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Hej is the most common greeting in Denmark. You can use hej both to greet someone and greet them back.

Danes usually do not differentiate between  greeting men or women, young or old, or a person with high or low status. In fact, one does not see social status when choosing a greeting.

Danes usually say hello and shake hands the first time they meet. A greeting is almost always followed by a handshake. Danes say hello to the people they know well and sometimes they even give a hug.

On the next page you will learn some greetings for more formal situations. You should use these greetings when you meet someone for the first time. You can always shake hands when greeting someone politely.

The most common and polite greeting is goddag.

In the morning, you say:

When you go to bed you say:

After a greeting, you can use the following sentence to start the conversation:

You can reply to hvordan går det in the following ways:

Personal pronouns are categorized in person and number.

Person describes whether the person who is meant is the speaker, i.e. the 1st person, the person being spoken to, i.e. the 2nd person, or a completely different person, i.e., 3rd person.

Number describes whether it is singular (singular) or plural (plural) that is meant. So whether there is one person or several.

When you present yourself, you use the verb hedder. The verb does not change according to the subject regardless of number and gender.

When you need to introduce others, you say det er (this is)

When asking other people's names, use the word hvad (what), which you also used in hvad med dig? 

Try to compare it with the way you say your own name. Notice that hedder is used in both cases.

In Danish you can address a person either formally or informally:

De is formal

Du is informal

In modern Danish, De is rarely used unless it is under special conditions. It is sometimes used by waiters in formal restaurants or in hotels, although du is most often perfectly acceptable.

You can use De as signs of respect toward older people. You must always use De when talking to members of the royal family!

Farvel (goodbye) can be used in all situations where people are leaving:

Hej, hej can be used in more informal situations:

There are several ways to say goodbye in Danish:

• Farvel
• Hej, hej
• Hav en god dag (have a nice day)
• Vi ses (see you)
• God weekend 

Danes shake hands, give each other a hug or wave when they say goodbye.

When saying goodbye to a person you have met for the first time, you can say det var hyggeligt at møde dig (it was nice to meet you).

When you meet a person for the first time, you can say goodbye by saying:  det var hyggeligt at møde dig. 

Hav en god dag is a less common way of saying farvel, but is used. 

A nice response here is to wish the same to the other person;