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🇩🇰 Danish 🇩🇪 German

🗣️ Danish pronunciation is notoriously hard. The written form and spoken form diverge dramatically. Words are swallowed, consonants disappear, and the stød (glottal stop) changes meaning. This guide spells out exactly how to produce each sound.

🅐

Vowels — The Danish Vowel System

9 vowels, each with short and long variants · includes ø and å

›

Short/long "a"

Like "ah" in "father" but shorter. Long version: held longer.

✦ mand [man] = man · dag [da] = day · tale [ˈtæːlə] = speech

Easy

Short "e" / long "e"

Short: like "e" in "bed". Long: like "ay" in "say" but without the glide.

✦ seng [sɛŋ] = bed · se [seː] = see · freden [ˈfʁeðən] = peace

Easy

Like English "ee"

Long "i" as in "see" or "bee". Shorter in unstressed syllables.

✦ bil [biːˀl] = car · lide [ˈliːðə] = to suffer/like

Easy

Like "o" in "go" — but without the English glide

Say "oh" but keep your lips in one position. Don't let it become "ow".

✦ bo [boːˀ] = to live · sol [sɔl] = sun · stor [sdoɐ] = big

Medium

Like "oo" in "moon" — very round lips

Tightly rounded lips, tongue back. Like French "ou".

✦ hus [huːˀs] = house · nu [nuː] = now

Easy

⚠️ No English equivalent — rounded front vowel

Say "ee" (tongue forward, high), then round your lips as if saying "oo". Hold both positions at once.

✦ ny [nyː] = new · byde [ˈbyːðə] = to bid/invite · hytte [ˈhødə] = hut

Hard

Like "e" in "bed" — but more open

Open your mouth wider than for "e". Like the "a" in "cat" for British English speakers.

✦ æble [ˈɛblə] = apple · mænd [mɛn] = men · læse [ˈlɛːsə] = to read

Medium

⚠️ No English equivalent — rounded front mid vowel

Say "e" in "bed", then round your lips. Like French "eu" in "peur" or German "ö". Short version sounds like "ur" in "burn" (British).

✦ grøn [gʁøˀn] = green · høre [ˈhøːɐ] = to hear · øje [ˈøjə] = eye

Hard

Like "aw" in "law" (British)

Round lips, tongue back and low. Like "or" without the r, or French "o" in "or".

✦ år [ɔːˀ] = year · gå [gɔː] = to go/walk · håb [hɔˀb] = hope

Medium

💡 Danish vowel tip: Danish has MORE vowel sounds than English. The key pairs to master: e/æ (close vs. open), o/å (high-round vs. low-round), and the tricky y/ø (rounded front vowels). When in doubt, listen and mimic — Alex is your best resource for natural vowel feedback.

🔤

Consonants — The Tricky Ones

Danish swallows consonants · d, g, r are completely different from English

›

d
soft

Soft "d" — the most important Danish sound

Between vowels, "d" becomes a soft sound made with the tongue touching the bottom teeth — like the "th" in "the" but voiced and flatter. NOT the English "d". Written ð in IPA.

✦ bade [ˈbæðə] = to bathe · mede [ˈmeːðə] = fishing · god [goð] = good
⚠️ At end of words: mad [mæð] = food — the d is very soft or silent

Hard

g
soft

Soft "g" — disappears between vowels

Between vowels, "g" becomes a very weak sound, almost a "y" glide (like "y" in "yes"), or disappears entirely in casual speech.

✦ sige [ˈsiːi] = to say (g nearly gone) · kage [ˈkæːi] = cake · dage [ˈdæːi] = days
Hard g at start: god [goð] = good · gå [gɔː] = go

Hard

Uvular "r" — made in the throat, not the tongue tip

Like gargling water gently, or the French/German "r". The tip of the tongue stays DOWN. In casual speech it often becomes just a vowel-like sound or disappears after vowels.

✦ rød [ʁøð] = red · ret [ʁɛd] = right · mor [moɐ] = mother (r almost gone)
After vowels: stor [sdoɐ] = big — r becomes a schwa-like glide

Hard

"v" — like English "v" but can soften

Usually like English "v". But between vowels or at end of words it can soften to a "w"-like sound.

