16+ Funny Danish Phrases And Their Meaning

Funny Danish Phrases

Do you want to learn funny Danish phrases and their meaning? If you want to sound like a native Danish speaker, you could learn a few expressions and funny phrases to use at appropriate moments.

Learning funny Danish expressions is an excellent way to improve vocabulary, impress other people, and learn Danish idioms fast.

Best Funny Danish Phrases And Their Meaning

In every language, people use expressions when talking to other people, and the Danes are no less. They are equipped with tons of phrases to use in different moments of their life. If you are not familiar with them, you can find yourself not understanding what people are saying.

In fact, some expressions have no sense if you try to put the words together. Or you could even think that some of those phrases are meant literally and not as idioms.

Here are some of the best and most used funny Danish phrases to know:

1. Klap lige hesten – Pat The Horse

In Danish, “Klap lige hesten” means “Shut up.”

You might already know what shut up means. But Danes use this expression to tell people to relax and take it easy. 

The English equivalent could be something like “hold your horses.”

2. Det Blæser En Halv Pelican – It Blowing Half a Pelikan

You can use this phrase as a funny expression when there is too much wind and the wheater is terrible.

3. Slå til Søren – Hit a Guy Named Søren

“Slå til Søren” literally translates to “Turn on Søren,” and it means “don’t overdo it.”

Søren is a pretty common name in Denmark, and it is used instead of the word “devil” so that people would not swear so much.

Funny Danish Phrases Sluge En Kamel

4. Sluge En Kamel – Swallow A Camel

“Sluge En Kamel” is one of the Danish idioms that mention animals, and it means “To swallow a camel.” The meaning of it is to have to accept something against what one wishes. 

For example, if you want to travel, but due to specific circumstances that are out of your hand, you cannot. Somehow you had to agree not to travel, which was not your desired situation. 

5. Jeg Har Ikke En Rød Reje – I Don’t Have a Red Shrimp

While the literal translation is “I do not have a red shrimp,” it means being broke or not having money.

It could be similar to “not having a penny,” but the Danes use shrimp instead.

It could be because Denmark is a peninsula, and it is common to have shrimps and other sea animals around. So when there is none around, it is comparable to having no money.

6. Ingen Ko På Isen – No Cow On The Ice

It means “No cow on the ice,” although it is said to signify that “everything is okay.”

It means that whatever the problem, it is not an extremely big deal and that you should not worry about it.

7. Så Er Den Ged Barberet – The Goat Is Shaved

It translates to “Then The Goat Is Shaved.” It signifies that work has been done or that a problem has been resolved.

When you or somebody else has completed a task, you can say, “Så Er Den Ged Barberet.”

8. Så Falder Der Brænde Ned – Then Firewood Falls Down

Danes use this expression to mean that they are so upset that sooner or later, they will explode. You can use this phrase if you are angry because of something not going as it should.

Funny Danish Phrases Hold Da Helt Ferie

9. Hold Da Helt Ferie – Then Take a Full Vacation

This expression means to take a full vacation, but it is not used to tell others to go and take time off. But it is meant to express surprise. An English equivalent could be “holy cow.”

10. Slå To Fluer Med Et Smæk – Kill Two Birds With One Stone

It signifies accomplishing two things with one single action. If you kill two birds with one stone, you have been very effective and taken advantage of one thing to get another one done.

11. Gået Ned Med Flaget – Gone Down With The Flag

In Denmark, “going down with the flag” means feeling stressed or anxious about something.

12. Skyder Papegøjen – Shoots The Parrot

Perhaps you have heard a variation of this phrase in other languages. You can use it to talk about luck, as shooting the parrot is related to having luck.

If you managed to shoot the parrot, things are going well for you.

13. På God Fod – On Good Terms

The literal translation of this phrase is “On good foot,” and the actual meaning is to be on good terms with others.

14. At Gå Agurk – To Go Cucumber

Go to cucumber is an expression that means “going bananas” or “berserk.” You can use this expression to signify that you are angry or very excited about something.

15. Gå Som Katten Om Den Varme Grød – Walk As The Cat Around The Hot Porridge

You can use this expression to signify that a person is trying to avoid a problem or not confront a situation.

16. Før djævlen får sko på – Before the devil puts his shoes on

Danes use this expression to say that someone woke up very early in the morning. So early that it is even before the devil puts his shoes on!

Would you like to learn more about Danish?

Learn Danish With Ling App!

If you want to become proficient and fluent in Danish, you can use the Ling app. This online application has all the tools necessary for a person to learn a language. You can use the app from your phone or computer to look for more funny Danish phrases.

Ling allows you to learn everything there is to know about grammar, pronunciation, new words, and more. 

In addition, it is possible to learn many other interesting languages, many of them only available in the Ling app. If you are interested in learning Danish and any different language simultaneously, choose between 60 other language options!

Besides, our blog is constantly updating to teach you different essential cultural and language-related topics. Read more articles such as Danish names and apologies in Danish

Enjoy our blog, and don’t wait any longer to start learning with Ling

Start this fun and efficient experience today. Download from App Store and Play Store for free. 

Share this post

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

What makes learning with Ling special

Interactive exercises

Improve your pronunciation by starting a conversation with our app’s interactive chatbot

Engaging activities

Practice your skills with mini-games and track your progress with fun quizzes

Mix of languages

Choose from over 60 languages, both big and small, and listen to audio from native speakers

Proven results

Backed by linguistic research, our learning methods can help you achieve fluency in record time