out loud, and then I will repeat it as well. And don't forget we put the words with their English translations in the description of today's episode.

Speaker 1:31

Today we will talk about three question words in Danish. These are like the WH words in English, like where, what, and why. In Danish, they often start with H V. Like in English, we often start the question sentence with one of these. In fact, we've already learned one. Voden. Do you remember what that means?

Speaker 1 1:54

Forden Foden means how.

Speaker 1:58

And can you remember how we use it?

Speaker 1 2:02

Well, we have for example the sentence for in go da meaning how is it going? Or forin harude meaning how are you doing?

Speaker 2:14

Li Prasis exactly. So we also have the word veh means what? So the word is vehicle. We will come back to this word and the last question word in just a moment. For now we're going to look at a verb. So we've already learned quite a few verbs so far. Can you think of any?

Speaker 1 2:38

Hmm so we learned a, which means is or am like when you ask Edu Cla. Are you ready? Or go like Degot. It goes well.

Speaker 2:53

Great. So now we will learn how to say your name in Danish using the verb hilla. Hilla means am called or is called Hilla.

Speaker 1 3:05

Hilla.

Speaker 3:07

And now let's add two important words. Ya means I, so the word is Yah. Ya and du means you. So the word is du So I can say Yah Victoya. I am called Victoya.

Speaker 1 3:31

Ya Hila Andrew.

Speaker 3:33

Yeah, Satan. If we want to ask someone what their name is, we can say the Hila du meaning what are you called?

Speaker 1 3:44

The Hila Du The Hila Du Perfect.

Speaker 3:50

So I will ask you and the listener at home.

Speaker 1 3:54

The Hila du Yah Andrew. And if you want to ask me Well I would say the hila du but maybe I could also just say them and I is that correct?

Speaker 4:11

Correct. Now let's add one more question word vo means where. So the word is vo bo. Perfect. We use vo when we want to ask about a place. And that brings us to our next verb. Bo means live. So the word is bo. Great. And if I wanted to ask you where you live, I would say vo bo du. And if we're asking more than one person, we can ask vo bo i. E means you in plural. So if you were asking two or more people, you would say vo bo i. So to say I live in Copenhagen, I say Yapo Ikubhaun. I live in Copenhagen. Yapo Ikubhaun Ikubenhaun. Great. And if we're talking about more people, we can say Vipo Ikubhaun. We live in Copenhagen. Vi means we, so it's Vipo Ikubhaun. Great. Now let's take one more verb with its preposition Koma Fra. Koma Fra means come from. So I could say Yakama Fradenmak.

Speaker 1 6:00

Kamafra.

Speaker 6:01

So if I ask Vol Komarufra, I'm asking where are you from? Vol Kotmarufra.

Speaker 1 6:11

Vo Kamadufra.

Speaker 6:13

And you can answer Yakoma Fra Uese or wherever you're from. And spoiler alert, we will go over more country names at the end of the episode. So for you, Andrew, the sentence would be Yakoma Fra Uese. Yakamafra Uese Perfect and finally a very useful phrase God omulda That means nice to meet you.

Speaker 1 6:45

Godastic.

Speaker 6:48

So now we can already say quite a lot. And how to answer those questions. And lastly, God omuda.

Test Your Listening

Speaker 1 7:03

Great. So now Victoria has prepared a little dialogue with a scenario of two people meeting for the first time. Try to listen and see if you recognise any of the new words we have just learned. Afterwards we will talk about the conversation and clarify any points.

Speaker 7:19

Hi Gura Du Andrew Vermedi Verhilla Dua. Fit Goromolda Ilimo So how did it go? Both for you, the listener, and for you, Andrew.

Speaker 1 8:07

Great. So we had a lot of repetition of the words and phrases we just learned. For commodofra the Hitlerdu. But I see you added a couple extra filler words.

Speaker 8:18

Yes, and we will go over all of these line by line with an English translation in just a moment, but are there any ones that stick out to you?

Speaker 1 8:27

So obviously we had the country names such as Denmark, Spain, England, and uh Canada.

Speaker 8:35

Exactly. Although the pronunciation can be similar, there are some marked differences. Try to see if you can hear it. Denmark is Denmark. Canada is Canada. And England is England. The only big difference maybe is that Spain is Spanian.

Speaker 1 8:58

And I do see you put in one of my favorite slang words.

Speaker 9:02

Oh yes. Fit, which literally means fat, but it's a very common way to say cool or great in Danish. So the word is fit.

