23. februar 2014
Danes are weird… Agree?
The more I travel around the world, the more I realize that we Danes are actually pretty weird. Here is my list of weird stuff Danes do.
- Danes don’t trust weather forecasts.
- Danes puts salt on food without even tasting it.
- Want to upset a Dane? Compare them to a Swede.
- Danish news is either about politics or shows on TV.
- Danes get confused and embarrassed if you compliment them.
- Danish media goes mental when a Dane is on CNN or Oprah.
- Students have their graduation party before the graduation.
- Danes think you are a creep if you smile at a stranger’s baby.
- Riding a bicycle in the winter is considered normal in Denmark.
- Danes can’t agree upon what the national dish is. Help me out here?
- Danes love their scarves. You even see guys in clubs wearing scarves.
- Danish boys think that grabbing ass in the club is the same as shaking hands.
- If it’s cozy, it’s called “Hygge” – and no Dane can explain exactly what that is.
- Danes love their Licorice: Candies, gum, ice cream, food, drinks – anything goes.
- Danes will leave a pub or a bar if there is no place to sit. Sitting is important.
- Danes never ever sit next to someone on a bus if there is a free seat anywhere else.
- If a Dane wants to be “undaned” and move abroad they are taxed approx. 50% of their assets.
- Danes that buy a car end up paying almost 2 times the cars value in taxes and charges.
- Danish people have excellent free healthcare but still pay to go to private hospitals.
- Danes celebrate religious holidays (Christmas and Easter) by brewing an extra strong beer.
- Danes are proud – and makes sure to point that out – each time they see a MAERSK container abroad.
- Danes loves bathtubs as most people don’t have them. And when they do, they rarely use them.
- Danish people can be your best friends when they are drunk. The next day they don’t even say “Hi”.
- Many Danes don’t close/zip their coat even in the winter time… They would rather be cold than look uncool!
- Ask a totally wasted Dane if he or she is drunk and the answer will most certainly be “No no no no no, not at all!”
- Danes don’t like initiating a casual conversation with strangers on the street – unless they are drunk, of course.
- Have this weird folk-law/logic saying, “Don’t think you’re anything special – You’re no better than the rest of us”.
- Majority of Danes do not like wearing bright colors during autumn/winter. Wear a red coat and you will be stared upon.
- Danes have sooooo many religions holidays – but few Danes very rarely practice or even believe in any specific religion.
- Equality is important. That’s why most Danish guys don’t open the doors for a girl or take her bag if it’s heavy (come on guys!).
- Danes are usually very relaxed about sex. Having sex at 15 is very normal. Having sex even earlier isn’t that uncommon either.
- Danes get 5 weeks paid holiday a year, and a 37 hour work week… and we are still some of the most stressed people in the world.
- Danish students get approx. 1000 USD/month studying, and access to free education (even universities). And still bitch about it.
- Danes get EXTREMELY proud if you mention us winning the European Football Championship in 1992. This is our nation’s proudest moment!
- Danes buys 5 good beers, then cheap stuff for the rest of the party, thinking “I’m going be drunk and don’t really care about the taste then”.
- Danes are hysterical about hygiene, but apparently do not mind having birthday cakes candles blown out by people with no control of their saliva.
- There are basically two types of Danes… The ones that buy their Christmas gifts at the latest possible time, and the one that buys them in October.
- There is no age restriction on drinking alcohol in Denmark. Seeing drunk 15 year-olds in the streets (weekends) on their way to parties is a pretty normal sight.
- If you’re at a party, approach a Dane, give him/her a hug and ask “So long, how have you been?” – Most Danes will be confused but play along for quite some time, embarrassed to tell they don’t know you.
- Danes hate surprise visits. We don’t know how to handle unexpected guests. Please, call a week in advance to set something up – even though you are childhood friends and see each other all the time anyway.
- Danes have no problem with self-irony and being laughed at 😉
Have I missed anything on the list? 🙂
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I love it! So true and genius wrote. Even thou I don’t know about the party-stuff 🙂
Why don’t girls then open the doors for us if we are equal?
Then it would not be equality, when men do not open the door for women.
But then it is equality when neither of us open the door for each other isn’t it?
Yes. Because it’s equal.
Dont mistake equality, for being polite or have manners.
How’d you feel about a girl holding the door for you, pulling out the chair or leave you to do the dishes, honestly
I would thank her for opening the door, I would thank her for pulling out the chair, but I will not think it fair when SHE leaves me to do a job alone. There’s a difference between a nice gesture and telling you to do a job. If she wants to do the dishes, she can do ’em with me.
i don’t mind it at all, i do the dishes anyway 😛 and most of the cooking, but we do help eachother shopping the groceries, so the least thing she can do is hold the door, (i carry the bags) 😛
We do! Don’t you think?
i do that shit all the time… i understand why guys don’t do it. you don’t even get a thank you 🙂
Because, then its not equal 😉
Because guys don’t open them for us either?
because you don’t open for girl either. This is the real equal.
Nobody opens the doors for anybody unless they have to, or if it is an elderly person.
When Danes opens or holds the doors for somebody it doesn’t matter rather it is a boy holding the door for a girl holding it for a boy,
Guys have hold the dor for me, and if I´m loaded with bags. I´m dobbel gratefull for the help. 😉
because then we wouldn’t be equal;))))
this whole opening doors debate is gotta be the stupidest one ever 😛
Talking about gende equality IS important, but seriously? transferring it to holding a door or not is simply just not gonna cut it 😉
because, men apparently find it offensive if we open the door and say: the guys first
JEG blev lært af min mor, at mænd altid skal holde døren for, passe på, os.v. piger. Det er ikke fordi vi finder det ”Offensive” men at det bare føles forkert 🙂
Lad være med at spille smarte og lave indlæg på engelsk når I alligevel ikke kender sproget ordentligt. Det er nogle gange lige så ringe som google translate, men det er måske der I har det fra.
Haha, yeah! Add this one:
Most Danes THINK (not thinks!!!) they speak English perfectly – og alligevel fatter de ikke den mest basale grammatik!
Og alligevel vælger du selv at lave en grammatisk fejl 😉 Få lige styr på det selv, inden du begynder at udtale dig 😉
I see the grammar police’s out stretching it’s superiority complex. :/
Honestly, as a second language it wasn’t that bad. Better than a kick in the teeth.
By writing it in English you make it accessible to a broader audience and considering the subject/theme of the blog post I find it quite appropriate, grammar mistakes and all.
You #butthurt ?? lol
Speaking of grammar, der skal ikke være nogen apostrof imellem ‘it’ og ‘s’, hvis der er det betyder det ‘it is’, hvilket, som jeg forstår det, ikke giver mening i denne sammenhæng.
Det er muligvis et ejefalds s min ven.
Hahaha shit hvor sad den bare godt Casper! 😉 Thumbs up!
Det er et genitiv ‘s’ = ejefald, så det henviser ikke til ‘is’ men til forholdet mellem
‘the grammar police’s’ og ‘superiority complex’.
🙂
Eller så er det fordi, at indlægget er skrevet på Engelsk. Så når folk fra udenlandet læser disse sjove observeringer, så forstår de rent faktisk også, hvad der bliver diskuteret i kommentarfeltet.
Men det er da godt, at du er perfekt til det engelske sprog.
PS: Når det så er sagt. Så lad os kigge på dine dansk sprogkundskaber.
Du kan ikke selv finde ud af at sætte komma. Så ud fra din egen logik, så burde du ikke selv ytre dig på dansk. Så lad venligst være med det 🙂
Ha’ en god dag Ole Jensen.
Dames believe they have the worlds best Heath Care and accept monts of waiting time for xrays scanning and treatment
???? but thats not true dude, it was like that years ago, but its much better now.
idiot……
The fourth from the bottom really buggs me…
But its true. on a weekend, there are a lot of drunk 15 year old teens, just walking around the streets.
You could add that most Danes think that all other Danes should be more in tax,,, just not them self.
Correction: You pay almost 3 times for a car – not 2.
60% of this is bullshit. I am from Denmark, og jeg finder dette noget værre vrøvl.
The average Danish household has an outstanding glassware collection as any semi-formal dinner will include a glass each for an aparatife, beer, wine and after dinner cordial. Loved our visit to family there and am happy to see a culture where having a good time is at least OK, and more apparently the norm. Bravo! Wish Gameldansk was available stateside :'(
Most Danish people think about summer when they taste strawberries with cream… even in the winter 🙂
True!
99% true, but there is a age limit for buying and drinking alcohol though. The age limit is 16 where you can buy alcohol with maximum 16,5% alcohol, when you turn 18 the limit is lifted and you are free to drink whatever;-)
Oh yeah another weird fact about danes: when going to a pool you will see a sign and a drawing that tells you where to wash yourself before entering the swimming area and if you do not wash yourself well and gets caught you are likely to be sent back or thrown out! Oh yeah being shy is no option here because you have to shower shoulder to shoulder with your own sex during the cleansing process:-D
not true, there is an age restriction on buying alcohol as you wrote but not on drinking like he/she wrote in the article 🙂 but still we are some of the youngest to begin even with the law at 16 🙂
Yes plus it’s not really hard to bay bear and stuff before 16, I know I did all the time!
did you mean buy beer?
nope he bought a bear
Bay Bear xD
Could be this one: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Brown_Bear,_Hallo_Bay,_Katmai_National_Park_3.jpg
where the fuck did you get a bear!!??
Bjørne bryg
Yeah offcourse! youre not allowed to “bay bear” at 16 its to strong and heavy for you, specially the “Black Bear”. 🙂
det er forkert. Der er ingen lov der siger det er ulovligt at købe alkohol hvis man er under 16 derimod er det ulovligt for butikker at sælge alkohol til personer under 16.
holy mother of fuck.. fluer! Knep knep knep!
Hahahaha
Du har helt ret. Der er ikke nogen lov, der forbyder personer under 16 i at købe alkohol. Der er derimod en lov, der siger, at forretninger ikkke må sælge det til personer under 16. Hvis der er nogen, der finder ud af, at du har købt alkohol, selvom du er under 16, så er det udelukkende forretningen, der får straffen (bøden). Det er det samme med Lotto, Odds osv.
There actually is no age limit on drinking alcohol in DK, but you have to be 16 to buy beer and wine. 18 to buy the strong stuff.
But though it is legal for a 4 year old to get wasted, it is illegal to do it in the streets. You have to be 18 to drink in public
WRONG, its legal to drink at whatever age you are.. but its illegal to sell to someone younger than 16. just like its legal to be high, but illegal to be in possession of drugs…
And the reasoning behind it being legal to be intoxicated is that you should not fear needing hel.
It isn’t illegal to drink in public, regardless of you being 18 or not. It is illegal to serve alcohol to minors. A 4 y.o. person is technically allowed to down a bottle o’ whisky in the middle of the street at high noon.
