Danish false friends: fart, gift, barn and more
Fart in Danish means speed. Gift means married, or poison. Barn means child, and fire is the number four. These are Danish false friends: words that look English but mean something else. Here are the ones that catch learners, with audio and a sentence for each.
What are false friends?
A false friend is a word that looks or sounds like a word in your own language but means something different. Danish and English are related, so there are many words that really do mean the same, like hus (house) and glas (glass). That makes it easy to trust the others too much. The words below are the ones that cause the most smiles, and a few that cause real misunderstandings.
Fart in Danish
Fart means speed. You see it on road signs and hear it in the news, and every English-speaking visitor takes a photo of it. i fuld fart is at full speed, and i farten means on the go.
- Sæt farten ned.Slow down. (Reduce the speed.)
- Jeg spiser tit i farten.I often eat on the go.
The English word does exist in Danish slang as a loanword, but the normal Danish word is en prut. Now you know both.
Gift in Danish
Gift has two meanings, and neither is a present. As an adjective it means married: Er du gift? Are you married? As a noun, gift is poison. A present is en gave.
- Jeg er gift og har to børn.I am married and have two children.
- Tak for gaven!Thank you for the present!
Barn in Danish
Et barn is a child, and the plural is børn. A barn on a farm is en lade. You will hear barn all the time: barnevogn is a pram, børnehave is a kindergarten.
- Hvor mange børn har du?How many children do you have?
Fire in Danish
Fire is the number four, and it is one of the first words you learn. Fire, the flames, is ild. A fire in a building is en brand, a bonfire is et bål, and to fire someone from a job is at fyre. So “fire in Danish” depends on which fire you mean:
| English | Danish |
|---|---|
| four | fire |
| fire, flames | ild |
| a fire (in a house) | en brand |
| a bonfire, a campfire | et bål |
| to fire (from a job) | at fyre |
The number fire sounds nothing like English “fire”: it sounds like “fee-a”, with a soft ending. More numbers are in the Danish numbers guide.
Island in Danish
An island in Danish is en ø, the shortest word in the language. Island with a capital I is Iceland. Denmark has hundreds of islands, so you will need ø: Bornholm er en ø. Bornholm is an island.
Bad, kind and time
Three short words that look like everyday English:
- et bada bath or a shower (bad, the opposite of good, is dårlig)
- en kinda cheek (kind, as in nice, is sød or venlig)
- en timean hour, or a lesson (time is tid)
Jeg går i bad. I am having a shower. Vi har dansk i to timer. We have Danish for two hours. Jeg har ikke tid. I don’t have time.
More false friends to know
| Danish | Means | Not |
|---|---|---|
| slut | the end, over | an insult; Det er slut. means it is over |
| en chef | a boss | a cook, which is en kok |
| en sky | a cloud | the sky, which is himlen |
| rent | clean (the et-form of ren) | rent for a flat, which is husleje |
| et hold | a team, a class | only the verb; holde is to hold |
| love | to promise, or laws | love, which is kærlighed |
| et lager | a warehouse, a stock | a glass of beer, which is en øl |
| eventuelt | possibly, if needed | eventually, which is til sidst |
The last one causes real confusion at work. Du kan eventuelt ringe til mig. means you can call me if you need to, not that you will call me at some point.
Do Danes say I love you?
Yes, but less often than English speakers, and it is a big thing to say. Jeg elsker dig is for a partner, your children or very close family. For friends and things you like, Danes say Jeg er glad for dig or Jeg kan godt lide det. Love, the Danish word, is just “to promise”: Jeg lover det. I promise.
A 30-second test
Guess first, then open the answer.
A sign says Sænk farten. What does it want?
Slow down: lower your speed. Fart is speed.
Someone asks Er du gift? What are they asking?
Are you married? Not whether you have a present.
What is hej hej in Danish?
Hej hej means bye, not hello hello. One hej is hello; two are goodbye.
How to remember them
Learn each false friend with a short sentence, not alone: i fuld fart, Er du gift?, to timer. A sentence carries the meaning, so the English word does not take over. The Danish words guide has more word lists, and the topic about fixed expressions in the free course shows words that mean one thing alone and something else together, like holde øje med, to keep an eye on.
Updated 26 October 2026