Speaker 1 9:11

Fit.

English Translation

Speaker 1 9:12 Speaker 1 9:12 Speaker 9:12

Yeah, fit. Now you can listen to the dialogue with breaks and an English translation. I will read out the dialogue line for line in Danish and then Andrew will translate into English. Hi. Good day.

Speaker 1 9:31

Good day, or hello The Hilda Du What is your name? Yahilla Victoria My name is Victoria. What about you? What is your name?

Speaker 9:56

Vor kommer du fra England eller Canada?

Speaker 1 10:03

Where are you from? England or Canada?

Speaker 10:08

Nej jeg kommer fra USA.

Speaker 1 10:13

No, I'm from the US. Hvor bor du? Where do you live?

Speaker 10:21

Jeg bor i Danmark nu.

Speaker 1 10:25

I live in Denmark now. What about you? Are you from Denmark?

Speaker 10:38

Yeah or os fra Spanien.

Speaker 1 10:44

Yes, and also from Spain.

Speaker 10:49

Fit God Cool.

Speaker 1 10:54

Nice to meet you.

Speaker 10:57

Elimol.

Pronunication Point

Speaker 11:00

Pronunciation point. Pronunciation point. Okay, let's do it. We are now going to speak about a distinct sound in the Danish language called the soft D. You've actually heard it before in words like hiltla, used in Yah, I am called, and mool, as in got a muta. Nice to meet you. This uh might often sound like an L to our ears, but in the written language it's represented by a D. It's worth paying attention to because it's quite a common sound in Danish. The key to pronouncing the soft D is to do almost nothing. We want to pretend the tip of our tongue has superglue on it and is stuck to the back side of our front bottom teeth. Try to make the uh sound in h- It might feel like the rest of the tongue is trying to escape the mouth, but it can't because it's stuck to the bottom teeth. We also heard it in the last episode with uh sil meaning to sit. Give it a go with me. Sil.

Speaker 1 12:19

Sil.

Speaker 12:20

Yeah. It might still sound like an L to you, but the important distinction here is that whereas the L sound requires the tip of the tongue to be behind the top teeth, the soft D needs the tongue at the bottom.

Speaker 1 12:34

Yeah, I've noticed that it's a sound that at first doesn't feel like it should make a difference. Like I'm like, what's the difference between this L and this soft D sound? But Danes will notice. And I've even had several pointed out to me.

Speaker 12:48

Yeah, let's try them again. Hiltla.

Speaker 1 12:52

Hilt uh.

Speaker 12:54

Moo Mo.

Speaker 1 12:57

Moo Moo.

Practice Speaking

Speaker 1 13:03 Speaker 1 13:03

In this next section, we'll go over the dialogue we've been working on up until now. Yet this time Victoria will say the lines for both of us, and after each line, she will leave a space for you to repeat afterwards, and then I will repeat as well. Hi Hvad heder du Hvad heller du?

Speaker 13:33

Jeg hedder Victoria.

Speaker 1 13:37

Jeg heller Victoria.

Speaker 13:40

Hvad med dig? Hvad heder du?

Speaker 1 13:47

Hvad med dig? Hvad heller du?

Speaker 13:51

Hvor kommer du fra? England eller Canada?

Speaker 1 13:59

Hvor kommer du fra England eller Canada?

Speaker 14:04

Nej, jeg kommer fra USA?

Speaker 1 14:11

Nej, jeg kommer fra USA.

Speaker 14:16

Hvor bor du?

Speaker 1 14:20

Hvor borg?

Speaker 14:22

Jeg bor i Danmark nu.

Speaker 1 14:28

Jeg bor i Danmark nu.

Speaker 14:30

Hvad med dig? Kommer du fra Danmark?

Speaker 1 14:37

Hvordan? Kommer du fra Danmark?

Speaker 14:41

Ja, og os fra Spanien.

Speaker 1 14:57

Fed gotumol da Elimol.

Culture Point

Speaker 15:12

So Andrew, you work a lot with newcomers here in Copenhagen. Where do people usually come from?

Speaker 1 15:17

Yeah, so it's actually really varied, but people arrive from all over. So in modern history, major waves included the so-called guest workers in the 1960s and 70s from countries including Turkey, what was then Yugoslavia, and Pakistan. More recently, you have people coming from inside the EU, like Poland, Germany, and Romania, and from countries outside the EU like Ukraine, Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, just to name a few. In the last year or two, we've actually seen some more Nepalese and Bangladeshi newcomers arriving.