That is the age restrictions for BUYING alcohol though. We have no laws saying that a 12 year old can’t be drunk if their parents provided them with alcohol.
As a matter of fact :’)
It says “There is no age restriction on DRINKING ALCOHOL in Denmark.”
Yes you’re right a 12 year old can’t buy vodka, but no law says that you can’t drink it 🙂
actually you are not allowed to be drinking in public according to the law.. but no one is opholding that law unless you are acting like a prick- and/or is causing a problem 😉
“opholding”
“upholding”
As a matter of fact to you, there is.
If the police sees you with a beer or something when you are under age, you’ll get a fine. 🙂
But if it isn’t open, its okay.
That’s true.. if the person under age gets drunk at home – fine.. In a public place, gets a fine – and probably gets driven home to the parents.. So you can’t get drunk anywhere when under age.. 🙂
If something like that has happened outside of a drinking-restricted zone, then you should report the officers. Everyone is allowed to consume alcohol in Denmark, and the police are not allowed to hand out fines for “minors” doing so.
There are only two small details about this matter that should be noted: 1. There do exist zones in Denmark, where you are /not/ allowed to consume alcohol. 2. There is an aspect of responsibility that may result in the parents of the child getting a fine.
But IF a 12 year old were to drink alcohol under any circumstance, and evidence of that happening (fx. are picture on FB) were too exist, then there would most likely be a public media outcry bigtime. MANY things are frowned upon though they are not illegal in Denmark 😉
The law you mention only concerns buying. As she said there is no legal age for drinking alcohol. E.g. you will not get a fine for being 15 and drunk.
no, there is an age limit for buying alcohol. not for consuming 🙂
actually we have no laws about drinking alcohol.. you can give a 5 year old a beer, and it would be legal for him to drink it. (yea we are wierd 😀 )
only buying it, where it is as you say 16 and 18. but many places they dont care.
Actually, there is no limit for drinking, only buying alcohol 🙂
actually you can drink alcohol at any age, it’s only purchasing it that is illegal. and fun fact because the limit is 16.5 % we made alcohol with 16.4% to make sure they could still sell the liqour to people under 18 🙂
There is no age restriction on drinking the alcohol. Only to buy it.
Slightly wrong. There is an age restriction on purchasing alcohol, but drinking it has no legal restrictions.
Hey there, Charlotte.
What’s read here is that there isn’t a limit of drinking alcohol, you’re right there is an age limit when you can buy it, but now when you may drink it public.
There is no such thing as a drinking limit in Denmark. Only an agelimit for buying alcohol! You are free to get any other person to buy it for you and drink it, even at the age of 5.
Close but no cigar … he is correct in saying “there is no limit of age when drinking (and a 13 yo being drunk is not unusual either). There is only the age restriction of 16 when buying alcohol below 16,5 % (which is fairly new). so you can drink all you like, but you cant buy anything unless you are 16+.
That’s why I never go in pools in other countries… because it’s disgusting.
The more people go in the pool without washing themselves beforehand the more the chlorine starts to interact with all the germs and creates toxic chlorine smell. So the more chlorine you smell in a pool the more disgusting it is and the more toxic it is. That’s why Danish pools smell very little of chlorine.
It’s called hygiene 😉
Unless you go to the pool in Holbæk, it stinks 😛
yes that was a hard one for me coming from England …….
There is no age limit for drinking, only buying 🙂
Otherwise, a good correction :3
you guys are all wrong, you think its against the law buying alcohol before you are16 years but that aint true, you can buy alcohol as 12 years old and its tottaly legal.
BUT selling alchohol to someone under 16 is strictly against the law.
the reason is the government dont think kids under 16 years old are old enough to understand the consequences of drinking alcohol, so they decided to make it ilegal to sell alcohol to to underaged people.
About buying alcohol.. You can pretty much buy it at the age of 14 (unless you have a babyface) since a lot of do not care that much or maybe the people working there simply are too shy or something to ask.
false
To buy alcohol (above 1.2% and below 16.5% ABV) in stores, one must be 16; but to be served alcohol at bars, restaurants and discos, the minimum is 18. For alcohol above 16.5%, the age is 18.[56][57] There is no drinking age, only a purchase age, and an adult may buy alcohol for a minor.
link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_drinking_age
That’s untrue. Bars can serve alcohol to minors if they are 16+.
Just because Wikipedia says so, doesnt make it true, and the part about denmark, has been pulled from the butt of a horse with diarrhea: How often do you bring your passport to a disco, rather than use your social security card?
I don’t know who you are, but being an arrogant twat when you’re mistaken pisses me off. It’s illegal for bars to serve alcohol to persons under 18, end of fucking discussion.
the only untrue thing about is that maybe the legal limit is 16. but even down to the age off 13 – 14 you see them drunk in the city on the way too a party or on the way home, and not at the age off 15 or 16…
So true, written very funny!
You are right and wrong at the same time. True, it’s illegal to buy alcohol if you’re below the age of sixteen. But (!), there is no legal drinking-age in this country – which is what is being referred to in the post.
age limit is just to show you 🙂 and i think none of us care about that we just drink
Hahahaha sooo true :)!! Proud to be Danish! 🙂
Well I think you need to eksplain Koldskål ^_^
Thats pretty damn hard 😉
or ‘risengrød’ 😀
Eller “Rugbrød” ^^
Rye bread.
Hey Magnus. Why is my comment deleted?
??
There has been some server issues for a while (should be fixed). Maybe it was never posted or timed out (sorry about that)
Isn’t the perfect example “Rød Grød med Fløde”
Danes LOVE to make foreign people pronounce “Rød Grød Med Fløde”
I reconize myself in almost all your point and you are so right.Why are everybody obsessed with the drinking thing? Living in the US (34 years) I want to add that danes complain non stop about 1) the weather 2) the Taxes 3) health care ( all lousy).LOL
it’s buttermilk with egg yok, lemon, lot’s of sugar and a wif of lemon. taste fantastic.
we put small cookies in called ” kammerjunker ” 🙂
det ikke kammerjunker …det hedder JAMMERKLUNKER
Hahaha these are so true !
We all need our bubble… 90 cm around us is a must when we meeting new people.
you will never see a fat cop in Denmark
Danes send out a wish list before their birthday.. That’s super weird! 🙂
excsept for children
Your English grammar is horrible..
you’re
Nope… Karsten was right: You’re = you are… like in the beginning of that backstreet boys song 😉
Wait.. what?..
no it’s not…. it’s your -.-
Oh the irony.. Chrille, if you’re going to correct someone, at least pick a sentence that contains a grammatical error.
waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…………………………………………………………..
you went full retard. you never go full retard. (your = possession – you’re = you are)
English Grammar, the difference between knowing your shit and knowing you’re shit!
PETTY in my opinion.Has nothing to do with the subject.
When Danes throw a party they will only invite the amount of people equivalent to the amount of seating they have
Wut? I have never experienced this. Usually people just get invited and if a few more chairs are needed it will be figured out when they arrive.
Sounds odd, we usually never invite more then we know we can seat.
Rettelse vedr. biler og skat
http://www.180grader.dk/Politik/samlet-skat-for-ny-bil-559
I disagree on the hygiene part, when you say that Danes are hysterical about it. They are very laid back, in fact. As far as I’m concerned, taking a shower or a bath is something that most Danes will do only 2-3 times a week, and maybe 4 if it’s summer. Also, the act of washing dishes in a basin with soap and hot water to save on water consumption, without rinsing the dishes afterwards, can be seen as not very hygenic in some other cultures. The fact that over 50% of Danes don’t wash their hands after using the toilet (I saw and ad at Bilka’s toilet the other day with that info) does not sound hygienic at-all! As for the rest, spot on:)
That’s not everybody 😀 It really depends on who you are and where you work. I take baths everyday, along with the rest of my family, because they think i smell bad if i dont.
Could you please document your horrible statements! If not, then you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about!
Sorry I don’t have the time at the moment to do Nielsen surveys on each statement 😉
Mr. Kjoeller: Short of ignoring ignorence your answer is spot on.
But where did you get the information, that Danes are taxed 50 % of their assets, if they move abroad?
This is pure nonsense. Or can you give us your (legal) source ???? ….
http://www.inwema.dk/article.88.html
50% of their assets sounds like the government are taking half of your dining room chairs, and setting a price tag on all your posessions. The number is plain wrong, since its only the earnings that are taxed, and not with 50%.
You can’t document stereotypes like these as easily as everything else. A lot of the stuff written here is also local. I’m from Aalborg and there are many of these that are not “weird” or is just plain false for people around me.
Also, I wonder why it’s weird to go to school on a bike at winter? It’s not like we have 1,5 meter of snow everywhere.
“Also, I wonder why it’s weird to go to school on a bike at winter? It’s not like we have 1,5 meter of snow everywhere.”
Also really depends on where you live and how harsh the winter is 😛
I agree. If danes were hysterical about hygiene, Roskilde Festival wouldn’t exist.
Good point.
that’s just wrong and disgusting in so many ways. I use hot running water for my dishes, shower every day, wash my hands after every toilet visit. before every meal and after. and then when I feel its needed.
The fact that you’re saying that most Danes will only shower 2-3 a week, is rather disgusting. I think most people shower everyday, but they don’t wash their hair with shampoo everytime.
Danes don’t get dirty ???and its not good for the body, all that soap, its a fact look it up…
Som vi siger i DK: overdrivelse fremmer forståelsen… og det er vist hvad det her er, en smule overdrivet
Thanks for it! : D
most if this is utter bs.. but hey some of them are fun and some are spot on ^^
Årh, hold da op med at føle dig så truffet 😀
Det gør han da heller ikke? Han pointere at meget af de ting der er skrevet variere meget fra område til område.
Danes think you are a creep if you smile at a strangers baby… Or if you want to pet their dog. 😀
Speaking of babies, the thing that definitely creeped me out the most were BLACK baby carriages with a BLACK veil on top at any time to keep the baby in the shade or to prevent insects from flying in. The only thing I could think of when I saw the first one in the bus was “Goddamn it, it looks like a coffin on wheels!”
Also, when I first came here it was SUPER weird to me how Danes prefer to buy something completely new when something breaks instead of repairing it. I though “Jeesh, what snobbish people, such a waste!” and so on XD
Learned the reason for it later, however – it often costs more to repair something than to buy the same thing brand new 😀
I have to agree with EVERY point on that list.
I’ve lived abroad 2,5 years and at a party last weekend I realised, that I still can’t explain “hygge” nor “Janteloven” in a way that English people understand! 🙂
Most of this is very true, all though you should mention that while there is no agerestriction for the possesion of alcohol, there is one for buying. 16 if the beverage contains less that 16,4% and 18 if it contains more. Always 18 for buying in bars.
