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DANISH WORD OF THE DAY

Danish expression of the day: At trække sig

If you're thinking of making a dignified exit, today's word might come in handy.

What is at trække sig?

From the verb at trække (“to pull”) and the reflexive pronoun sig (his/herself or themselves), at trække sig literally means “to pull out”.

Without the reflexive element, the verb at trække has a scale of meanings depending on context. For example, you can say that a car or driver trækker ud, trækker ind or trækker over (“pulls out”, “pulls in” or “pulls over”) when changing lanes on a motorway. 

At trække op (“to pull up”) can be used about clothing: han trækker bukserne op is “he is pulling up his trousers”. It can also be used more figuratively. Hjemmeholdet trak niveauet op væsentligt efter pausen means “the home team improved their performance level significantly after half-time”.

When used to refer reflexively to a person, at trække sig, literally “to pull oneself” means to withdraw, pull out or resign. As such, it is sometimes also used with tilbage, which can mean “return” or “(come) back”. So han trækker sig tilbage means “he is resigning” or “he is quitting”.

Why do I need to know at trække sig?

At trække sig is usually used to refer to voluntarily deciding to quit or resign from a certain activity, according to the Danish dictionary. So the action is contrary to what might have been planned by the individual who decides to then withdraw from that activity.

A related expression which has a slightly different nuance is at gå af — literally “to go off” meaning “go away” and also used in relation to resignations. This carries slightly stronger undertones of the decision being forced. So a politician who loses the confidence of his colleagues, his party members and the general public to such an extent he has to step down might be said to gå af rather than trække sig tilbage. 

Although you could use trække sig tilbage to describe someone being væltet (“toppled”) politically, it is also appropriate if they decide to leave having competently served out a full term but chosen not to run for reelection.

Examples

Han trækker sig som partiets leder med øjeblikkelig virkning, men afviser at gå af som premierminister, indtil en ny leder er valgt.

He is stepping down as the leader of the party with immediate effect but refuses to quit as prime minister until a new leader has been elected.

Hun trækker sig til december efter 20 år som firmaets direktør.

She is leaving in December after 20 years as the company’s director.

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For members

DANISH WORD OF THE DAY

Danish word of the day: Varmebølge

Here's a Danish word to use when complaining about the hot weather.

Danish word of the day: Varmebølge

What is varmebølge?

Varmebølge means “heatwave” in Danish.

Varme means “heat” or “warmth”, and bølge means “wave”, so it’s an easy translation. You’ll sometimes hear hedebølge used too, using another Danish word for “heat”. The word varme is the more common of the two, and can be used in situations where you might say either “heat” or “warmth” in English. Hede, on the other hand, implies a more extreme type of heat.

For example, the Danish words for “hot water bottle” and “central heating” both use varme rather than heat (varmedunk and centralvarme or just varmen, respectively) and “hot weather” is varmt vejr but the phrase i kampens hede means “in the heat of the battle”. 

Why do I need to know varmebølge?

While the above terms – varmebølge and hedebølge – are synonyms on first glance, there’s an important difference.

Denmark’s national meteorological agency, DMI, defines a varmebølge as a three-day period on which the average highest temperature is over 25 degrees Celsius.

For a hot spell to qualify as a hedebølge, on the other hand, the average highest temperature for the three days in question must exceed 28 degrees Celsius

People from southern parts of Europe might consider either type of Danish heatwave to feel more like regular summer weather – and perhaps this helps explain why extreme weather in southern regions in recent years, related to climate change, has led to speculation Denmark could become an increasingly popular summer destination for foreign holidaymakers.

The phrases also reveal a little about how Denmark’s climate influences language and the way Danes talk about the weather.

READ ALSO: Five Danish phrases you only hear in summer

While almost everyone gets quickly tired of long spells of cool, wet summer weather – like those seen during most of June 2024 – it also doesn’t take much for Danes to begin longing for more moderate temperatures to return once it heats up.

Anything over around 24-25 degrees Celsius is likely to be considered for meget (“too much”) what I would consider a regulation summer temperature of 26 degrees might be described as denne forfærdelige varme (“this dreadful heat”).

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