✦ vand [vanˀ] = water · have [ˈhæːvə] = garden/to have · leve [ˈleːvə] = to live

Medium

hv-

"hv" — pronounced as just "v"

The "h" in hv- combinations is completely silent. Just say "v".

✦ hvad = [vað] = what · hvem = [vɛm] = who · hvor = [voɐ] = where

Easy once known

💡 The Danish consonant secret: Danish speakers "swallow" many consonants. Words often sound much shorter than they look. Ikke (not) sounds like "ee-uh". Og (and) sounds like "oh". Det (it/that) sounds like "de". Don't try to pronounce every letter — trust the rhythm.

✦

Stød — The Danish Glottal Stop

A brief catch in the voice that changes word meaning — unique to Danish

›

Stød (literally "push") is a brief interruption or creak in the voice — a glottal stop. It's marked with [ˀ] in IPA. It's what makes Danish sound "choppy" to foreigners, and it changes word meaning.

How to produce stød

Think of the pause in the middle of "uh-oh". Say the vowel, then briefly close your throat mid-sound, then continue. It's a tiny catch or creak on the vowel.

Practice: say "uh-oh" quickly → the pause = stød

Hard

Stød pairs — minimal meaning differences

hund [hunˀ]

a dog

vs.

hun [hun]

she (NO stød)

no catch

hænder [ˈhɛnˀər]

hands

vs.

hænder [ˈhɛnər]

happens (no stød)

no catch

anden [ˈanˀən]

the duck

vs.

anden [ˈanən]

the other (no stød)

no catch

💡 Don't panic about stød. Native speakers will understand you without it at B1/B2. Start noticing it in listening, then gradually introduce it. Alex can confirm if your stød sounds natural.

💨

Connected Speech & Reduction

Why spoken Danish sounds nothing like the written word

›

Danish undergoes massive reduction in casual speech. Unstressed syllables vanish. Common words are barely recognisable from their written form.

How common words REALLY sound

det er

[de]

"it is / that is" → sounds like "de" — only one syllable

ikke

[eɣə]

"not" → sounds like "ee-uh" — the k disappears

[ɔ]

"and" → just "oh" — g completely vanishes

jeg ved ikke

[ja vi eɣə]

"I don't know" → sounds like "ya vee ee-uh"

hvad hedder du

[va heðər du]

"what's your name" → hv = v, d's soften

selvfølgelig

[sɛlˈføli]

"of course" → 4 syllables become 3, g disappears

rigtig

[ˈʁɪdi]

"correct/really" → sounds like "ree-dee", g gone

mig / dig

[maj] / [daj]

"me / you" → sounds like "my / die" — ig = [aj]

💡 The -ig rule: In Danish, -ig at the end of a word is ALWAYS pronounced [i] or [aj] — never "ig". So rigtig = "ree-dee", mandig = "man-dee", mig = "my".

🎯

Minimal Pairs Drill

Words that differ by one sound — train your ear and mouth

›

Vowel pairs

bil [biːˀl]

vs.

bøl [bøˀl] · "car" vs "rascal" — i vs ø

nyt [nyːˀd]

vs.

nød [nøːˀð] · "new (neut)" vs "nut/need" — y vs ø

sæt [sɛd]

vs.

sat [sad] · "set" vs "sat" — æ vs a

grøn [gʁøˀn]

vs.

gran [gʁan] · "green" vs "spruce tree" — ø vs a

Consonant pairs

dage [ˈdæːi]

vs.

tage [ˈtæːi] · "days" vs "take" — d vs t

bade [ˈbæːðə]

vs.

pate [ˈpæːdə] · "bathe" vs "pâté" — b vs p

🔇

Silent & Swallowed Sounds

Why written and spoken Danish feel like different languages

›

Danish famously swallows whole syllables and consonants. The written form is essentially a historical artefact — spoken Danish is far more compressed.