Also we love sale-shopping!.. or most danes only shop when there’s a sale
1. the folk-law you refer to is called jandelov and it is a law to set to show humility in all cases like in fodball an danish team could win a match 0-13 and the will still efter the game say stuff like we were lucky the we got though there defense and godt the shoot .
2.hygge is a lot af things it can be a chrismas dinner wed your family or et can be you a frien or a girlfriend watcing a movie and you kan be alone in your bed hygge is a stat of relaxing ved family friends or alone
From a danes perspective, this is annoyingly true >_<
98% of these are pretty normal in most rich countries. Just saying.
Agree!
Except for free schools, education and healthcare.
Ofc we dont practice religion! We brew a beer ffs! Do you know how much every religion hates alcoholic?
uh not true o.O what about asatru that more or less tells you to get hammered xD
Most young danes walk around with ripped shoes or not even wearing shoes at all in the streets, EVEN in the winter with snow.
Also when there’s a thunderstorm theres always a few idiots that run out to the streets into the pouring rain to scream at the lighting.
i have never seen that unless its summer time
Have you ever been outside and just run around in a pouring rain? And screaming at the lightning… thats just fun!
nailed it !
We get very proud when someone mentions that Mads Mikkelsen are one of the main characters in ‘Hannibal’ and ‘James Bond: Casino Royal’
Danish students do not get 1000 USD a month… Simply not true
It is – if you get the highest amount possible. Don’t know if you’re a Dane, but 1000 USD is the same as approximately 5.430 DKK (looked it up) and the highest amount you can be paid is 5.839 DKK.
And then there’s about 10-20% left of this amount, when taxes, subscritions, etc are paid…
But a normal student get around 1000 DKK.
If your parents are dead and you have to live on your own, you maybe get 5.839 DKK
A “normal” student who lives with her/his parents get 2900 kr after taxes 🙂
You do realise it say “1000 usd” witch is equal to around 5500 dkk 😉
Well, My parents are still very alive. They just have a low salary.
You get paid from the SU, the lesser the salary your parents have 🙂
So if you get like 250USD in SU, your parents are doing pretty good 🙂
Forgot to add:
And i get the highest paid SU
This is only for high school students. university students will get the same no matter how much money your parents make. For university students you get aprox. 5800 if you live on your own and aprox. 2800 if you live with your parents
If you are studying at a gymnasium or like something it, it’s a low SU, at aprox 1000 DDK. Then when you go to uni or some other high/medium high education you get the aprox 5800 DKK, if you are living away from your parents. 🙂 It’s all about where in the education system you are.
yeah… but we pay them back twice when we start paying taxes. the more you pay for the “SU” service the less you will get from it..
its like a twisted Robin hood, taking from the “rich” and giving to the wealthy.
The thing is that the people who are considered “rich” and there for have to pay large amounts of money, won’t get as much service. they will just have to pay for everybody else. Just because their yearly income is higher, doesn’t mean that they have the money to support their kids, or throw money at their kids.
And free healthcare and education… Well again it’s payed through taxes by the rich people
its not without reason that we have the highest taxes in the world! i believe that maximum tax in denmark is 67%
———————-
lets do some math then.
i wan’t to buy a new car lets say i find a nice car which in the us would cost lets say 40000USD = 217456 DKK.
then we have the “moms” (sales taxes) which is 25% + 180% tax. that’s 205 % that have to be added to the 217456DKK
which is about 663331DKK
To get that amount of money with 67% taxes. ill have to earn
= 1 107 762,77 DKK = 203 767.281 USD.
theres is 216 working days a year, you do the math…
ok ill do this one thats 5128DKK every day, for just the car.
Which in my head is a lot…
———————–
When I lived in DK all peoble payed taxes according to income and the rendered services were the same whether rich or poor.In addition a rich person may self pay for additionel services.RAVEN: You sound like you have a chip on your shoulder, no? This whole thing is to be taken lightly and you are suppose to get a chuckle out of it.
tax is paid by everyone above 18 years with a job, and the money are used for heathcare, roads, the public services and many other posts. and actually there are not enough money to pay the bills, so even though we pay a high tax, there are not enough money to pay for all the public services.
I’d love to break it to you… you’ll have to earn a lot less! You’ll get a lot of deductions, and you pay different tax rates on your earnings, until you hit 485.000 kroner (including AM-bidrag). Then you start paying the highest taxrate on everything you earn, but only from that point forward in that year.
Actually, from 1107762,77 you can buy two cars and a lot of bling-bling on the side. Asuming, of course, you have paid your rent or loan or are living on the street…
To be more precise: SKAT’s tax calculator says that even with only the most basic deductions, you’ll earn 1.107.762,77 minus 522.408,70 = 585355,07 kroner. You should go grab a beer and celebrate 😉
http://www.tastselv.skat.dk/fskbrgn2/Skprofil.aspx?indkomstaar=2014
Free healthcare and education is also paid by the poor. They pay taxes as well, but if they had to pay the amount rich people pay they would end up owing money.
And rich don’t have enough money to throw at their kids??? Come on. It’s a matter of how greedy you are. If you spend all your money on expensive things and eating out every night, then of course you can’t support your kids. But if you live with just a little bit of modesty you could easily support your kids through out school and stuff. Just because you earn more money does not mean you have to spend it all. You sound like rich people have it so tough when they to pay a little bit of extra taxes. Try living on a budget with 100USD for food every week (and that’s even more than a lot of people has), then you’ll know who has it tough. Now stop bitching and try to spend all that money more wisely, because you sound like an american idiot.
The car tax Works as this:
Import Price: 100.000,-
Tax 180%: 180.000,-
vat 25% of the above: 70.000,-
equals: 350.000,- then comes profit to the dealer!
Most students though are paid arond 275 USD
Like @cat said, if you get the maximum amount, when living in your own house (aka. not with your parents) you get about 1000 USD
1000 usd = 5.500 dkr, sådan ca…
SU sats i dk jvf http://www.su.dk 5.839,-
Så den er god nok….
My sister is a student, and that’s exactly what she gets
It’s true that you get paid less a month if you’re living with your parents, which most students in high school are. However, most of the students in the Universities live in CPH, Aalborg, Aarhus or Odense, and have moved out of home. Then you always get paid 5.400 kr before taxes. If you have a child, a loan or have some illness or handicap, you’re able to get a lot more. Furthermore students are offered a very advantegeous loan, which makes it possible to receive up to 3.000 kr more a month. Tax free. The interests on this loan are much less than what any bank could offer, which is why many students agrees to the loan offer.
We’re REALLY taken care of.
The danish SU (economical support for full time students) is based on the parents income if you live with them and is at least 1 270 DDK (approx 200 USD) and upwards to 4 000 DKK (900 USD). If you have moved out the numbers are different (generally much higher).
I think he/she means students that doesn’t live at their parents’. Then it’s about 5000 dkk.
A few mistakes:
You need to be 16 to buy any form of alcohol. 18 to buy stronger than wine/beer. 18 to be served alcohol.
It’s not illegal for a 15 year old to be drunk though, but the police are in their right to drive them home.
You get $200-1000/month when you study and are 18+, depending on your length to school, your parents income and location.
Rest is true though. Very true. If you come to my house and I’m not prepared, I’ll pretend I’m not home.
You forgot our habit of letting babies sleep outside all year round, even when the temprature is below -10 C
BIG different from many other countries especially the US.Here they jail people for that kind of “neglect”.
People don’t do that without tucking the baby properly so it means no harm.. Instead the kid gets fresh air and peace.. Wouldn’t call that neglect.
We do have age restriction on alcohol 16/17 for less than 11% and 18 for more than 11% but problem is now a days that they get an older friend, a brother, parents or pretend to be older to buy it 🙂 else im quite amused and it is quite true coming from a dane herself 😛
its 16 – 16,4% and all when you are 18.
BUT there is no rules on drinking alcohol, you can give a 5 year old a beer..
As long as it isn’t in public.. If an underaged person drinks alcohol in public they, among with the one who bought, the person and the place who sold the alcohol, will get a fine.. It’s in the “Restaurationslov” §29, jf. §37, nr. 1 and nr. 5, stk. 3 and 6..
As a Dane i can relate here, i grown up to be a introvert because of the danish society, but finally broke out of that shell because i think that being an introvert makes the life is too boring!! XD
I think you really need to learn what “introvert” means before making a statement like that.
Apparently, Danes are not very good at using the right verb form after a plural subject…
Det er rigtigt 🙂 og grineren. Men der er da alkohol restriktioner i Danmark???
for køb ikke for indtagelse
Great observations, double check the grammar and spelling so we dont need to add that “danes are a bit sloppy at english”
English with an upper case first letter, you mean?:-) lol
Rick: I LOVE IT. THANKS
Luckily, it’s not every single one of us who is as bad at grammar, as the narrator of this post! We do often have a hard time with punctuation though, mostly because we use a hughe amount of commas in Danish.
1000 USD a month. Oh how i wish that was true.. 😛
5200 DKK udeboende su (godt og vel kan endda blive højrere i særtilfæde) bliver nemt 1000 USD
Hey! Interesting post! But one have doubt about the money. Can’t danes just do a bunch of transactions? How much do you have to pay to spend money abroad (like, with credit and debit cards?)
using the most common credit card (Visa Dankort), I think it costs about 5 dollars (30 Dkr) every time you use the card 🙂
Most of these points fit on most nations in the world. Also; too many s’es. He does / they do.
-Danish news is either about politics or shows on TV. <– politics yes, reality shows not so much.. when have you watched the news lately?
-Danish people have excellent free healthcare but still pay to go to private hospitals. <— uhm.. in which parallel universe do you live???? I know ZERO who does that AT ALL…
-Danes get proud – and makes sure to point out – each time they see a MAERSK container abroad. <… uhm.. no.. I don't.. sure I'm proud, but I keep it to myself as I'm not an ass about it…
-Danes have sooo many religions holidays – but few Danes very rarely practice or even believe in any specific religion. <– and the problem is exactly what??? leftover relics from ancient times when the whole world had imaginary friends.. also.. "religious"
-There are basically two types of Danes… The ones that buys their Christmas gifts at the latest possible time, and the one that buys them in October. <— I buy mine the first week in December… so I guess I'm a 3rd type 😉
The party stuff… not so much knowledge about that…
But some are pretty accurate.. like the bus seats and self irony…
Wow, you’re really taking it personally! You know it is not written about you, but about Danes in general, right? 🙂
I think they are all spot on! (Y)
AGREE. spot on Laerke (not a mistake but my American PC does not have the last 3 letters of the Danish alphabet) so lets not hear from the :”grarma Zars”.
If you have a semi-decent word-processing program, e.g., MS Word, you have access to all diacritics and characters from other languages.
