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DANISH WORD OF THE DAY

Danish expression of the day: At sluge en kamel

Today’s expression could give you the hump.

What is at sluge en kamel? 

At sluge is the infinitive of the verb “to swallow”, and en kamel is a camel. So the expression in question is “to swallow a camel”.

You might see it in its present tense form in a sentence like jeg sluger en kamel (“I’m swallowing a camel”), but the infinitive is probably the most common, because it is often used with a modal verb expressing the necessity of the action: jeg bliver nødt til at sluge en kamel (“I’ll have to swallow a camel”).

Sometimes, the metaphorical camel appears in definite, rather than indefinite form: jeg bliver nødt til at sluge kamelen (“I’ll have to swallow the camel”).

Of course, the expression isn’t used literally. It’s used when talking about doing something you don’t want to do, perhaps because it goes against your values or better judgement, because you know it is the only option in a given scenario.

You could say it’s something you’re prepared to do for the greater good, even if doing it gives you ‘the hump’ (there goes my dad-joke quota for the day).

Why do I need to know at sluge en kamel?

It might seem odd that a cold northern European country like Denmark refers to camels in an expression like this. The explanation comes from the Bible verse Matthew 23:24, which reads: “Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!” (New King James version).

The Danish expression to swallow a camel has its roots in this verse, as explained in a Kristeligt Dagblad article from April this year: The verse is a criticism of scribes who neglect important matters for more trifling ones.

Another camel travels from the Bible to appear in a separate metaphor which both Danish and English speakers may recognise: Det er som at få en kamel gennem et nåleøje (“It’s like leading a camel through the eye of the needle”), to describe something very difficult.

Examples

De må sluge nogle meget store kameler eller forenkle noget lovgivning.

They’re going to have to concede some bad losses or simplify some legislation.

Jeg valgte at sluge kamelen og købe ikke-økologisk kød, for at få madbudgettet til at løbe rundt.

I decided to compromise and buy non-organic meat to make ends meet on my food budget.

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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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