hvad[ve]The "hv" sounds like V. "hvad" = "ve"

det[de]The T is silent — sounds like "de"

ikke[igə]The "kk" softens — sounds like "ig-uh"

mig[maj]The G is silent — sounds like "my"

lige[liə]G drops — roughly "lee-uh"

selvfølgelig[selfølʔli]Reduced in speech to "sel-foel-li"

🎵

Stød — The Glottal Creak

The feature that makes Danish unique among Scandinavian languages

›

Stød [ˈsdøð] is a laryngeal feature — a brief glottal constriction (creak) during a vowel. It changes meaning: hund [hunʔ] (dog) vs hun [hun] (she). It only appears on syllables with historically long vowels or voiced consonants.

Glottal creak on vowel

A brief catch mid-vowel — like briefly cutting off your voice

hund [hunʔ] · mand [manʔ] · sol [soʔl]

Advanced

∅

No stød (plain vowel)

Same vowel, no creak — different word or grammatical form

hun [hun] · man [man] · sol (definite: solen no stød)

Contrast

🗣️ German pronunciation is far more regular than Danish. Once you learn the rules, you can read almost any German word correctly. The main challenges are umlauts (ü, ö), the ch sounds, and the rolled/guttural r.

🅤

Umlauts — ä, ö, ü

The three modified vowels that don't exist in English

›

Like "e" in "bed" — open mouth wider

Short ä: exactly like "e" in "bed". Long ä: like "air" but without the r (British "bare" without final r). Same sound as Danish æ.

✦ Männer [ˈmɛnɐ] = men · spät [ʃpɛːt] = late · Bäcker [ˈbɛkɐ] = baker

Medium

⚠️ Like "e" in "bed" but with rounded lips

Say "e" in "bed", then round your lips like you're about to say "o". Hold both positions. Like French "eu" in "peur", or Danish ø. Short version like "ur" in "burn" (British).

✦ schön [ʃøːn] = beautiful · mögen [ˈmøːɡən] = to like · zwölf [tsvœlf] = twelve · Hölle [ˈhœlə] = hell

Hard

⚠️ Like "ee" but with rounded lips

Say "ee" (tongue high and forward), then round your lips into an "oo" shape without moving your tongue. Like French "u" in "lune", or Danish y.

✦ über [ˈyːbɐ] = over/above · grün [ɡʁyːn] = green · Stück [ʃtʏk] = piece · fünf [fʏnf] = five

Hard

💡 Umlaut trick: Both ö and ü are "front rounded" vowels — tongue position from e/i, lip position from o/u. Practice: say "see" → round lips → ü. Say "bed" → round lips → ö. The tongue does NOT move.

💨

The "ch" Sound — Two Variants

Ich-Laut (soft) vs. Ach-Laut (hard) — which you use depends on the vowel before it

›

ch
soft

Ich-Laut — after i, e, ä, ö, ü, ei, eu, and consonants

Say "h" as in "huge" or "hew" — a soft hiss made near the front of the mouth. Like whispering "sh" but with the tongue further forward. NOT "k", NOT "sh".

✦ ich [ɪç] = I · nicht [nɪçt] = not · Mädchen [ˈmɛːtçən] = girl · durch [dʊʁç] = through · Milch [mɪlç] = milk

Hard

ch
hard

Ach-Laut — after a, o, u, au

Like the "ch" in Scottish "loch" — made deep in the throat. Gargle gently without the voice. Like clearing your throat softly.

✦ Bach [bax] = brook · Buch [buːx] = book · Tochter [ˈtɔxtɐ] = daughter · auch [aʊx] = also

Medium

ch
= k

ch = "k" in Greek/foreign words

In words from Greek, ch is sometimes just "k".

✦ Charakter [kaˈʁaktɐ] · Chaos [ˈkaːɔs] · Chor [koːɐ] = choir

Easy

💡 The ch rule: After a, o, u, au → Ach-Laut (throat). After anything else (i, e, ä, ö, ü, ei, eu, consonants) → Ich-Laut (front hiss). At the start of a word before e/i → often [ç] (ich-laut).