Reasoned by that the “free” healthcare is horrible out there, it’s understandable that Danes pay for private hospitals..
“Danes buying a car ends up paying almost 2 times the cars value in taxes and charges.”
Very wrong… its more than 3 times car price + 180% percent taxt + 25% sales tax = car price * 3.5
@Christian. Very very wrong!! I agree that it’s more than 2 times the initital carvalue that, you pay in total taxes. Buut, before attacking Magnus, get your facts straight!
Using 180% tax and 25% sales taxes you get the following
Total taxes = car price*2,5
Total car price = (car price*2,5)+car price=car price*3,5
[SKAT skriver: Personbiler => 105 % af afgiftsværdien op til 80.500 kr. og 180 % af resten.]!
Wich gives:
A car with an ‘on the shelf’ -price of 80.000kr are taxed with 84.000kr in initial tax and then 25% VAT on the top!
80.000+84.000 = 164.000 – 164.000+25% = 205.000kr!
Calculated: 156% in total tax on a car with a streetready pricetag of 205.000kr!
To comparision: The cheapest VW Golf/Rabbit got a streetready pricetag of 210.000kr!
Conclusion: The popular perception of 180%+25% isn’t fact! 😐
Mostly true but some of them is way of like the ass grapping and the drinking law thing
Some sence of grammar could be nice
Sense*
True and funny most of it. However, I found that the many grammatical errors disturbed my reading. Consider proofreading before posting another time.
“Danes buying a car ends up paying almost 2 times the cars value in taxes and charges.”
No no. Much more. The cars are taxed 180% + 25% (of the price with tax. So we tax the tax). So it’s more than 3 times the actual cost.
“Danish people have excellent free healthcare but still pay to go to private hospitals.”
Probably because you are wrong. It’s not excellent.
“Danish people can be your best friends when they are drunk. The next day they don’t even say “Hi”.”
Danes drink a lot because they have no social skills.
“Have this weird folk-law/logic saying “Don’t think you’re anything special – your a re no better than the rest of us”.”
Well most danes suck equally.
“Equality is important. That’s why most danish guys don’t open the doors for a girl or take her bag if its heavy (come on guys!)”
Can’t have it both ways sister! Carry your own shit.
“Danes are usually very relaxed about sex. Having sex at 15 is very normal. Having sex even earlier isn’t that uncommon either.”
Nobody told me when I was that age.
“Danish students gets approx. 1000 USD/month studying, and access to free education (even universities). And still bitch about it.”
That’s socialism. Why should ** I ** make an effort? Gimme gimme!!!!
“Danes are hysterically about hygiene, but apparently do not mind having birthday cakes candles blown out by people with no control of their saliva.”
Well I have always thought it to be gross.
“Danes have no problem with self-irony and beeing laughed at”
What the Hell do you mean!?? How dare you laugh at us!!! How rude!!!
Love your answer/comment- Martin Nielsen.
You got that right 🙂 Just a small thing about the 1000 dollars a month for studying thing. Everything is also expensive in denmark! 😀 😀
well it depends. If you live at home you get more like 250$
$250 is about 1350 DKK. So that’s not really correct. You get more than twice that. 😉 So more like about $500.
most people live at home….unless you are homeless
Since you have almost sorted the sentences according to length, could you please do it consistently, that would make the list nicer :-).
BTW I’m a Dane, and really liked the list, though there are a few points I disagree on.
Danish students gets approx. 1000 USD/month studying. This line is wrong.
I get 230 USD$ a month, because of my what my family earn in total each month.
The higher the income is there lower the student will retrieve.
The highest paided students will retrieve 535USD$, if they live at home with their parrents that is.
“If they live at home” Yes, but many don’t.. So 1000 USD is not wrong, that’s about what i get paid..
But if you dont live with your parents it IS true 🙂
Danes are terrible in English grammar. See the post above.
Pretty sure it’s “.. terrible at English grammar.” But I guess you’re just proving your point. 😀
Love this 🙂 And so true.. We are a bit weird in some way..
We do have age restriction on drinking alcohol in Denmark, but we don’t follow it. You have to be 16 to buy beer and non strong alcohol and you have to be 18 to buy strong alcohol like vodka, rom and so on. And if you become a good friend with a Dane you have a friend for life 🙂
“Danes think you are a creep if you smile at a strangers baby” That one is no true at all 🙂 the rest is funny, but some are wrong XD but still fun! and we can get the aprox. 1000 dollars or 1600 😉
“Danes get 5 weeks payed holiday a year, and a 37 hour work week… and we are still some of the most stress people in the world.”
That’s basicly a lie, my parents works at least 40-50 hours a week and they don’t have any paid holidays, get your shit straight. cunt.
Guess that’s a shitty job. We have the right only to work 37 hours a week AND have five weeks paid.
You should probably give them a wake-up call, instead of bitching?
Danish employees, that is!
Any Danish employee working more than 37 hour weekly without additional payment are self-inflicted, as the rate is settled in the agreement between workers and employers unions!
They are not in a union (fagforening). That’s why.
Also, Danes don’t date 🙂
That’s a big one, actually. We don’t ask people out on dates, we get to know them at a party and then start texting, or we start out as friends/acquaintances.
so true and when you do ask a girl out for a date she thinks your creepy >_>
Not sure where you are from. Dates aren’t very unnormal?
Well, you missed the part where you don’t use an s-ending on verbs, when the subject is in plural. 😉
Otherwise, you did capture some wierd stuff about danes – where is all the good stuff, though?
There is no age restriction on drinking alcohol in Denmark. Seeing drunk 15 year-olds in the streets (weekends) on their way to parties is a pretty normal sight
this one is not total real — there is an age rule – you have to be 16+ to buy normal bear and 18+ to buy strong alochol. and in clubs and ohter places they cant serve you alochol untill you are 18+ , but a lot of times this rules are not followed by all
Don’t know if I’d say you missed anything…I will however say, that you and I have VERY different views on what’s typically Danish… (i.e. I think most of your points are completely wrong…)
Sure, we get paid 1000USD to study, but half of it goes to taxes anyway, and since stuff is so expensive here, it wont buy you much more than 1/3 of a monthly rent to an apartment
Half of your SU (the money you get while studying) isn’t taxed unless you have a job on the side that gives a decent amount of money . You only pay a little more than 100$ of your SU in tax if it’s your only income and you get the highest rate.
Also, if SU only pays for a third of your rent you might want to scale down a bit.
So true. Just a shame the text is so misspelled with no congruence in the grammar.
Typos. TYPOS EVERYWHERE. MY EYES. YEAAAARGGGH!!!
Your second last comment is pretty lame. Its not even close to be truth,
How about: Danes would like you to fill in an attitude and mind set test at the border, evaluate it and say: “Welcome” og “F… off”
Proudest time in Danish history is the Viking age. Fact.
Restriction age of buying alchohol is 16. cigarettes 18.
Du skulle vist lære noget engelsk grammatik inden du kaster dig ud i sådan en smøre her…
Og hvis du synes at mange danske drenge tager på pigers røve så skulle du prøve at tage til USA, eller i hvertfald Hawaii…så får du et helt andet syn på det med at tage på folk.
Udover det så er det kun udeboende studerende der får over 5000 kr i måneden og det er stramt nok når en et-værelses nemt kan koste 3000-4000 i måneden og bøger er godt ligeså dyre.
i måneden… det bliver vist en OMMER !
Danes find it impossible to pronounce the letter V.
Wideo ???
Fantastic! Love the list! A few grammatical errors though.
Altså du generaliserer godt nok ufattelig meget ud fra mange meget tynde grundlag… Fordi du møder en dansker der gør noget fra listen betyder det ikke det gælder for hele nationen! Og RIGTIG mange af de ting du oplister eksisterer også i samme eller større grad i andre lande… Jeg fik ikke læst det hele, men frem for at du ‘missed anything’, så burde du måske slette en god omgang af listen. Men arbejd videre, det skal nok blive en god liste!
Faktisk læste jeg lidt videre… makker, langt over halvdelen af slet ikke rigtigt. rejs noget mere, generaliser noget mindre og så skriv en liste. please
Pointen ved stereotyper er jo netop at du generaliser. Hvordan vil du undgå at generalisere for en hel befolkning? Der tages ikke højde for de sølle 1%.
I’m living in Denmark and this week I’m visiting my friend in Wuppertal, Germany. They are asking about why you didn’t bring up the part of that it is ligal to have intercourse with anymals…
🙂
– Dana Fleifel
Danes eat ice cream no matter matter who/when/where/when/what 😀
You are wrong on the having sex part. The average age for firsttimers are 16,6 for boys 16,7 for girls and have been for decades. But being from Aalborg you might have an other expirience on that
Regards
Social aducator and personal trainer
Morten
As a Dane living in Brazil, this is spot on.
Jarlund: I live in Californien and I agree 100 % with you.
There is an age restriction on drinking alcohol. To buy it in bars you have to be at least 18. Beer and soft liquor can be bought at supermarkets when you are 16. But, yes, seeing drunk 15 year olds is pretty normal, because the fines for the bars aren’t very heavy.. Just fyi…
actually we do have age restrictions on alcohol, you need to be at least 16 to buy 16.5% and 18 to buy higher percentage, also to get into bars and clubs, though besides supermarkets they rarely card you
Very good list!
And I agree on most of it, but it is rather uncommon for danish people to pay for healthcare
42 statements about danes and only one of them is positive.. I can’t help feeling a bit offended
So true – a most of it are, but anyway it is funny and I got a lot if inspiration for this nice list over danish weirdness 🙂
I just realized that I’m the creepy Dane… I don’t just smile at strangers babies, I make weird faces and stick out my tongue when the parents aren’t looking 😛
When it comes to the national dish… My guess is “stegt flæsk med kartofler og persillesovs” 😉
Yeah you kinda missed a lot of spellcheck!
You should mention that at a childs birthday, they are to cut the head of a man shaped cake with a big knife while the rest of the kids, scream as if the cake man was screaming with his dying breath (Great fun!)
oh and they celebrate witch burning, by making a straw witch every year and burning her on the stake, though they agree that the witch burning past was terrible
that Danes seem serious when they walk about, but try to ask a Dane for directions, and they will instantly turn to smiling, warm people that will eagerly help you if they can.
also a few corrections
“Equality is important. That’s why most danish guys don’t open the doors for a girl or take her bag if its heavy (come on guys!)”
Danish girls will rip your head of if you do (thank the womens movement for that! you can’t have your cake and eat it too girls! Come on girls!)
