How to talk about time in Danish

When making an appointment, setting up a date or planning almost anything in Denmark, you need to be able to talk about time in Danish. We'll help you master the answer to the basic question WHEN.

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

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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.

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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