Danish Alphabet

The Danish alphabet has 3 vowels not found in the English language. They are: å/æ/ø. They can also be written this way (this is especially helpful if you don't have a Danish keyboard on your computer and need to type Danish words): aa for å, ae for æ and oe for ø.

For example: Århus or Aarhus; træ or trae (tree); København or Koebenhavn

A few things to remember – Danish is very gutteral, with many sounds made in the back of the throat. Vowels are sometimes not pronounced at all in some words. Try listening to audiotapes or just listen to the Danes and learn as you go. If you are only visiting, don’t worry too much about it. If you are planning on living here, I highly recommend classes. (See the reference section.)

Here are some more helpful tips on the Dansk alphabet:

A is pronounced as the "a" in “father”.

Æ is pronounced as the "a" in “fact” or the "e" in “met” depending on the word!

Å is pronounced as the "a" in “talk” – a little bit harder.

E is pronounced as the "e" in “eye”.

I is pronounced as the "ee" in “bee”.

J is pronounced as the "y" in "year".

Ø is pronounced as the "e" in “fern” (but not really). It is probably the hardest letter for an Anglo to learn. It is difficult to clarify the sound; you just have to practice. You can also think of it as sounding like the "u" in “burn” or the "i" in "bird" -– just try to make the sound come from your throat.

Y is pronounced more like the letter "u".

Ch is like a hard "ch" in "check".

SJ is pronounced like "sh" in “ship”.

NG is pronounced like the "ng" in “fling”.

The Danish alphabet or dansk alfabet. The letters are followed by the prononciation in Danish. Letters like C, Q, W, X and Y are not very common in Danish words. You usually find them in words that have been taken from other languages and adopted into Danish words. For example: campingvogn (means a caravan or winnebego type vehicle, taken from the english word camping and the danish word car.

A a - a

B b - be

C c - se

E e - e

F f - æf

G g -ge

H h - hå

I i - i

J j - jåd

K k - kå

L l - æl

M m - æm

N n - æn

o o - o

P p - pe

Q q - ku

R r - ær

S s - æs

T t - te

U u - u

V v - ve

W w - dobbelt ve

X x - æks

Y y - y

Z z - sæt

Æ æ - æ

Ø ø - ø

Å å - å /aa

Here is how the Danish alphabet sounds

If you want to learn more about prononciation and get a feel for the sounds, check out Speak Danish or MutltiDansk where you can hear various prononciations of stories, numbers, etc..

For practice try learning these Useful Danish Phrases

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