Danes do not wash their shoes most of the time. And they also like to wear a completely black outfit, except for their sneakers (red, green, blue, purple, and so on)…. 😀
The most of them I can relate, and well… We actually sounds like the clumsy nice guy, you always see in a teen movie, not be a big deal in the movie, but still noticeable 🙂
There is a drinking limit, it’s 16 … But most teens don’t care 😉
Halvdelen ramte plet, men resten var bare en gang overgeneraliserende lort i lagkage
mostly true but noth everything but really close 😛
How about how self rigorous we are in regard to promoting ourselves in world wide humanitarian causes, yet the moment somebody mentions ‘the vikings’ it is the coolest thing ever, completely disregarding how brutal they were 🙂
How the fuck would you now We are danes and proud to be danish!!!
Hahahaha the most hilarious yet most ridiculous wrote ever. Though I do wan’t to agree with you on many fronts, we are a peculiar folk, seen from foreigners’ perspective. And yea nothing worse than being compared to Swedes, Norwaigians is okay just not Swedes, bah! Well I could only guess that Danes likes to take care of their own bussiness although the government tries desperately to reach out far beyond. But in the end it ALWAYS ends with us sitting in a bar “og hygger og drikker os lamme i øl” Beer all the way!
Still, this list could just as easily been about swedes or norwegians, nearly all the points apply to them as well.
You clearly don’t know what the fuck you are talking about…
1000 usd is NOTHING In todays Denmark you can’t have a apartment and pay rent and still have money to buy food…
Secondly our healthcare FUCKING sucks bacause they can’t help you other than put you on a wating list and then you can wait for a half year before you can get treatment…
So YEAH That is why we pay to get to a private hospitals…
Why don’t you try to do some research before you making up some shit like this !!
Fucking dumbass…
My Dane friend gets more than 5000 DKK a month and he is also working,so he is renting a Studio apartment (Cbs dorm) and has money to pay food,everything.If he wanted he could rent a room which would be so much cheaper. I think he pays around 4000 dkk for that private 1 room flat. Now, if you cannot make it with 5.500 then you are a lazy asshole who doesn’t work and spend a lot in øl. Some parents save the money they got from they children until they were 18 and if they want they don’t work but spend this money when they study. And you have free education , meanwhile in other countries you don’t study if you don’t have money . The high taxes help you a lot in this non-corrupted country, so don’t be rude, and be grateful for this. ( Me as an immigrant with an immigrant job I can rent a room and still have for food and sometimes I make 4000 dkk after taxes)and I still make it. You have everything and can opt for amazing jobs as you speak Danish and are a Dane 🙂 .
I agree about the healthcare.It sucks really bad…One time I was feeling sick and I went to the hospital.The doctor only asked me about the symptoms I had and according to this he wrote the medicine I had to take without even check If I had fever, my pressure, etc…Really bad for a developed country… He didn’t do any checks on me…so I was like WTF ??they study so much to sit on a chair and prescribe medicine hehe and ask you to drink water? ..
LOl
Well.. That’s not entirely true. If you live in Copenhagen then it’s probably true that you can’t have an apartment, pay rent/bills and still have money for food for 1000$ a month. But i live in Odense and I have a 2 bedroom apartment, pay all of my bills and still have about 200$ left for food from the 1000$ (5200kr) i get from SU.
wow! Someone had a bad day :/
Haha it’s very true.. But I must say that I have never heard of or discovered this ‘ass-grabbing-thing’ O.o Have I missed out on something in my own country :D?
And of course we love scarves and do not trust the weather forecasts.. This damn weather is unreliable ;P Hmm.. You could maybe add to the list that we do not great strangers!?
Anyway wonderful list, made me laugh and think at the same time..
Since when do we get 1k$/month? I “only” get 225$/month.
its not quite true that we pay for TWO cars everytime we buy ONE… Its more like THREE…. sigh*
Det ville have været skidesjovt, hvis ikke grammatikken var så dårlig 🙂
My wife is a Dane, and she can actually write English unlike this article! Also you have made a few errors: there is a legal age for drinking alcohol, sex is legal at 15, free access to schools is common in most countries, you missed leaving babies in prams outside in winter and several of the points are not unique to Danes.
Is great…just saw in on my wall….i will say…many things true here…it most be strange for a non Danish come work in Denmark….anyway..i believe where you lucky to grow up in Denmark…make how you act…but great humor…..love it…
Next time use the spell check a little better, there were some big grammatical errors in the text. But many of them are spot on, and some of them are just wrong. 🙂 Otherwise, you’ve made a great list!
Spell checks are for people with to much time 😉 But thanks anyway for letting me know 🙂
So true (Y) !
If a Danes wants to be “undaned” and move abroad they are taxed approx. 50% of their assets.
Danes buying a car ends up paying almost 2 times the cars value in taxes and charges.
isn’t really something we do as much as something the government demands of us 🙂
Well, true that 🙂
Hmm I
Danes leave their babies outside in the cold to sleep while they are cozy inside a house or a store or restuarant
Ham, i dont have problem With un invited guests nor do mu friends. The ones Living Close to us come by often but the ones living 10km or longer away always Call first simply because you dont Want to spend time and petrol just to find an emty house.
I often wear bright colours and its not rare to find me making jokes or short coments With People i dont know.. We smile at dogs, babys and others too.
I see my friends and family do the same, so maybe you havn’t been in every part of Denmark.
We are weird though and proud of it too;) thats where the self irony comes handy;)
We Can also use sarcasm to people we dont know and its okay (also without being drunk)
I tried that in the uk, and Got in to trouble!! Another dane would have laughed..
well, apparently i’m not a Dane, since i don’t put salt on food, if people did put salt on my food, i feel like i didn’t do the tasting well… i don’t zip my jacket, because i’m not cold, not because it looks uncool. i actually enjoy colours on people. i’ve never went to a private hospital, since i pay for the normal ones through tax, so why not use them. i’m a student, and don’t bitch about anything, except people bitching about a good life. i enjoy surprise visits, i encourage them by leaving the door unlocked when i’m home. if i ever get drunk, i’m drunk, so why not just say it if people ask. i don’t just hold the doors for women, but for people walking behind me, and of course i would take someones heavy bag if they’re smaller than me, not only women, but guys too if they let me (only if i can see on the guy that it’s heavy for him that is). ye, i’m probably not a dane…
oh and of course, i do enjoy random conversations with strangers, and i’m not the only one. maybe you just don’t experience it because you don’t like it yourself.
It’s always funny to point your fingers at other countries, even though you had quite alot of the fact wrong. One thing is that you think our social mentality and culture is odd… well, aren’t we all 😉 Why are we so excited about MAESK and when we appear an global television? Well, we make up one 1200th of the earth popularity and still influence it so greatly. So since you had a good laugh at our wonderful nation. Let me welcome you to Denmark :
– The happiest country in the world
– Free health care
– Free education
– Government gives 400$/month for home living students
– Government gives 1000$/month for students living alone
– A monthly salery high enough for apartment and food for unemployed people.
– Low amount of guns among citizens
– State of the art medical technology
– Top class wind-energy
And i hope you don’t mind for the inventions we have given to the world.
The speaker, discovery of electromagnetism, magnetic storage, dry-batteries, surgical firberscope.
Let me welcome you to USA :
– World’s largest governemrent funding to military and weapons
– Mass-production of nuclear weapons
– No healthcare
– Expensive education system
– Low economic help for homeless
– Highest gasoline usage per citizen
– Higest rate of obesity
– Only 10% of country’s energy is made from renewable sources
Im sorry we are wierd… You really are the future of the world…
BTW. For the invention of insulin, which you seem to be the country in the world that needs the most… You’re welcome 😉
Jeg tror ikke forfatteren er amerikansk, tværtimod han er vidst dansk..
Men hvis han var amerikaner, så thumbs up til det hele du skrev!
Danes can’t agree upon what the national dish is (help me out here?).
-> That one´s easy!… Rugbrød!
I quickly realized when I moved to Denmark 8 years ago that danes are pretty religious, just not when it comes to God, Nope, Rugbrød is the answer to everything apparently. If your kid gets sick, the kindergartens answer is: “Well, he/she probably does not eat enough rugbrød”
I find this obsession with rugbrød to be quite amusing 🙂
Rugbrød is pretty awesome, and cheap
A friend of mine have lived 25 years in the US. At every visit back home, he buyes plenty of cheese and strings for his cheese-cutter.
Hence I think the consumption of dairy products lays remarkable higher than much other countries!
I actually think there’s more than one answer to what the national dish is. But I don’t agree with you that it’s rugbrød. But rugbrød does have high values of very important neutrisional things like vitamins and fibers, whihch is pretty good to get through your food(+ it’s “slow energy”, meaning you won’t get hungry as fast, as if you ate white bread) Unfortunately a lot of younger generations doesn’t value rugbrød too high, and therefore they often lack some of those things it so efficiently brings to us, and that’s probably why you often hear the phrase “Well, he/she probably doesn’t eat enough rugbrød”.
Some of the “true” national dishes are Frikadeller with potatoes and sauce(and it has to be so thick you should almost be able to cut it… exagerating, but still.) And ofcause there’s Flæskesteg and Stegt flæsk med persillesovs.
Enjoyed the read…I lived in DK in 1992 and am very proud of that European Championship win also!
Well, you might want to add that Danes are overly self-righteous and very eager to point out mistakes made by others – as is evidenced in this thread.
As a Dane currently living in Canada, I recognize a lot of these characteristics. That goes for me as well as for several of my friends. However, I must admit that the one about ass-grabbing is fairly new to me, too. Also, I think you are spot on with most of the generalizations – which (this may come as a shock to some people here) are the foundation upon which lists like these are built. Some may apply to your and your family, some might not – they’re still funny.
But I like the list – I do think you are missing one important point, though:
Danes do not (and are notoriously inept at) what I like to call the “conversational introductory dance” which is prevalent in most English and French speaking countries. The “hello, how are you doing”-intro where no one actually wants to hear the answer is and will always be completely unnerving to me as a Dane. I still prefer “Hi!” Or “Hello!” And then straight to the point.
well i will say she was pretty darn spot on with that list. Sure many of you have points on there that you disagree on, but that is because they don’t fit YOU exactly. And when it comes to Rugbrød, that is merely a sourdough ryebread, they kind of have that around the world, you just need to know where to look. This list fits the danish population in general, so don’t bitch that some points may be untrue, because they are true, to the general population. we are a great, drunk, boring, happy and relaxed nation that bitch and complain about politics, but we don’t really care much for changing it, thinking someone else will take care of that.
And for the grammar part, oh my god yes, most danes seriously suck at english, be it British or American English.
ahaha – much of it is true 🙂
Det er sjovt hvordan stort set alle kommentarer er på engelsk, når det er en dansk blog af en fyr der hedder Magnus.
Det er en sjov liste, den ville være sjovere hvis den var lavet af en amerikaner eller anden nationalitet end en dansker selv – det lukker lidt luft ud af ballonen at en dansker bare skriver generelle ting om dem selv, fremfor hvis en udlænding havde opfattet alle de her ting under et besøg til danmark 🙂 men det er vel bare min holdning.
