Funny Danish Phrases And Their Meanings
Learning funny Danish phrases is a great method to increase vocabulary, make others laugh, and quickly get the Danish idioms.
Everyone uses phrases when talking to others in any language, and Danes make no exception. They are equipped with tons of phrases to use in different moments of their life.
Keep reading to discover some funny Danish phrases and their definitions!
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Best Funny Danish Phrases And Their MeaningS:
1. 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." It means being forced to accept something that goes against one's wishes.
For example, if you want to travel, but due to specific circumstances that are out of your hand, you cannot. You have to decide not to travel, which was not the situation you wanted.
2. Jeg Har Ikke En Rød Reje - I Don't Have a Red Shrimp
The literal translation is "I do not have a red shrimp," but it refers to financial difficulties.
It might be similar to "not having a penny," but the Danes use shrimps instead.
3. 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."
This means that no matter what the issue is, it is not a major one, and you shouldn't worry about it.
4. At Gå Agurk - To Go Cucumber
Go to cucumber is an expression that means "going bananas" or "berserk." This phrase can be used to express anger or extreme enthusiasm.
6. Hvad er på tapetet i dag?
Group of people laughing
When a Dane wants to know the agenda or what the plan is, they will ask, “what’s on the wallpaper today?”
7. POY-POY!
‘Pøj pøj!’ is a colloquial way of saying ‘good luck’, for instance during exams, when you’re about to write a difficult paper etc. It resembles ‘Break a leg!’ in English in that apparently it doesn’t evoke a very appealing situation.
The Paperturn team's funny DAnish phrases
Johan’s funny phrases:
Arbejdet gør søvnen sød - work makes your sleep even more sweet.
Tomme tønder buldrer mest - empty barrels rumble most.
Der flyver ingen stegte duer i munden - no fried pigeons ‘fly’ in to your mouth.
Hellere styr på lortet end lort på styret - better to control the shit, than the shit on the handlebars.
Oliver’s funny phrases:
Man skal ikke kaste med sten hvis man selv bor i et glashus - one should not throw rocks when you live in a glass house.
Hellere boller på suppen end suppe på bollerne - rather have meatballs in your soup than soup on your meatballs.
En fugl i hånden giver fugleklatter på håndfladen - a bird in your hand gives you bird crap on your palm.
Debra’s funny phrases:
Tak for kaffe - (Thanks for coffee) Said when you are indicating surprise, astonishment or offence.
Rent på spanden - (Completely on the bucket). When you are broke and in need of money, or just in trouble with something.
Få blod på tanden - (Get blood on the tooth). Eager to keep learning about or doing something you have just been introduced to.
That was it!
In any case, we hope that this blog post helps you spice up your everyday Danish or just gives you some fun insights into the language. Maybe your own language has phrases similar to these ones, too?
