Overview/Day 1

Day 1: Foundations: Greetings, Politeness & First Introduction

Getting started and being polite

Be able to greet people, say thank you, apologize, and introduce yourself simply.

Alphabet & pronunciationSound practice

Objectives

  • Greet people and say goodbye
  • Say thank you and apologize
  • Introduce yourself with your name and why you are in Denmark
  • Ask Where is…? and May I…?

Vocabulary

Tap play to hear pronunciation (browser speech engine).

Hej
Hi / Hello
Soft h, like hi
Hej hej
Bye (casual)
Common way to say goodbye
Farvel
Goodbye (more formal)
Tak
Thanks
Tak skal du have
Thank you very much
Very common and polite
Undskyld
Excuse me / Sorry
Extremely useful
Ja
Yes
Nej
No
Må jeg…?
May I…?
Hvor er…?
Where is…?
Jeg hedder…
My name is…
Jeg bor i…
I live in…
Jeg arbejder i…
I work in…
Danmark
Denmark
Aarhus
Aarhus

Patterns

Introducing yourself

Basic self-introduction structure

  • Jeg hedder + [name]
  • Jeg bor i + [place]
  • Jeg arbejder i + [place/company]

Polite requests

Asking for permission

  • Må jeg + [verb]?
  • Må jeg spørge? (May I ask?)
  • Må jeg få…? (May I have…?)

Finding things

Asking for locations

  • Hvor er + [thing/place]?

Speaking Practice

Record yourself, listen back, and download anything worth keeping.

Greeting + Introduction

Hej. Jeg hedder [dit navn]. Jeg bor i Aarhus. Jeg arbejder i Danmark.

Polite version

Hej. Undskyld. Jeg hedder [dit navn]. Tak skal du have.

Asking for help

Undskyld. Hvor er toilettet?

Undskyld. Hvor er bussen?

Full baseline recording (45–60 seconds)

Save this recording — you will compare it on Day 30

Hej. Jeg hedder [name]. Jeg er fra USA. Jeg flytter til Aarhus. Jeg skal arbejde i Danmark. Tak skal du have.

Writing Practice

  • Introduce yourself in 3–4 short sentences.
  • Write 5 different ways to say thank you or apologize.
  • Write 3 Hvor er…? questions you might need in the first week.

Scenario: Entering a shop or apartment building

You walk into a shop or apartment building and need to greet someone and ask a simple question.

You: Hej.
Them: Hej.
You: Undskyld. Hvor er [toilettet / elevatoren / Netto]?
Them: [points / answers]
You: Tak skal du have. Hej hej.

Immersion Tasks

  • Change your phone language to Danish (or at least add Danish keyboard)
  • Label 5 objects in your current home with Danish post-its (dør, vindue, bord, stol, seng)
  • Set a 2-minute timer and only speak Danish out loud (even if broken)

Self-Check

  • Greet someone and say goodbye
  • Say Thank you very much
  • Say Excuse me / Sorry
  • Introduce yourself with name + city + work
  • Ask Where is…?