Nej jeg er med dig, og jeg skrev kun engelsk fordi de andre gjorde det :p
My wintercoat is red. I’m a dane. I cannot argue with you on the fact that everyone is staring at me, but I can’t help but wonder.. Why is that? My jacket is pretty! 😀
Danes are very judgemental, anything beside the norm will be frowned upon.
So basically you are just whining about taxes.
Not much on your moronic list is weird, or stuff just danes do.
Sjovt at det er skrevet af en dansker og næsten kun kommenteret af danskere, men alligevel foregår det hele på engelsk xD
Danish students don’t get 1000 USD a month. That is complete bull. You get anywhere from 140 to 920 depending on your parents’ income, their civil status and how many kids they have to provide for. Also, if you are to get over about 800 USD you have to live 20 kilometers from your parents to show economical independance. The biggest portion of students get about 200 a month.
If you go to university your parents’ income doesn’t matter and you actually get more than 1000$.
Not sure where you got your numbers from. Minimum is not 140. It’s a good part over the 200’s.
i find it amusing that this is taken from below 50% of the danes and a bunch of it is incorrect, except the part about the news, fuck them.
Forgot one 😀
Most Danes will complain at winter and say it is too damn cold. And then at summer say it is too damn hot! 😀
Spot on @Rasmus
As a swede, whenever i think about danish food, i think about pölse, so i would say that is the danish national dish! 😀
So first things first. If we don’t include the obvious but minor errors, concerning sentences and the usage of words, there are many fun facts on this site. However it seems there are quite a few misconceptions in between as well. If this is written by a Dane it’s a rather narrow point of view. Things like scarfs not being a specifically danish trend, as it’s adapted from other places in the world, and the fact that apparently the writer don’t know that people still offer til help women with heavy bags and holding the door. Some women will actually refuse to let someone carry their stuff as a statement.
Still a lot of fun facts about bath tubs, drinking, sex, salt on food and bus routines.
So not focusing on the wrong statements and the language errors i was smiling all the way to the end about the many truths in there.
Overall very fun to read ^^
It´s so true and I am not proud to be Danish…… I am glad that my ex husband was turkish, so I learned an another way to live. I put my family 100% first and here you don´t need to call before you visit. And here we shower 1-2 times a day and wash hands more than 10 times a day.
There is nothing wrong with being Danish.
THEN MOVE PLS.
Are you sure about that SU thing, 5000 DKK a month seems a little over the top?
Ikke for udeboende, jeg får da over 5000 udbetalt efter SKAT. Hjemmeboende får dog en del mindre.
Depends if you still live with your parents or not.
99,9% of all comments are written by danish people……. (including this one)
Morer mig lidt over at dette indlæg kommer kort tid efter at du har haft besøg af familien Fals 😀
Hilsen Mette’s Kollega
Agree 😀
But also! Danish have to comment that one fact about Danish alcohol policy;-)
And! Danish push each other around to get in The bus:-D
The dont respond if a stranger ask them for something, always expect another one to answer.
for those who do not like Denmark. fuck off.
Not all of them is true 🙂
Actually the price of cars is not 2 times the value we pay the car and THEN 275% of the cars value in taxes so we pay the cars value 3.75 times
I’ve visited Denmark several years ago. I absolutely loved it. I don’t know the society well enough to comment on this points. I can say that people are very friendly. Much more so than any other Scandinavian country.
What about the tradition of cutting the head off the cake man you get for your birthday and the whole party screams while you cut until the cake man is “dead”? haha
You’re right. Good one 🙂
Well it is true that most of us Danes don’t like to be compared to Swedes but almost as many of us hates when english speaking foreigners compare our language or just us to Germans and Dutch.
the scenario would be a couple of danes speaking to each other and an englishman or american says “oh, what is it like living in Germany” Hate when that happens!! and i happens way too fucking often -.-‘
(no offence to the germans and the dutch)
I really agree on being compared to germany.
no offense to germany, but it just sucks… i recall a time in italy where someone asked me where i was from, and then a bit later telling me; “look, i dont care if you are from germany or whatever”, and im just like; “i just told you im from denmark -.-“.
Add another to the list:
Danes don’t waste time on reading other Danes comments prior to commenting on a blog post themself (good-damn there is a boring and repeating pattern in the comments for this post).
Danes really don’t like sitting next to each other, if you look in a bus people prefer standing than sitting next to a stranger.
Sounds like the rest of Scandinavia to me… Or Finland (assuming that it’s considered as Scandinavian) at least…
Did you just compared us to sweds???! >:(
Love apples and leave the cores all over the streets! <3
Her er en mere:
Everytime a dane meets a foreigner they try and make them say “rød grød med fløde”.
You got the car tax very wrong. The tax is 180% ON TOP of the price. This mean that if a car is Dkk100.000 from the manufacturer, the danes pay Dkk280.000. So, it’s almost 3 times the price of the car, not almost two as you wrote.
Very funny! But lots of spelling errors. Sorry, I’m a gramma nazi.
That would be grammar. 😉
Danes likes to eat “fikkadeller” some sort of meat cockee 🙂 Hmmmm.
We get what equals to $220/month tops for studying, not $1000. 1000DKK yes
But you get them for free + free access to schools and universities. Most other countries do not have that service. There they have to pay to be in school + pay for everything else (and no, unless you live at home and your parents earn a lot, you do not only get $220/month – but in that case your family would be the ones paying for you).
jeg får nåsten 6000DKK I SU om måneden, så jo 1000USD passer meget godt.
This is absolute nonsense. Of course the rates of the State Educational Grant (SU in day to day use) vary a lot based on living situation (whether you live alone or with your parents), and, if you live with your parents, their economy.
I receive exactly 938 dollars and 82 cents (USD at the today’s rate) after taxes each month, so the $1000 stated above is not far off.
Holdkæft hvor det dumt at hører på og det skulle være beder i rasten af verden i usa mener man der skal være en lov hvor det er ulovligt at give alkohol til elefanter
You really need to work on your English skills. As a fellow Dane, however, I will say that this is quite a nice list. 🙂
You’re right about brewing stronger beer at Christmas and Easter. That’s pretty much the extent of our celebration of religious holidays. It’s always a national phenomenon and a cause for celebration when the special Christmas beer becomes available at supermarkets. Stores even get penalised by the brewery that makes the beer for releasing it too soon!
Well that thing about the 1000 USD/month studying that’s not true we can max get about 220,80 USD so please lisen next time they talk about prices. thanks
Move away from you parents and into the real world, and you’ll get more in SU. Or even better, get a job? If you live at home (still), why do you need free money from people paying taxes? Get a job if you need anything…
How can someone be that wrong… most of what is on this list is wrong…
And no you have to be 15 to buy beer and 18 for the stronger stuff… reseach before making a fool of yourself.
95% of all comments is danes.
What load of bs, sorry. Probably written with irony but nonetheless another useless list of somebody’s own stereotypic observations that get’s magnified to cover an entire population. Don’t recognize much apart from the holiday beer brewing.
If you can’t recognize item on the list, other than the part about beer, then you should seriously take a hard look into the mirror. I have been living away from Denmark for 8 years now, and most things on that list are absolutely true. I make sure to let everyone around me know that Maersk is from Denmark, each and every time I see a Mearsk container. I also make sure to let people know that we won the European Championship in 1992, if they don’t already know. I also get pissed off if people compare me with Swedes – cause hey, they suck! And I could go on and on… Get a life dude… She’s right!
Soeren: I have been living in The US for 30+ years and I totally agree with you (me 2 for all of the above).
Danes love to read about themselves in lists made by foreigners
After Sweden invaded Denmark in 1658 by walking across the ice on Oresund, a law was passed in which a Dane is allowed to beat the Swede with a stick, should he try to walk across the ice again… Law is still valid.
Deler av denne listen kunne like gjerne handlet om normenn:) la meg starte med å si at det er deilig å være norsk i danmark, men det er noen ting nordmenn legger merke til når vi besøker våre naboer: dansker håndhilser på mennesker de allerede kjenner(nordmenn håndhilser stort sett bare den første gangen man møtes), dansker har som regel EKSTREMT svært for å forstå norsk, de hører heller ikke forskjell på norsk og svensk, sodavand koster mer enn øl, det finnes ikke noe mellomgrovt brød(det er enten franskbrød eller rug), Ellers har tydeligvis dansker noe lite selvironi, siden denne listen satte sinnene i kok:)
the dansih national dish is: “Rødgrød med fløde”
Why the hell do we all speak english?
Danes are normally very proud of there regional origins like Juts, Funen, Sealandsers and so on
We dont get 1000 USD a month for studying, the majority of students get alot lower than that, im pretty sure the average student gets around 250 USD a month or 1300 DKK. Alot of these are just plain wrong, some of them are funny though. But please check your facts before you start putting danish people in a box.
Most is actually right. Maybe you will understand that, when you get older. And please get your facts straight. There’s a difference between receiving SU if you live at home with your parents, or if you live on your own (like a big boy). So, move out of your parents house and get a life, ok ?
LOL – sjovt som folk kan kun kommentere på facts med SU og biler, men stadig ser alt andet som helt normalt 🙂
Rigtig meget snak om grammatik.
Alt for lidt snak om de berygtede vikinger der sejlede på togt i det meste af verden.
Ja helt enig
As others have mentioned this list is moronic. Most of your observations apply to a lot of other western countries.
Besides, your grammar really does suck. If you want to be taken seriously you should correct your spelling and the enormous amount of grammatical errors.
Western that is… ;- )
Western that is 😉
Funny 🙂
BUT a spelling & grammar check would’ve been nice. Who said Danes are pedantic, too? 😉
Danes write blog posts and comments in English, even though both the writer and the readers are Danes 😉
Danish humor can seem rude to foreigners. The term “hygge” is sometimes better explained as state of mind between aware and tranquil…that’s why we can sit around a table for hours just chatting. Danes like beer in the am while they’re on sandy beach vacations. Danes always buy a return ticket (read play safe). Danes welcome foreigners but sure like when they leave again. Danes like new and exciting new cultures but would never adapt or embrace as it’s not “the same”. I have travelled for 16 years and lived abroad for six years and married to a wonderful foreigner. The danish “thing” sure has given me a new perspective of myself and my fellow Danes but, NOTHING beats a danish hot dog or mormors frikadeller. I am still a proud dane!!
Addition to the list: Danes are very proud of their traditional dessert “ris à l’amande” (”rice with almonds”) made in 19th century, supposedly inspired by the French kitchen. Later, in order to make it more “Danish”, it was dubbed to be called “risalamande” instead. This is now the only authorized spelling.
Danes have some of the highest water prices in the world – hence a lot of Danes wash their dishes in a dishwashing tray. (I personally find it very disgusting!)
