Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

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.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

DANISH WORD OF THE DAY

Danish word of the day: Kværn

This unassuming little word pops up surprisingly often in Danish, so it's a very good one to have in your vocabulary.

Published: 13 June 2024 17:08 CEST
Danish word of the day: Kværn

What is kværn?

Kværn is a noun meaning “mill” or “grinder”, used to refer to any kind of tool or machine that breaks a substance down into smaller pieces.

A kværn can be small, for example a peberkværn (pepper mill) or kaffekværn (coffee grinder).

There’s some overlap between kværn and mølle, the Danish word for “mill”. In the past, mølle might have been used to refer to household items like the coffee grinder. It’s now become the reserve of larger pieces of machinery like windmills (vindmølle), but there is stills a bit of interchangeability in Swedish, a sister tongue of Danish.

If you’re in Skåne – the Swedish province closet to Denmark — the word for “mill” in the local dialect is not kvarn but mölla.

Why do I need to know kværn?

The above describes how to use kværn as a noun, but it’s also a verb, at kværne, meaning “to grind” or “to mill”.

Apart from everyday uses like jeg kværner kaffebønnerne (”I’ll grind some coffee beans”), you won’t hear it too often in its literal sense, but it has a lot of figurative meanings too.

For example jeg var så sulten, at jeg kværnede maden uden at sige et ord means ”I was so hungry I gobbled down (literally ’crushed’ or ’ground’) the food without saying a word”.

This can also apply to drinking: han sad og kværnede bajere hele aftenen (“he sat there downing beers all evening”).

It can also be used to describe working very hard, as in jeg skal bare kværne, indtil projektet er færdig (“I have to keep grafting until the project is finished”).

Finally if someone kværner bare løs, it probably means they are talking non-stop.

SHOW COMMENTS