Danish and German: 23 words that are the same
Among the two thousand words each language uses most, these are written identically and carry the same meaning in both. If you have one of the two, this is the part you do not have to learn.
A shared word is not proof of a shared root. Two languages can land on the same spelling by borrowing from a third — that is all tren and bomba are — and a word that looks the same can still be said quite differently. What this list is good for is the head start. The capital letters are the one difference in spelling allowed here: German writes every noun with one.
| Word | In English | Danish | German |
|---|---|---|---|
| familie / Familieda /faˈmilˀjə/de /faˈmiːli̯ə/ | family | #268 | #299 |
| sagtda [ˈsɑɡ̊d̥]de /zaːkt/ | to say | #283 | #232 |
| problem / Problemda /pʁoˈbleːˀm/de /pʁoˈbleːm/ | problem | #379 | #306 |
| chance / Chanceda [ˈɕɑŋsə]de /ˈʃãːs(ə)/ | chance | #436 | #536 |
| onkel / Onkelda /ˈonˀɡəl/de /ˈɔŋkəl/ | uncle | #700 | #726 |
| telefon / Telefonda /teləfoːn/de /ˈtɛləˌfoːn/ | telephone | #704 | #622 |
| mord / Mordda /moːˀr/de /mɔrt/ | murder | #729 | #891 |
| doktor / Doktorda /ˈdɔɡdɐ/de /ˈdɔktoːr/ | doctor | #742 | #659 |
| interessantda /entʁəˈsanˀd/de /ˌɪn.tə.ʁɛˈsant/ | interestingly | #899 | #1,247 |
| musik / Musikda /musik/de /muˈziːk/ | music | #931 | #291 |
| general / Generalda /ɡenəˈʁɑːˀl/de /ˌɡe(ː).nəˈʁaːl/ | general | #936 | #868 |
| form / Formda /fɔrm/de /fɔʁm/ | shape | #1,089 | #1,934 |
| glas / Glasda /ˈɡlas/de /ɡlaːs/ | glass | #1,102 | #1,337 |
| hotel / Hotelda /hoˈtɛlˀ/de /hoˈtɛl/ | hotel | #1,243 | #916 |
| absolutda [ɑbsoˈlud]de /ap.zoˈluːt/ | absolutely | #1,299 | #961 |
| professor / Professorda /pʁoˈfɛsɐ/de /pʁoˈfɛsoːɐ̯/ | professor | #1,330 | #1,186 |
| soldat / Soldatda /solˈdaːˀd/de /zɔlˈdaːt/ | soldier | #1,376 | #1,832 |
| tante / Tanteda /ˈtandə/de /ˈtantə/ | aunt | #1,401 | #1,128 |
| computer / Computerda [kʰʌmˈpʰj̊uːd̥ɐ]de /kɔmˈpjuːtɐ/ | computer | #1,436 | #1,193 |
| bombe / Bombeda /bombə/de /ˈbɔmbə/ | bomb | #1,556 | #1,619 |
| engel / Engelda [ˈɛŋəl]de /ˈɛŋl̩/ | angel | #1,828 | #1,568 |
| kunst / Kunstda [ˈkʰɔnˀsd̥]de /kʊnst/ | art | #1,927 | #1,958 |
| restaurant / Restaurantda [ʁɛsd̥oˈʁɑŋ]de /rɛs.toˈrãː/ | restaurant | #1,972 | #1,725 |
The speaker plays the voice the LangX app uses for that language — synthesised, not a native speaker, so treat it as a guide.
The overlap is the easy part.
The rest comes from using it with someone who speaks it.