@Caroline; We do get around $1000 for studying – not living at your parents’ place that is.
Danes laugh at scot´s because they are greedy, but when you ask a dane if you can bum a smoke, he will answer “you can buy it” or “when do i get it back”
I think most of it is true, but is it typical foreign to focuse on the bad stuff ?? Danes are typically extremely loyal to their closest friends. They might be cold on the surface but ones you get to know them you probably have a friend for life. The national dish.. I can’t give you a “plate” but tell you that it includes pork, sauce and potatoes. Cozy is when you are in safe surroundings, with people you like, being happy and very content and forget about your worries for a while.. Danes are furthermore very giving to poor nations through taxes, voluntary work and fundraising. We care about the environment and are self reliant. Just to mention some good stuff too:)
Well, you can’t really put an entire society in a box like that and say “this is how Danes are and they are weird”. These are merely observations from your point of view. Saying “Danes…” in almost each sentence is like saying that each and everyone of us live up to what you just wrote and that is incorrect.
hmm…….hun har kørt forkert mid i Kiev
vi behøver altså ikke at have det hele på engelsk. Det er alligevel kun danskere der læser det der
If you always only have been living in Denmark, then you have the reason why don’t think its “spot on”. Try life just a year out of Denmark! And you’ll agree on everything! I have never been proud to be Danish and I’ll never be!
Danskere er en flok hyklere!
Try live*
Hvorfor skriver alle på engelsk? Der er jo ikke en eneste udlænding der har set/skrevet noget her inde?
Der er mange udlændinge der læser denne liste samt kommentarer. Bor selv i udlandet og har en del der har fulgt med herinde også. Netop fordi de ikke kan forstå hvorfor jeg ikke r stolt af at være dansk.
Og hvorfor er du saa stolt? Jeg er selv danskfoedt men opvokset i UK. Efter 15 aar i Esbjerg, er jeg flyttet “tilbage” til Spanien, hvor jeg har det bedst.
Der er mange udlændinge der læser listen som rammer meget præcist.
– men der er sgu ingen der gider følge diskussionen da den er så forbandet dansk som noget kan være, vi ELSKER at snakke om os selv og tror at alle andre gider lytte, og især hvis vi skal male billedet pænere end det faktisk er.
Og vi er ikke så gode til kritik på trods af selv-ironien, et meget godt eksempel på dette var da giraffen Marius skulle dø – først var der kæmpe folkelig opstand, da en amerikansk ambassadør så vovede at blande sig og stemme med i koret som modstander, SÅ vendte vi på en tallerken.
Vi kan godt selv tage pis på os selv sålænge det ikke er for ærligt, men der skal ikke komme nogen udefra – eller nogen der skriver på Engelsk på internettet og skrive noget der ikke passer til glansbilledet vi selv ser i spejlet.
Jeg har selv boet og arbejdet væk fra danmark i mange år, og en af de ting man lærer når man flytter ud er at se sig selv og sine i et lidt andet lys, og vi er altså nogle specielle typer.
From this site/page i see, that most Danes apparently speek English when there official language is danish! Why?
Great list!
Funny to see all the comments about alcohol… Danes are very fond of their alcohol – but all the comments above forget one thing; it’s not illegal for any under aged person to buy or consume alcohol, but all stores, restaurants and bars licensed to sell alcohol are prohibited (by severe penalty) to serve or sell alcohol to kids… (Please note that the responsibility doesn’t follow the citizen, but the merchant etc.)
Some also mention, that the Danish healthcare is horrible… well we might have bigger expectations and therefore (understandably) se it like that! – but in all possible measures we are still within the top 10% of the best healthcare systems in the world.
The ‘SU’ (benefits while studying) may sound exaggerated, but its true; approx 1000$ after tax. But as no one seems to be able to explain; this income is (of course) regulated in a way where the individual is paid according to their situation – single mothers get more, and people who still live at home get less!
Also please remember Denmark is number 6(!) on the Big Mac Index (http://www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index).
More ‘fun’ facts:
Most Danes eat real whole-wheat rye bread – the sort that’s often darker than mahogany wood – and can’t imagine a diet without (which actually is healthy)
Unisex toilets are very common (in some American states the owner of such would be sent to prison)
We have an annual tradition called ‘fastelavn’, where mostly kids and adults dress up and beat a hanging barrel (filled with candy and fruit) to bits with clubs… here the sick part; 150+ years ago this included a ritual animal offering – we would put a black cat in the barrel!
And most importantly – all Danes complain about the (high) taxes, but NOONE will accept even the slightest decrease in service or benefits provided by the government!
…and oh yes, remember the one with leaving babies (well in their baby carriage) outside homes, shops, cafés etc. We do that – and they are fine!
All of this shit is complete bullshit, like honestly there might be a couple of things right, but fucking 95% of it is wrong. Hate seeing bullshit like this on the internet.
Hello!
This my small contribution:
1 The Danes are Vikings and proud of it.
2 Denmark is the largest country in Europe as Greenland also belongs to Denmark with 3.166 million km2. (Poland is 313,000 km2).
4 Danes hate Muslims (at least most).
5 Danes love the royal family and the queen’s almost like a god to us. We love her.
6 The Danes are the most beautiful and well-educated people in the world. They are certainly the happiest people in the world which is actually proven in a large study. We have the most beautiful women but not even bother them. Men often find women abroad.
Born in Copenhagen, raised in the UK and lived in Esbjerg from 1998 – 2013. I gave up and moved to Spain 😉
I don’t agree with the grabbing ass… I think Danes are more civilised than say English men in that respect and thus I would not call it a Danish trait. – Emil
Uhm… You only get a thousand USD if you live by yourself… you get less if you live with your parents.
The Danish weather changes so often that the actual weather-situation is the most common conversation topic!
Personally, the sport-achievement I’m most proud of is the fact that any olympic summer-game without at least one gold medal is a disapointment – wich other citicenship/region/town of 5 million inhabitants do expect the same rightly? 😮
National dish? Open sandwiches, offcourse!
one thing you forgot… you can relate to the Weatherforecast…
The most discussed subject in Denmark is the weather, Ironically it is the only thing you can do nothing about…
About the folk-law! Many Danes don’t agree nor follow this law. 🙂
Would be good if you wrote that 😀
My experience is that some drunk Danes are really open when they are drunk,, the next day.. they dont know me at all hahhah… hmmn i dont take it personally… because they are just drunk 🙂
Danes are ALLWAYS on time! 😀
You can make a date 3 months in advance for 6 O’clock – And they will be there at exactly 6 O’clock… Not 10 minutes past.
And wooow… Am I the only one notizing that danes don’t read other people’s comments before posting one yourself?? There has been 50 comments in a row explaining how we don’t have laws against drinking alc.
http://afroginthefjord.com/2014/02/02/how-to-make-things-koselig/
And, furthermore, it is Norwegians that have their graduation before the graduation today, not Danes 🙂
“Students have their graduation party before the graduation.”
Men de er spot-on, og fremfor at blive fornærmet skal man måske pille sig selv lidt i navlen, vores selvforståelse som danskere hænger ikke helt sammen med hvordan vi rent faktisk opfører os ( hvilket kunne være et punkt på listen ). Vi har meget høje tanker om os selv som åbne, tolerante, verdens-navle – men vi er egentlig ret lukkede, intolerante og andre kan ikke helt forholde sig til hvor interresante vi selv synes vi er.
Man kunne også føre et ekstra punkt til listen : hvis nogle skriver noget om danmark eller danskere på engelsk så går danskere frejdigt igang med at diskutere med hinanden på dårligt engelsk, uanfægtet at der ikke er andre end danskere der involverer sig i diskussion – mest af alt fordi det kun er os selv der finder os så hulens interresante 🙂
Why is everybody in this thread writing in English, when clearly everybody (or 99%) er danskere? 😛
Helt seriøst der er jo kun os selv der læser den her slags artikler! Det er det samme hver gang. En eller anden laver en liste (til udlændinge! :D) om danskere og straks er der tusindvis af danskere (og næsten ingen udlændinge! ;)) der diskuterer om den er sand eller ej. Det er altså fjollet
THERE IS NO FUCKING LEGAL DRINKING AGE IN DENMARK!!!!!
there is however a legal buying age 😉
16 at the stores and 18 at the bars
I do. And it freaks guys out:D
Danish language are considered by many others to be sounding like Dane would have a hot potato in the mouth. This is because the soft way to pronounce the consonants. Danes in other hand, hear many other languages with hard consonants (Finnish, German) like THOSE were spoken with hot potato in mouth!
I got a good one: Danes writes blogs and commenting blogs… in ENGLISH. Trying to be cool, and brag about our fantastic knowledge of the language. Very well knowing, that no Englishman or American ever will visit the blog.
Så hvorfor ikke bare skrive skidtet på dansk?
You should definitely add Jysk next to MAERSK 😉
The National dish of Denmark…?
Just like the Danish people, it is changeable and depends on the Danes!
Breaded plaice, chips and celeriac remoulade…
or… Aebleskiver (an apple pancake style mixture)…
or… Meatballs (beef + pork, Frikadeller) with potatoes and red cabbage…
or… Smorrebrod (an open sandwich) usually with fish, salmon or herring (both salty!)…
or… even Chinese food is popular!
Please remember that a curry is a popular dish in Britain…! 🙂
One of the most racist places in the world been here for 15 yrs. Know how they work have been called the N-word by every Dane I know have told them that I don´t like it but they don´t care.
it’s so fun to read all this stuff about who WE (Danes) really are. I live aborad and often gets some of these questions as national dish/drinking/living etc. Now I don’t need to answer, I will just refer to the list and the comments by my Facebook.
Great job.. and yeas we’re the most happy and friendly people in the world 😉
I must be very lucky according to a lot of disappointing comments here… or perhaps I am just choosy….
But, the only Danes I have met have been lovely, friendly and happy people.
Well… students do not get paid arround 1000 USD a month. that’s like 5500 danish crowns!!
ussually it’s between 1800 and 2200 danish crowns (around 500 USD) depending on your parents income.
ONLY students that live alone min. 20 kilometers away from their parents get paid between 4500 and 5500 Danish crowns! (around 900 – 1000 USD)
and our health care isn’t “free” we pay it through our tax 🙂
I’m a Dane who lived 4 years in Brazil and 4 years in Texas USA. I studied at international schools and have many friends from all over the world. I believe I have a better insight into “the Danes” than most Danes due to the fact that i’ve got the multi cultural influence.
let me run through your weird stuff list 😀
Danes don’t trust weather forecasts.
True
Danes puts salt on food without even tasting it.
True
Want to upset a Dane? Compare them to a Swede.
Somewhat true, however, its a love to hate/hate to love relationship. When push comes to shove, we accept them as our next door brothers.
