Travel phrases

Essential Danish travel phrases

Pack the words that matter. These are the 34 Danish phrases that actually come up on a trip, from your first Hej to calling for help, grouped by situation and written with a simple pronunciation guide, and read aloud at the tap of a button. Chosen the way a Danish speaker would choose them, which is why the list ends with the phrases you only hear once you are there.

Quick answer

The most useful Danish travel phrases cover greetings, politeness, directions, food, and emergencies. Learn a handful first: Hej (hello), Undskyld (excuse me), Tak (thank you), and Hvor er toilettet? (where is the toilet?). This free tool groups 34 Danish phrases by situation, each with a plain-English pronunciation and a play button that reads it aloud. They are the phrases Danish speakers really use, not an English list translated into Danish, so the last block is the one a phrasebook never has: what locals say to each other.

Start here

The first 10 Danish phrases to learn

The ones you need on day one. Tap play, say the phrase back until it sounds close, then say it along with the voice: that is shadowing, the drill interpreters train with.

  1. 1 Hej Hello HYE Any hour, to anyone; it covers both hi and hello
  2. 2 Hej hej Bye HYE hye The everyday goodbye; farvel sounds final, as if you are not coming back
  3. 3 Hej med dig Hello there HYE meh DYE A warmer hej, for one person you are glad to see
  4. 4 Hvordan går det? How's it going? vor-DAN gor DE Small talk with someone you know; the answer is Det går fint, tak
  5. 5 Godmorgen Good morning go-MORN Morning only, and often clipped to Morn in passing
  6. 6 Tak Thank you TAHK Also does please: En kaffe, tak is a complete and polite order
  7. 7 Ja tak / Nej tak Yes please / No thanks yeh TAHK / nye TAHK Offered anything, Danes answer with tak: ja tak is yes please, nej tak is no thanks
  8. 8 Undskyld Excuse me ON-skewl Apology and attention getter; start any question to a stranger with it
  9. 9 Jeg forstår ikke I don't understand yai for-STOR IG-eh
  10. 10 Kan du sige det igen? Could you say that again? kan doo SEE-eh deh ee-GEN You will need this: spoken Danish swallows most of the word endings
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All 34 phrases, grouped by situation.

Greetings

Hej Hello HYE Any hour, to anyone; it covers both hi and hello
Hej hej Bye HYE hye The everyday goodbye; farvel sounds final, as if you are not coming back
Hej med dig Hello there HYE meh DYE A warmer hej, for one person you are glad to see
Hvordan går det? How's it going? vor-DAN gor DE Small talk with someone you know; the answer is Det går fint, tak
Godmorgen Good morning go-MORN Morning only, and often clipped to Morn in passing

Basics

Tak Thank you TAHK Also does please: En kaffe, tak is a complete and polite order
Ja tak / Nej tak Yes please / No thanks yeh TAHK / nye TAHK Offered anything, Danes answer with tak: ja tak is yes please, nej tak is no thanks
Undskyld Excuse me ON-skewl Apology and attention getter; start any question to a stranger with it
Jeg forstår ikke I don't understand yai for-STOR IG-eh
Kan du sige det igen? Could you say that again? kan doo SEE-eh deh ee-GEN You will need this: spoken Danish swallows most of the word endings
Taler du engelsk? Do you speak English? TAH-ler doo ENG-elsk Danes switch the moment you ask, sometimes before you finish

Getting around

Hvor er toilettet? Where is the toilet? vor air toa-LET-eh Public toilets in Copenhagen are free; otherwise ask in a cafe
Hvor køber jeg en billet? Where do I buy a ticket? vor KUR-ber yai en bee-LET Fares go by zones; buy in the app or at a station machine before you board
Hvilket spor kører toget fra? Which platform does the train leave from? VEL-geth SPOR KUR-ah TOH-eth frah Platforms are spor on every sign and announcement: spor 5
Hvor kan jeg leje en cykel? Where can I rent a bike? vor kan yai LYE-eh en SEW-kel Fastest way across Copenhagen; on foot, stay well clear of the bike lane
Kører denne bus til centrum? Does this bus go to the centre? KUR-uh DEN-eh BOOS til SEN-trom

Eating out

Et bord til to, tak A table for two et BOR til TOH tahk
Kan jeg få menukortet? Could I have the menu? kan yai fo meh-NEW-kor-deth
Hvad kan du anbefale? What would you recommend? va kan doo AHN-beh-fah-leh
Regningen, tak The bill, please RYE-ning-en tahk At a cafe you usually order and pay at the counter instead
Smager det? Is the food good? SMAH-er DE The waiter's check halfway through; answer Ja tak, det smager dejligt

