A surprisingly small set of words carries most of everyday Danish. Learn these hundred first and you will recognize them everywhere, on menus, in conversation, in the subtitles you're trying to read without looking down. It's not a shortcut, it's just where the leverage is.
How to use this list
Do not work through this list top to bottom. Read down it and mark only the words you could not have produced yourself. Those are your list. The rest are already yours, and reviewing them is wasted effort better spent on words you actually meet in reading, conversation, or subtitles.
The 100 words
| # | Danish | English | In use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | en | a / an (common gender) | Jeg har en hund.I have a dog. |
| 2 | et | a / an (neuter gender) | Hun læser et brev.She is reading a letter. |
| 3 | den | it / that (common gender) | Bilen er rød, den kører hurtigt.The car is red, it drives fast. |
| 4 | det | it / that (neuter) | Det regner i dag.It's raining today. |
| 5 | jeg | I | Jeg bor i København.I live in Copenhagen. |
| 6 | du | you | Hvor bor du?Where do you live? |
| 7 | han | he | Han arbejder på et hospital.He works at a hospital. |
| 8 | hun | she | Hun kommer i morgen.She is coming tomorrow. |
| 9 | vi | we | Vi går i biografen.We're going to the movies. |
| 10 | sin | his / her own (reflexive) | Han tager sin bil.He takes his own car. |
| 11 | de | they | De bor i et stort hus.They live in a big house. |
| 12 | man | one / you (general) | Man kan spise godt her.One can eat well here. |
| 13 | mig | me | Kan du hjælpe mig?Can you help me? |
| 14 | dig | you (object) | Jeg elsker dig.I love you. |
| 15 | i | in | Bogen ligger i tasken.The book is in the bag. |
| 16 | på | on | Koppen står på bordet.The cup is on the table. |
| 17 | til | to | Vi går til hendes hus.We're going to her house. |
| 18 | med | with | Jeg tager bussen med min bror.I'm taking the bus with my brother. |
| 19 | af | of / by | Huset blev bygget af træ.The house was built of wood. |
| 20 | for | for | Denne gave er for dig.This gift is for you. |
| 21 | om | about / in (time) | Vi tales ved om en time.We'll talk in an hour. |
| 22 | over | over | Fuglen flyver over huset.The bird flies over the house. |
| 23 | under | under | Katten sover under sengen.The cat is sleeping under the bed. |
| 24 | mellem | between | Butikken ligger mellem banken og skolen.The shop is between the bank and the school. |
| 25 | fra | from | Han kommer fra Spanien.He is from Spain. |
| 26 | ved | by / at | Han står ved døren.He is standing by the door. |
| 27 | uden | without | Hun drikker kaffe uden sukker.She drinks coffee without sugar. |
| 28 | efter | after | Vi spiser middag efter arbejde.We eat dinner after work. |
| 29 | gennem | through | Vi går gennem parken.We walk through the park. |
| 30 | mod | towards / against | Han løber mod stationen.He is running towards the station. |
| 31 | og | and | Jeg køber brød og mælk.I'm buying bread and milk. |
| 32 | men | but | Jeg er træt, men glad.I'm tired, but happy. |
| 33 | eller | or | Vil du have te eller kaffe?Would you like tea or coffee? |
| 34 | at | that / to (infinitive) | Jeg ved, at du har ret.I know that you're right. |
| 35 | hvis | if | Ring til mig, hvis du kommer for sent.Call me if you're running late. |
| 36 | fordi | because | Jeg bliver hjemme, fordi jeg er syg.I'm staying home because I'm sick. |
| 37 | når | when | Ring til mig, når du ankommer.Call me when you arrive. |
| 38 | være | to be | Han vil gerne være læge.He wants to be a doctor. |
| 39 | have | to have | Vi har to børn.We have two children. |
| 40 | blive | to become / stay | Hun vil blive lærer.She wants to become a teacher. |
| 41 | kunne | can / to be able | Jeg kan svømme godt.I can swim well. |
| 42 | ville | would / want | Jeg vil gerne rejse til Italien.I would like to travel to Italy. |
| 43 | skulle | shall / must | Du skal stå tidligt op.You have to get up early. |
| 44 | måtte | may / must | Må jeg komme ind?May I come in? |
| 45 | gøre | to do | Hvad gør du i weekenden?What are you doing on the weekend? |
| 46 | gå | to go / walk | Vi går en tur hver dag.We go for a walk every day. |
| 47 | komme | to come | Kommer du med os?Are you coming with us? |
| 48 | sige | to say | Han siger altid sandheden.He always tells the truth. |
| 49 | se | to see | Jeg ser en fugl i træet.I see a bird in the tree. |
| 50 | vide | to know (facts) | Jeg ved ikke svaret.I don't know the answer. |
| 51 | give | to give | Kan du give mig saltet?Can you give me the salt? |
| 52 | tage | to take | Hun tager bussen til arbejde.She takes the bus to work. |
| 53 | finde | to find | Jeg kan ikke finde mine nøgler.I can't find my keys. |
| 54 | tænke | to think | Jeg tænker ofte på dig.I often think of you. |
| 55 | tro | to believe | Jeg tror ikke på dig.I don't believe you. |
| 56 | holde | to hold | Kan du holde det, tak?Can you hold that, please? |
