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DANISH WORD OF THE DAY

Danish word of the day: Najs

Here's a word that should be familiar to Danish learners with a knowledge of English.

Published: 9 August 2023 17:16 CEST

What is najs? 

Najs is pronounced almost exactly the same as English ‘nice’, and the reason why is simple: it’s a loan word, but has been adapted to fit Danish spelling. In fact, it’s equally if not more common to see it written with the original English spelling in the middle of a Danish sentence.

It can be used as a slang substitute for words like dejlig, fin, or skøn, and can refer to how something looks or a general feeling, for example det ser nice ud (that looks lovely). You’ll also hear it as an exclamation, as in English, to express appreciation for something: najs!

In terms of context, it usually conveys a bit more enthusiasm than in English. For example, where the English expression “have a nice day” can feel empty, if you tell someone jeg håber, du får det nice (“I hope you have a ‘nice’ time”), you really mean you want them to have an excellent experience.

Why do I need to know najs?

Danish has loaned plenty of words from English in recent decades, thanks to a growing level of English language proficiency and the wide availability of English books, films, songs and games.

However, najs (or ‘nice’) is a bit special in this regard because it is not a recent crossover from English into Danish.

Najs first came into use in Danish during the period between the two World Wars. This is demonstrated in the legendary Danish television series Matador, which is set in this period. The character Vicki Hachel, the young wife of Oberst (Colonel) Hachel, can be heard in one episode describing a 1920s party she attended as najs. The use of an English loan word in this historical setting jumped out at me the first time I saw it, but it isn’t an anachronism.

READ ALSO: The best Danish TV shows to watch to understand Denmark

Generally, English words adopted into Danish keep their original spelling, grammatical adaptations aside. The fact that nice can be spelled as najs may be evidence of the fact that it has a longer history in Danish than many loan words.

Texts dating back to the 1910s include examples of both spellings (as well as a third spelling, nejs), according to the online Danish dictionary.

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DANISH WORD OF THE DAY

Danish word of the day: Pædagog

This Danish word of the day is a crucial one in the country’s daily life and you will hear it countless times, but it is not easy to translate.

Published: 25 April 2024 14:53 CEST
Danish word of the day: Pædagog

What is pædagog? 

A pædagog is someone who works within the field of pedagogy, a term which exists in English (but may not be widely known) and refers to the theory and practice of teaching and learning.

In Danish, pedagogy is pædagogik and someone who is trained in that profession is a pædagog.

This doesn’t really come close to covering how the word is used in Danish, however, where it refers to a range of different jobs, all crucial to the smooth running of everyday society.

Why do I need to know pædagog?

Beyond the dictionary definition of “person who is trained to work in pedagogical occupation with children, young or disabled people”, there’s a good number of compound words that include pædagog.

These compound words are mostly job titles and demonstrate the different specialisations and roles in which you can work as a pædagog.

These include småbørnspædagog for those who take care of small children, børnehavepædagog for the trained childcare staff at kindergartens, and socialpædagog for people who work with adults with special social needs.

To become a pædagog you must complete the pædagoguddannelse, the professional training for the rule, which is a three-and-a-half year vocational degree involving work placements and a certain degree of specialisation.

Untrained staff who work in kindergartens can take the job title pædagogmedhjælper, literally “pedagog helper”, and often fulfil many of the same duties, particularly those relating to the care, compassion and supervision needed to look after a group of children.

Denmark has a high provision of childcare, with kindergarten fees subsidised by local authorities – up to 80 percent of one-year-olds attended childcare institutions in 2022 with that figure rising to 97 percent for five-year-olds, according to national figures.

That may give you an idea of how many skilled childcare professionals Denmark needs and why a word that has a niche, technical meaning in English is so common in Danish.

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