Speaker 15:49

Yeah, so there's definitely a wide range of people coming to Denmark. And while some small towns or even parts of big cities in Denmark might feel very homogenous, there are many places with great diversity. One that comes to mind is, of course, Neapo, a neighborhood here in Copenhagen, where you have everything from Polish supermarkets to Middle Eastern bazaars.

Speaker 1 16:09

Yeah. So one neighborhood that I really like is uh Novest. Uh there's a grocery store called Thai food. And on the outside, they have this sign that advertises themselves as being Asian specialist, but also selling Balkan products. And when you go inside, they're selling ramen next to a glass display case of the best hummus, olives, and tziki you can get in Copenhagen. I feel like this store is just one example where you can see a mix of all different cultures and where food can illustrate the many waves of migration to Denmark.

Practice Listening - Real Speed

Speaker 16:41

We will now repeat the dialogue at normal conversational speed.

Speaker 1 16:46

Hi Good Andrew.

Speaker 16:55

England Canada?

Word & Phrase Variations

Speaker 16:57 Speaker 1 17:07

Fit Gotomoda Ilimo We will now have the section word and phrase variations. These are different ways you can say similar concepts and ideas related to this episode's dialogue.

Speaker 17:21

So instead of got omuda, we can say Dilid Omoda, which means lovely to meet you. Dilid Omuda Dilid Omoda Another option is also spin and muda. Interesting to meet you. Spin omuda Spin Omoda Try to imagine there's a little engine inside of your nose.

Speaker 1 17:57

Spin Spin Perfect. Spina Omoda.

Speaker 18:03

That was great, Andrew. And then the next time you meet someone you already know, instead of goada or spin ema, you can say god aseda. Good to see you. God osta. Now let's look at a variation of a question you already know. Vehila. What are you called? So the variation would be vehit noun. What is your name?

Speaker 1 18:32

Ve Editnaun The Edit Noun.

Speaker 18:37

This is to be understood the same way as vehilatu, but it's a bit more direct or formal. You would then answer Mitnaun A Victoria. My name is Victoria.

Speaker 1 18:52

Mitnaun a Andrew.

Speaker 18:55

Exactly. Now let's look at some country names. We have chosen some countries we mentioned in the culture point and added a few more in alphabetical order. Our first country is Bangladesh. In Danish it would be Bangladesh.

Speaker 1 19:13

Bangladesh.

Speaker 19:15

Our next country is France. Francri. I see you get you got a little scared there, Andrew. Just imagine you're clearing your throat. Francri.

Speaker 1 19:30

Francri.

Speaker 19:31

Perfect. You even said it better than me this time. Our next country is Italy. Italian.

Speaker 1 19:40

Italian.

Speaker 19:41

Great. Now we have China. China.

Speaker 1 19:47

China.

Speaker 19:50

Nepal is Napal.

Speaker 1 19:54

Nepal.

Speaker 19:57

Poland becomes Polen.

Speaker 1 20:00

Poland.

unknown 20:01

Yeah.

Speaker 20:03

Syria becomes Syrian.

Speaker 1 20:07

Syrian.

Speaker 20:09

Turkey? Turkey.

Speaker 1 20:12

This one's gonna be hard for me. Can you say it again?

Speaker 20:15

Turkil.

Speaker 1 20:17

Turkil.

Speaker 20:19

Almost. Turkil.

Speaker 1 20:22

Turkil.

Speaker 20:23

Great. Germany becomes Tusklen.

Speaker 1 20:30

Tusklen.

Speaker 20:31

Great. And Ukraine becomes Ukraine.

Speaker 1 20:37

Ukraina.

Teaser for Next Episode

Speaker 20:38

That's all for this episode. Join us for our next episode as we continue exploring what a basic conversation might look like in Danish. You'll learn to ask and say where you're from and what languages you speak. We would love to hear from you, our listeners. Please comment whether you have ideas for how we can improve, scenarios you would like us to cover, or even just to say hi and introduce yourself. We'd love to know where you're from and your motivation for learning Danish. If you'd like to support us further, please like and subscribe. And check out our Instagram at Daily Danish Pod to get updates on our work. This podcast was created and recorded at Union, a culture house in Napo, Copenhagen, with funding from Funten Krim House Orset. The pod would not be possible without both of their help. A big thank you to Chenny, Esm, and Gustavo for your ongoing support. A shout out to Omar for our logo design and Andrew Renison for creating our jingle. Hi hi.

Speaker 1 21:34

See you next time.