| 57 | spille | to play | Børnene spiller i parken.The children are playing in the park. |
| 58 | arbejde | to work | Hun arbejder på et hospital.She works at a hospital. |
| 59 | leve | to live | Han lever et roligt liv.He lives a quiet life. |
| 60 | spise | to eat | Vi spiser aftensmad klokken syv.We eat dinner at seven o'clock. |
| 61 | drikke | to drink | Han drikker et glas vand.He drinks a glass of water. |
| 62 | sove | to sleep | Barnet sover godt om natten.The child sleeps well at night. |
| 63 | lære | to learn | Jeg vil gerne lære dansk.I would like to learn Danish. |
| 64 | forstå | to understand | Jeg forstår ikke spørgsmålet.I don't understand the question. |
| 65 | tale | to speak | Taler du engelsk?Do you speak English? |
| 66 | høre | to hear | Kan du høre musikken?Can you hear the music? |
| 67 | læse | to read | Hun læser en bog hver aften.She reads a book every evening. |
| 68 | ikke | not | Jeg forstår det ikke.I don't understand it. |
| 69 | også | also / too | Jeg kommer også.I'm coming too. |
| 70 | stadig | still | Er du stadig vågen?Are you still awake? |
| 71 | allerede | already | Han er allerede hjemme.He is already home. |
| 72 | kun | only | Det koster kun ti kroner.It costs only ten kroner. |
| 73 | meget | very / a lot | Maden smager meget godt.The food tastes very good. |
| 74 | altid | always | Hun kommer altid til tiden.She always arrives on time. |
| 75 | her | here | Sæt dig her.Sit down here. |
| 76 | nu | now | Vi skal gå nu.We have to go now. |
| 77 | i dag | today | Hvad laver du i dag?What are you doing today? |
| 78 | tid | time | Jeg har ikke tid.I don't have time. |
| 79 | år | year | Til næste år rejser vi til Italien.Next year we're traveling to Italy. |
| 80 | menneske | person / human | Hvert menneske er forskelligt.Every person is different. |
| 81 | mand | man | Manden bærer en hat.The man is wearing a hat. |
| 82 | kvinde | woman | Kvinden arbejder som læge.The woman works as a doctor. |
| 83 | barn | child | Barnet griner højt.The child is laughing loudly. |
| 84 | dag | day | Jeg ønsker dig en god dag.I wish you a nice day. |
| 85 | verden | world | Hun vil gerne rejse verden rundt.She wants to travel around the world. |
| 86 | liv | life | Livet er kort.Life is short. |
| 87 | hånd | hand | Giv mig din hånd.Give me your hand. |
| 88 | land | country | Hvilket land besøger du?Which country are you visiting? |
| 89 | hus | house | Vi køber et nyt hus.We're buying a new house. |
| 90 | øje | eye | Hun har blå øjne.She has blue eyes. |
| 91 | ord | word | Det er et svært ord.That's a difficult word. |
| 92 | god | good | Maden smager godt.The food tastes good. |
| 93 | ny | new | Jeg skal bruge en ny telefon.I need a new phone. |
| 94 | stor | big | Han har en stor hund.He has a big dog. |
| 95 | lille | small | Hun bor i en lille lejlighed.She lives in a small apartment. |
| 96 | første | first | Det er min første dag her.This is my first day here. |
| 97 | lang | long | Vejen er meget lang.The road is very long. |
| 98 | gammel | old | Min bedstefar er meget gammel.My grandfather is very old. |
| 99 | sidste | last | Det er den sidste dag på ferien.It's the last day of vacation. |
| 100 | ung | young | Han er stadig ung.He is still young. |
The ones English speakers get wrong
en vs. et (two grammatical genders)
Danish nouns are either 'common gender' (en) or 'neuter' (et), and you largely learn which is which alongside the word itself: en bil (a car) but et hus (a house). The gender also decides the definite ending, so bilen but huset. Guessing wrong is usually still understood, but it's worth learning genders as you go.
The definite article is a suffix
Danish doesn't put 'the' in front of a noun the way English does, it usually attaches to the end instead: hus becomes huset, avis becomes avisen. A separate word only appears before the noun when there's also an adjective, as in det store hus, 'the big house'.
Silent letters and stød
Danish spelling holds onto letters the spoken language has mostly dropped, and many words also carry stød, a glottal catch that can change meaning on its own. Two words can look almost identical on the page and sound quite different out loud, so listening matters more here than in most languages.
False friend: gift
gift in Danish means either 'poison' or 'married', not 'present' the way English speakers might expect. A present is en gave, not en gift. Context tells poison from married: en gift kvinde is a married woman, not a poisoned one.
du vs. De
Danish technically has a formal De, but it has mostly fallen out of everyday use, unlike German Sie or French vous. Modern Danes use du with almost everyone, strangers included, so defaulting to du is usually the safer, more natural choice.
What to do next
A list this size is about two weeks of light daily review, and it is the difference between decoding Danish and following it.