Basic greetings and introductions | Learn Danish in English

Danish lesson set in a contemporary Copenhagen everyday setting: A beginner practices six useful English phrases about basic greetings and introductions..

EN → DA / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Basic greetings and introductions to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Godmorgen allesammen.

goh-MORN ALL-uh-SAM-un. Good morning, everyone.
B

Hvordan har du det?

VOR-dan har doo DEH? How are you?
A

Jeg har det fint.

yai har deh FENT. I am fine.
B

Rart at møde dig.

RAHRT uh MUR-thuh DAI. Nice to meet you.
A

Hav en god dag.

HOW un gohth DEH. Have a nice day.
B

Det var så lidt.

deh var soh LETH. You are welcome.

Word by Word

Godmorgen “Godmorgen” is the morning greeting “good morning” in this dialogue. It is used at the start of “Godmorgen allesammen.” when greeting a group in the morning.
allesammen “Allesammen” means “everyone” or “all of you” in “Godmorgen allesammen.” It addresses all the people present and can follow a greeting when speaking to a group.
Hvordan “Hvordan” means “how” and begins the question “Hvordan har du det?” It is used to ask about someone’s condition or well-being.
har In “Hvordan har du det?”, “har” is the form used in the Danish expression for asking how someone is; the whole question means “How are you?” It combines with “du” and “det” in this reusable question pattern.
du “Du” means “you” and identifies the person being addressed in “Hvordan har du det?” It is used when asking one person directly about their well-being.
det In “Hvordan har du det?” and “Jeg har det fint.”, “det” is part of the expression about someone’s condition. It is not translated separately as “it” in these lines; use it as part of the pattern “har det” when talking about how someone is.
Jeg “Jeg” means “I” and identifies the speaker in “Jeg har det fint.” It is used when the speaker gives information about their own condition or well-being.
fint “Fint” means “fine” or “well” in “Jeg har det fint.” Together with “har det”, it reports that the speaker is doing well. It is a natural answer to “Hvordan har du det?”.
Rart “Rart” means “nice” or “pleasant” in “Rart at møde dig.” The complete expression says that meeting the other person is pleasant, and it is used when meeting someone for the first time.
at Here “at” means “to” and introduces the verb “møde” in “Rart at møde dig.” It forms the pattern “at” plus a verb when describing an action as pleasant.
møde “Møde” means “meet” in “Rart at møde dig.” It follows “at” and names the action that is pleasant. Use “at møde dig” when referring to meeting the person addressed.
dig “Dig” means “you” as the person affected by the action in “Rart at møde dig.” It comes after “møde” because that person is the one being met. This phrase is useful when addressing someone you have just met.
Hav “Hav” begins the friendly wish “Hav en god dag.”, meaning “Have a nice day.” It is used when saying goodbye or wishing someone well for the rest of the day.
en “En” means “a” in the phrase “en god dag.” It introduces the noun phrase for one good day and appears before “god dag” in this wish.
god “God” means “good” and describes “dag” in “en god dag.” The phrase is used to wish someone a pleasant day, especially when parting.
dag “Dag” means “day” in “Hav en god dag.” Together with “en god”, it forms the object of the friendly wish. Use “en god dag” when wishing someone well for the day.
Det var så lidt “Det var så lidt” is the complete Danish expression meaning “You’re welcome” or “It was nothing.” Within the expression, “Det” refers to what was done or offered, “var” means “was”, “så” means “so”, and “lidt” means “little”; together they present the help as something small. Use “Det var så lidt” in response to someone’s thanks.

Grammar Points

Hvordan har du det?

Hvordan har du det?

VOR-dan har doo DEH?

How are you?

Danish uses “have it” in this fixed expression, while English uses “be”.

Danish Vocabulary

allesammen pron
ALL-uh-SAM-un everyone
det pron
deh it; that
dig pron
DAI you
du pron
doo you
fint adj
fent fine
Godmorgen intj
goh-MORN Good morning
har verb
har have
hav verb
how have
hvordan adv
VOR-dan how
jeg pron
yai I
møde verb
MUR-thuh meet
rart adj
RAHRT nice; pleasant

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Good morning, everyone.

Show AnswerGodmorgen allesammen.

How are you?

Show AnswerHvordan har du det?

I am fine.

Show AnswerJeg har det fint.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

Good morning

Show AnswerGodmorgen

how

Show Answerhvordan

everyone

Show Answerallesammen

fine

Show Answerfint