Shopping

Hvad koster det? How much is it? va KOS-ter de
Kan jeg betale med kort? Can I pay by card? kan yai beh-TAH-leh meh KORT Yes, everywhere; Danes also pay each other with the MobilePay app
Jeg kigger bare I'm just looking yai KEE-ger BAH-reh What you answer when a shop assistant asks if you need help
Har I en pose? Do you have a bag? har ee en POH-seh Bags cost money and you will be asked; most Danes bring their own

Emergencies

Hjælp! Help! YELP
Ring efter en ambulance! Call an ambulance! ring EF-ter en am-boo-LAHNG-seh 112 for emergencies; 1813 is the medical helpline around Copenhagen
Jeg har brug for en læge I need a doctor yai ha BROO for en LEH-eh
Jeg er faret vild I'm lost yai air FAH-ret VEEL

Locals say

Selv tak Thank you too sel TAHK The answer to tak when you have reason to thank them too, as at any till; for a favour you did, it is Det var så lidt
Det var hyggeligt That was lovely deh var HEW-geh-lit Said as you leave a dinner, a visit or a long chat; hyggelig is the adjective of hygge
Velbekomme Enjoy your meal vel-beh-KOM-eh Said as the plate lands, and back to anyone who says tak for mad
Tak for mad Thanks for the meal TAHK for MATH Said to whoever cooked, before you leave the table; children say it too
Skål Cheers SKOL Glasses up together, eyes on each other, and it comes round again all evening

How to get the most from these phrases

Learn by situation, not alphabetically. Your memory files Hej next to the moment you would use it, so run through the greetings before you fly, the restaurant block on the way to dinner, and the emergency block once so it is there if you ever need it.

The pronunciation guide is written the way an English speaker would read it aloud, with the stressed syllable in capitals. It is a crutch, not the real sound. Press play, listen once, then say the phrase back: the audio fixes the vowels that plain English spelling cannot capture. Once a phrase feels easy, say it together with the voice, a beat behind, the way interpreters drill: our guide to shadowing explains the sequence.

Phrases get you to the country. What gets you fluent is meeting the same words again and again in context, which is exactly what reading does. Once Undskyld and Tak feel automatic, the next step is a real Danish sentence, then a page, then a book. That is the whole idea behind reading in Lingo7.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the most important Danish phrases for travel?

Start with greetings and politeness, then the phrases that solve a real problem: asking directions, ordering, paying, and getting help. On this page that is Hej (hello), Undskyld (excuse me), Tak (thank you), Hvor er toilettet? (where is the toilet?), and Hjælp! (help!). Learn those few and you can be polite and safe almost anywhere.

What do Danish locals say that a phrasebook leaves out?

A phrasebook translates English, so it gives you the Danish for "hello" and stops. The phrases people there actually trade all day are the ones with no English slot: Selv tak (thank you too), Det var hyggeligt (that was lovely), Velbekomme (enjoy your meal). The "Locals say" block on this page collects 5 of them and says when each one is used, which is usually what turns a correct sentence into a normal one.

What do these Danish phrases sound like?

Tap the play button next to a phrase and you hear it read aloud, so you can copy the sound instead of guessing it from the spelling. The written pronunciation is a crutch for English eyes, the audio is the real thing. Play Hej and Tak a few times, say them back, and they come out right when it counts.

How do you say hello and thank you in Danish?

In Danish, hello is Hej (pronounced HYE) and thank you is Tak (TAHK). Add Undskyld (excuse me) and Hej hej (bye), and you have the words that carry most short exchanges with a shopkeeper, waiter, or stranger.

How do you ask where the toilet is in Danish?

Ask Hvor er toilettet? (pronounced vor air toa-LET-eh), which means "where is the toilet?" in Danish. If you only catch part of the reply, Jeg forstår ikke (I don't understand) and a smile usually gets it repeated or pointed out. It is one of the few phrases worth memorizing word for word before you go.

Do I need to learn Danish before traveling?

No, but a dozen Danish phrases go a long way. Locals warm up fast when you open with Hej and Tak instead of English. You do not need grammar or fluency for a trip, just the survival set above. For anything past that, the fastest route to real Danish is reading, which is exactly what Lingo7 is built for.