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:
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
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
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, 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
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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