Talking about time in Danish: Today is tomorrow's yesterday ... or as you would say in Danish 'I dag er i morgens i går'.
This post will not explain how to tell time in Danish. But if you want to talk about when something will happen or recount something that has already happened, you'll find the basic Danish time vocabulary below.
Understanding the days of the week, the months of the year, and how to use temporal terms in Danish can help you to avoid confusion. That means knowing some of the different Danish adverbs of time including:
- Periods of time (a minute ... an hour ... a day)
- Days, months and seasons
- Relative time concepts (today ... tomorrow ... yesterday)
- Points in time (morning ... afternoon ... night)
- Other temporal terms (currently ... previously ... daily)
Last but not least, we'll provide you with a few common Danish phrases with time. Time waits for no man. So, ... let's get started:
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Periods of time
Expand your Danish vocabulary by studying the words for periods of time. From seconds to millennium, this short list of words covers the entire expanse of time.
Et sekund - a second
et minut - a minute
en time - an hour
Et døgn - 24 hours
en dag, en hel dag - a day / a whole day
en uge - a week
en måned - a month
et kvartal - a quarter
et halvår - half year (six months)
et år, et helt år - a year / an entire year
et årti - a decade
et århundrede - a century
et årtusind - a millennium
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Danish words for days, months and seasons
A few things are worth pointing out in advance: The Danish words for days, months and seasons are very similar to their English equivalents. However, spelling and pronunciation may differ.
Also, please note that in the Danish language days and months do not start with a capital letter in the middle of a sentence.
Days of the week
mandag - Monday
tirsdag - Tuesday
onsdag - Wednesday
torsdag - Thursday
fredag - Friday
lørdag - Saturday
søndag - Sunday
Months of the year
januar - January
februar - February
marts - March
april - April
maj - May
juni - June
juli - July
august - August
september - September
oktober - October
november - November
december - December
Seasons in Danish
forår - Spring
sommer - Summer
efterår - Autumn
vinter - Winter
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Relative time concepts in Danish
The time of day can be described in general terms or specific times. The following words can be used to describe time in broader strokes.
Relative time in Danish
Time is relative to other points in time. For instance, there is always a yesterday which is followed by today and tomorrow, so you'll find this vocabulary a great addition to your ability to explain relationships in time.
i forgårs - the day before yesterday
i går - yesterday
i dag - today
nu - now
i morgen - tomorrow
i overmorgen - the day after tomorrow
sidste uge, måned, år - last week, month, year
næste uge, måned, år - next week, month, year
for lidt siden - a little while ago
om lidt - in a little while
straks, med det samme - right away
inden for en uge, i løbet af en uge > within a week
til tiden - on time
i rette tid - in time
tidlig(t) - early
sen(t) - late
Efter (arbejde / skole) - after (work / school)

Points of time
Each day has various points in time that you might need to describe in Danish. For instance, if you want to talk about a gorgeous sunset or let someone know what you're doing this evening.
Commit these words to memory and you'll have no problem doing just that.
solopgang - sunrise
daggry - dawn
morgen - morning approx 5am to 9am
formiddag - morning - approx 9am to 12pm
middag, midt på dagen - noon
eftermiddag - afternoon
aften - evening
sen aften - late evening
solnedgang - sunset
nat - night
midnat - midnight

Other adverbials of time
Time adverbs
På nuværende tidspunkt or for øjeblikket - currently
På det tidspunkt, efterfølgende - then, afterwards
Tidligere, inden - previously, beforehand
Før - before, previously
Snart - soon
I mellemtiden, imens - meanwhile
Bagefter - afterwards
I lang tid, længe - for a long time
Nu, fra nu af - now, from now on
Når som helst, hver gang - anytime
For nylig - recently
Forleden (dag) - the other (day)
Forsinket, sen på den - late
Pludselig - all of a sudden, suddenly
Om lidt, for lidt tid siden - in a little while, a little while ago
Adverbials of frequency
There will be times when you need to talk about the frequency of something. Maybe it only happens once or reoccurs on a weekly or monthly basis, this short Danish vocabulary list will help you achieve that.
En gang - once
To gange - twice
En gang om ugen - once a week
Dagligt - daily
Hver dag - every day
Hver anden dag - every other day
Ugentlig(t) - weekly
Hver uge - every week
Månedlig(t) - monthly
Årligt - yearly
Igen, endnu en gang - again, once more
En gang til - one more time
Aldrig - never, ever
Sommetider, en gang imellem - sometimes
Af og til, undertiden - sometimes
Sjældent - rarely
Ofte, tit - often
Altid - always
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Common Danish phrases with time
Last but not least, we'll leave you with a few common Danish phrases with time:
At glemme tid og sted - forget time and place
At bestille tid (hos) - to book an appointment (with)
Det var tider - those were the days
Et stykke tid - a while
Det er længe siden - It has been a while
Har du tid et øjeblik? - can you spare me a moment?
At være i god tid - to be there early
At være sen på den - to be late
Ikke ænse tiden - lose count of time
Det er på tide - it's about time
Back to you
Now you can use the Danish time concept like a pro. Did we leave some important time concepts out? Leave a comment below with your suggestions.
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