🌀

The German "r"

Uvular (throat) r — very different from English, similar to Danish r

›

r
uvular

Made at the back of the throat, not with the tongue tip

Keep the tip of your tongue DOWN. Raise the back of your tongue toward your uvula (the dangly thing at the back of your throat). Vibrate or tighten that area. Like a very gentle gargle, or French/German "r".

✦ rot [ʁoːt] = red · Regen [ˈʁeːɡən] = rain · Bruder [ˈbʁuːdɐ] = brother

Hard

-er
final

Unstressed -er at end = "uh" sound (schwa + a)

Final -er in German (Vater, Mutter, Lehrer) is NOT "air" — it's a neutral "uh" sound, like the "a" in "about". The r effectively disappears.

✦ Vater [ˈfaːtɐ] = father · Mutter [ˈmʊtɐ] = mother · Lehrer [ˈleːʁɐ] = teacher · immer [ˈɪmɐ] = always

Medium

💡 Good news for Danish learners: German and Danish share the uvular r — you already know this sound from Danish! The German r is slightly more clearly pronounced than in Danish.

📖

German Spelling → Sound Rules

Unlike Danish, German is mostly phonetic — learn these rules and read anything

›

ei / ai

[aɪ]

Like "eye" or "I" — ein [aɪn] = a/one · mein [maɪn] = my · Mai [maɪ] = May

[iː]

Always long "ee" — Liebe [ˈliːbə] = love · die [diː] = the · viel [fiːl] = much

eu / äu

[ɔʏ]

Like "oy" in "boy" — heute [ˈhɔʏtə] = today · neu [nɔʏ] = new · Bäume [ˈbɔʏmə] = trees

[aʊ]

Like "ow" in "cow" — Haus [haʊs] = house · auch [aʊx] = also · blau [blaʊ] = blue

sp- / st-

[ʃp] / [ʃt]

At start of syllable: sp = "shp", st = "sht" — Sprache [ˈʃpʁaːxə] = language · Stadt [ʃtat] = city

sch

[ʃ]

Always "sh" — Schule [ˈʃuːlə] = school · schön [ʃøːn] = beautiful

z / tz

[ts]

"ts" as in "cats" — Zeit [tsaɪt] = time · Platz [plats] = place · zwei [tsvaɪ] = two

[v]

Always "v" sound — Wasser [ˈvasɐ] = water · wir [viːɐ] = we · wann [van] = when

[f]

In German words = "f" — Vater [ˈfaːtɐ] = father · viel [fiːl] = much (but foreign words: Violine = [v])

ß (Eszett)

[s]

Just a long "s" after long vowels/diphthongs — Straße [ˈʃtʁaːsə] = street · Fuß [fuːs] = foot

💡 German regularity bonus: Once you know these rules, German is almost perfectly phonetic. You can read a German word you've never seen and pronounce it correctly — completely unlike English or Danish. This is a huge advantage.

🎯

Word Stress & Sentence Rhythm

Where stress falls — and how German sentence rhythm differs from English

›

German stress is more regular than English. The key rules:

stem

Native German words: stress on the STEM (first syllable)

Most German words stress the root syllable.

✦ ARbeit · LERNen · MUTter · SCHÖnheit · FreiHEIT (suffix -heit unstressed)

Easy

be-/ge-/er-

Unstressed prefixes: be-, ge-, ver-, er-, ent-, zer-

These prefixes are NEVER stressed — stress falls on the next syllable.

✦ beSTELLen · geWINNen · verSTEHen · erKLÄRen

Easy

-tion/-ion

Foreign words ending in -tion, -ion: stress the suffix

-tion is always [tsi̯oːn] and always stressed.

✦ NatiON · InformaTION · RevoluTION

Easy

💡 🇩🇰↔🇩🇪 Crossover: Danish and German share the uvular r and the "ø/ö" vowel. Your Danish pronunciation training directly helps German. The main difference: German is clearer and more fully pronounced — fewer sounds disappear compared to Danish.

🎯

Level Assessment

Quick (12 Q) or Full Comprehensive test
All levels A1 → C2 · Vocab & grammar
Answers are randomly shuffled every time

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