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DANISH WORD OF THE DAY

Danish word of the day: Tropenat

Today's word will make you kick off your bedsheets and open all the windows.

Published: 17 August 2022 17:18 CEST

What is tropenat?

Tropenat means “tropical night” in English. It is formed by compounding the words for “tropic” and “night”.

Given that Denmark is a country perhaps more famous for its cold winters than warm weather, you may find it surprising that the language has a word for sweltering evenings.

The Danish Meteorological Agency (DMI) classifies a night as tropical if the temperature remains above 20 degrees Celsius throughout a 24-hour period. The same definition is used in other European countries, meaning tropenat is a widespread weather term.

Why do I need to know tropenat?

High daytime temperatures are sometimes be accompanied by ‘tropical’ nights, but this isn’t always the case in temperate Denmark. As such, even in summers which feel exceptionally hot for the Scandinavian country — when daytime heat pushes well over 30 degrees Celsius — a tropenat can still be a relatively rare event.

Because winters in Denmark are cold, homes in the country are designed to hold heat as much as possible. Therefore, if you see a tropenat mentioned in the weather forecast, you can probably expect an uncomfortable night’s sleep.

However, one particular Danish custom might come in as an unexpected ally on warm sticky nights.

People in Denmark (and Scandinavia in generally) sleep with two single duvets rather than a double one.

This helps deal with a tropical night as single duvets allow people to regulate their temperature better when they sleep. Poor temperature regulation and struggles with a large shared duvet contribute to a worse night’s sleep, according to experts.

Example

Member comments

  1. In your Word of the Day sections, please include an English self-pronunciation of the word. This requires dividing the word into its syllables and indicating which syllable should be accented. The difference in pronouncing the ‘a’, ‘e’ and other letters will also be necessary.
    By providing the self-pronunciation to each word, we can learn to speak your language correctly, instead of the broken-Danish that must annoy many Danes.

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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.

Published: 24 June 2024 15:52 CEST
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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