Books & other resources
Here you’ll find the core study materials: textbooks, grammar guides, exercise books, pronunciation resources, dictionaries, websites and apps. These are the tools that will help you build up your Danish step by step.
Lærebøger
På vej til dansk – Level 1-2
Videre mod dansk – Level 3-4
Midtvejs til dansk – Level 5-6
Grammatik:
Basis Grammatikken: Basis-håndbog i dansk grammatik for udlændinge – Basic grammar (in Danish)
Grammatikken: Håndbog i dansk grammatik for udlændinge – Comprehensive edition (in Danish)
Danish: An Essential Grammar – Danish grammar in English (academic)
Danish: A Comprehensive Grammar – expanded version of above
Øvebøger:
Dansk er ikke så svært – Good for elementary learners with a range of grammar exercises.
Dansk er lidt svært – Good for intermediate learners with a range of grammar exercises.
Dansk er svært – Good for advanced learners with a range of grammar exercises.
Danish Tutor: Grammar and Vocabulary Workbook – In English (with Danish examples)
Udtale
Dansk Udtale – øvebog – Pronunciation help and exercises for each individual letter.
Dansk Udtale for begyndere – Simple stories focused on pronunciation of certain sounds.
Dansk Udtale – i 49 tekster – Intermediate stories focused on pronunciation of certain sounds.
Dansk Udtale YouTube channel – Allan offers great tips on Danish letters and sounds, with videos in English and Danish.
Rødgrød med fløde – Advanced Danish phonetics.
Ordbøger
Online:
ordnet.dk – Danish-Danish. The definitive Danish dictionary, also with historical dictionaries. Includes en/et and plural endings, etymology, phonetics and audio pronunciation.
ordbogen.com – Danish to English (and other languages). 2 free searches, then around 39 DKK/month.
Google Translate – Fine as a starting point but be wary of its limitations!
Physical:
Min første Røde Ordbog – Picture book available in Danish-English or Danish-Danish
Gyldendal Røde ordbøger – Considered the best Danish dictionaries, especially the larger ones which include en/et and plural endings.
Other:
Med Ja-hatten på: idiomatiske vendinger i moderne dansk – Glossary of set phrases
Sjov
Tankesport.dk – crosswords & more
Apps
Duolingo – An incredibly popular app that gamifies language learning. Good for beginners.
Memrise – User-friendly program based around spaced-repetition and authentic videos.
Babbel – Structured learning based on level
Drops – Bite-sized language lessons to prevent burn-out.
Mondly – Provides short bursts of learning through fun and high-tech methods.
GoPouchy – Recommended by a student, a new app for Danish learners
Læs, se og hør dansk
Once you’ve got the basics, the best way to improve is by engaging with Danish in real contexts. These links will guide you towards reading, watching and listening materials so you can experience the language as it’s really used.
Læs!
Beginner:
Søren og Mette: Vi læser – good for practising vowels and pronunciation!
Elementary & Intermediate:
Fakta & Fiktion series – a range of fun reading material on Danish culture, available as physical books or online, including some additional materials for learning. Topics include Lego, Arne Jacobsen, the Danish royal family, and a simple crime novel.
Advanced:
Most of these are available on the saxo.dk app, as e-books or audiobooks, with affordable monthly memberships that you can pause or cancel at any time.
H.C. Andersen Samlede Værker – online, using modern Danish spelling
Helle Helle: Rødby-Puttgarden
Tove Ditlevesen: Barndom (Book 1 in the Copenhagen Trilogy)
Svend Åge Madsen: Se Dagens Lys (sci-fi) There’s also a film version on dr.dk
Almina Elmi: Barbar (poetry collection)
Niviaq Korneliussen: Blomsterdalen (warning: contains strong themes!)
Se!
Media:
dr.dk – news, sports, culture, TV and more
dr.dk/ligetil – news in simple Danish with explanations and audio
dr.dk/drtv/gensyn – classic TV series, some with subtitles, most available outside DK
Channel 4 usually has a selection of Danish programmes with English subtitles as part of their Walter Presents series. Mostly crime fiction, but includes programmes like Seaside Hotel (Badehotellet).
Netflix has a decent selection of Danish programmes, though sometimes you have to change the settings so they’re not dubbed in English.
Hør!
DR Lyd – Danish radio channels and podcasts
Podcast app – thousands of Danish podcasts. You can also switch on AI-generated text if you want to see and hear simultaneously. Available on most smartphones.
*Saxo.dk and WilliamDam.dk have a good selection of Danish materials, but delivery often costs more than the books! Materials can sometimes be found on eBay, Amazon or Grant & Cutler’s, who specialise in language materials.
**There are some dodgy versions of textbooks available online, which are often out of date, and as a teacher and translator, I do my best to respect the authors’ copyrights.