Danish news is either about politics or shows on TV.
True
Danes get confused and embarrassed if you compliment them.
True, we arent too good with compliments.
Danish media go mental when a Dane is on CNN or Oprah.
True, being a nation of 5,5 milion inhabitants, we love it when one of us finaly gets som street creds 😉
Students have their graduation party before the graduation.
True
Danes think you are a creep if you smile at a stranger’s baby.
Situational. If you walk up to a stranger and starts playing with their baby sure, but if you walk up to a stranger and smiles and says cute baby, im pretty sure the general Dane would love it.
Riding a bicycle in the winter is considered normal in Denmark.
True
Danes can’t agree upon what the national dish is (help me out here?).
Well the thing is we dont have one national dish, we have a few.
http://www.svinekam.dk/images/svinekam.jpg
http://multimedia.pol.dk/archive/00744/B_gerfl_sk_744658a.jpg
http://gbm.dk/gbm/Images/Frikadeller.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Z7wpZB5PPec/TPKaI3IcsoI/AAAAAAAAAKI/F-5jGiUMmoQ/s1600/DSC02326.JPG
Yea what can i say, we love pork 😉
Danes love their scarves. You even see guys in clubs wearing scarves.
I guess you will find a few people with scarves in the club. But keep in mind its freaking ass cold during the winter. However, my viewpoint is that the general Dane dont use scarves anymore than people in does in brazil.
Danish boys think that grabbing ass in the club is the same as shaking hands.
Well, yea of course! 😉 Just need to clearify though, that we are talking about girls. I’ve never grabbed nor had my ass grabed when i greet other guys, not my friends nor strangers. Well, i guess a friend can get a little slap, but that only if you know eachother well. Lol
If its cozy, it’s called “Hygge” – and no Dane can explain what exactly that is.
Its really the same thing, however hygge is like cozy but with a little extra. Its like sitting at home with a good book next to the ireplace during a cold winter. thats cozy, upgrade tht with some hot chocolate and a couple of friends and then you got hygge. I guess the main diference between cozy and hygge is the factor of more people sharing something together = hygge
Danes love their Licorish: Candies, gum, ice cream, food, drinks – anything goes.
True (i cant stand it, but most danes love it)
Danes will leave a pub or a bar if there is no place to sit. Sitting is important.
True, and this has partially to do with the hygge, you cant hygge standing up 😉
Danes never ever sit next to someone in a bus if there is a free seat anywhere else.
I guess you are a right in your observation on this. We do like to sit quietly on public transportations. This is true in every country ive been in, this in not just denmark. however, Danes are more private than most other cultures, and this reflects your view on the public transportation.
If a Danes wants to be “undaned” and move abroad they are taxed approx. 50% of their assets.
I’ve never seen or heard of this, but i do belive you. We get taxed on everything. If they could tax us for farting, they would.
Danes buying a car ends up paying almost 2 times the cars value in taxes and charges.
True. (and it sucks i might add)
Danish people have excellent free healthcare but still pay to go to private hospitals.
True, however recent years theres been a lt of issues in the media regarding reforms in the healthcare system. For the worse 🙁 I guess the finacial crisis is srewing us all.
Danes celebrate religious holidays (Christmas and Easter) by brewing an extra strong beer.
True. However, 99% of the danes are atheists, so its just an excuse to get drunk 😀
Danes get proud – and makes sure to point out – each time they see a MAERSK container abroad.
We are proud people yes, but not proud like the nationalism you see in the US. Again i would point out that this is more like the post earlier with Oprha or CNN. Its not so much proudness as its the feeling of see a little peice of home abroad. We are a very small nation, so when we do see things from home, we get a little happy 😀 Also, i’ll point out that we as a nation has done some pretty pretty amazing things comparing to being a nation of only 5.5 million people. We arent even the size of medium sized city in most other counties. Please keep that in mind 😀
Danes loves bathtubs as most people don’t have them. And when they do, they rarely uses them.
True, ironically 😀 But now when i think back to my time in other countries, any place ive been, if they have a shower ane a tub, the tub is rarely used. I dont think this is isolated to denmark.
Danish people can be your best friends when they are drunk. The next day they don’t even say “Hi”.
Sad, but true 🙁 However, once you get under the skin of a Dane, they are loyal people, more than what ive experienced in most other countries)
Many Danes don’t close/zip their coat even in the winter time… Rather be cold than look uncool!
Hahaha rather stupid but true 😀
Ask a totally wasted Dane if he or she is drunk and the answer will most certainly be “No no no no no, not at all!”
True 😀
Danes don’t like initiating in a casual conversation with strangers on the street – unless they are drunk, of course.
True, as i said earlier, Danes are private people. It takes time to get in the friend zone in Denmark.
Have this weird folk-law/logic saying “Don’t think you’re anything special – your a re no better than the rest of us”.
True, it might sound negative, but really its more of an equality statment. Which we are die hard for in Denmark. So much so that sometimes, I meet women with bigger balls than me! scary shit i tell you. Danish girls fighting and cursing like guys. Trust me, there is nothing scarier than a crazy insane danish woman. We all heard og the latin temper in women. Compared to danish women, latin temper is ratehr cute.
Majority of Danes do not like wearing bright colors during autumn/winter. Wear a red coat and you will be stared upon.
I guess this is true. Collective winter depression for the whole nation lol
Danes have sooooo many religions holidays – but few Danes very rarely practice or even believe in any specific religion.
True, we fight to get those days off work. if we have to argue in the name of god to get them we will 😉
Equality is important. That’s why most danish guys don’t open the doors for a girl or take her bag if its heavy (come on guys!)
Yea, but then again, If you see the danish girls, they dont need no man to open the door for them. They believe in equality more than we do!
Danes are usually very relaxed about sex. Having sex at 15 is very normal. Having sex even earlier isn’t that uncommon either.
Very true!
Danes get 5 weeks paid holiday a year, and a 37 hour work week… and we are still some of the most stress people in the world.
True. But this is mostly due to the fact that when you have a deal, you keep it! If you working hours starts at 8 o’clock, you get there at 8. Not 8.05! When i moved to brazil, i got really stressed out because poeple makes deals and doesnt keep them. Very frustrating. However, i came to love the layed back culture, and when i moved back to Denmark, i missed the slow easy going workdays. I think its healthy not to stress out over work like we do in denmark.
Danish students get approx. 1000 USD/month studying, and access to free education (even universities). And still bitch about it.
Yes, i can understand you msut think that we are spoiled brats. However in denmark vat is 25% income tax is aprox 40% for a student. So of the 1000 USD we have 600 let minus 25% on everything we buy plus living expenditure is very expensive, so with the 1000 usd you might live like a king in guatemala, but in denmark, its hard to survive on it.
Danes get EXTREMELY proud if you mention us winning the European Football Championship in 1992. This is our nations proudest moment!
True
Danes buys 5 good beers, then cheap stuff for rest of the party, thinking “im gonna be drunk and don’t really care about the taste then”.
Lol true
Danes are hysterically about hygiene, but apparently do not mind having birthday cakes candles blown out by people with no control of their saliva.
I guess this is tradition in many countries?
There are basically two types of Danes… The ones that buy their Christmas gifts at the latest possible time, and the one that buys them in October.
Again, In every country ive been in, this is true
There is no age restriction on drinking alcohol in Denmark. Seeing drunk 15 year-old in the streets (weekends) on their way to parties is a pretty normal sight.
True, You cant purchase alkohol if you are under 16. But like any other country, kids have friends who buys it.
If you’re at a party, approach a Dane, give him/her a hug and ask “So long, how have you been?”. Most Danes will be confused but play along for quite some time, embarrassed to tell they don’t know you.
True, but its not so much embarrasment. its more out of politeness. Not wanting to hurt someone elses feelings.
Danes hate surprise visits. We don’t know how to handle unexpected guests. Please, call a week in advance to set something up – even though you are childhood friends and see each other all the time anyway.
True, as i said earlier, we are very private people.
Danes have no problem with self-irony and being laughed at 😉
True. as long as its not hateful. We value self-irony in Denmark.
Det er fanme ikke i orden at gramse på fremmede kvinder og det er ikke det samme som et håndtryk. Det er ikke en “selvfølge” at det er sådan, for det bør ikke være sådan. Det er godt nok mangel på respekt for andre mennesker.
Gramser man på kvinder, uden de har givet lov, giver man dem lov til at kappe ens hånd af eller give en et knæ mellem benene. Satme.
Another fun fact about Danes:
Danes love to read about themselves online and always insist on posting comments in English even though the vast majority of the readers are Danes themselves. It is very Danish to think that all other nations have a huge interest in Denmark even though that is not the case.
I haven’t lived in Denmark for about 7 years now, but when I do go there it seems so cozy ….I do miss it sometimes but mostly for the rugbrød…. But because of the government there and how they “run” the country I don’t think I’ll ever move back though…. 🙁 But I think it’s funny that I share last name with the guy who wrote these things….
i don’t know if someone said it but some danish people hate when someone is late, like 10 minutes later. Some people get a little bit angry after that or just leave.
“Danish students get approx. 1000 USD/month studying, and access to free education (even universities). And still bitch about it.”
I must be living in the wrong part of Denmark then 😛
Indrømmet – jeg kunne ikke overskue at læse hele listen (endnu en dansker der (umiddelbart uopfordret) skal fortælle om den unikke, nordeuropæiske/skandinaviske civilisation som verdens mest lykkelige befolkning er repræsentanter for – og ikke mindst, hvilket i øvrigt blot bekræfter mine fordomme om mine landsmænds selvbillede. HVORFOR skriver/svarer I hinanden på engelsk?! Der er umiddelbart intet andet end danskere i tråden – lidt ligesom under Marius-gate hvor hver anden kommentar på debatsider kom fra danskere der følte, at de så repræsenterede hele nationen – eller endnu bedre, de på sociale medier allestedsværende ‘I’m from Denmark!’ eller ‘I’m a dane and this isn’t true and bla bla bla…’ kommentarer. Der er ikke noget at sige til, at mange tilflyttere føler det enddog meget svært, at blive integreret endsige føle sig accepteret blandt ‘etniske danskere'(?!). En nation (befolkningsmæssigt på størrelse med eks. Berlin!) der i alle tænkelige kontekster er sååå navlebeskuende, og som retter andre brugeres grammatik i FB kommentarer, og til hvér en tid gør sig til talsmænd for Moooooderlandet Dannevang – og diskursen er naturligvis den, her i landet, evigt gyldige ‘danskhed’…. Bonderøve (og den yderst etnocentriske af slagsen), er hvad vi efterhånden må fremstå som i andre nationers øjne – for fårks sake people..!
So Hobbits basically 🙂
hvorfor er det lige at i alle sammen svarer på engels når det tydeligvis kun er danske personer der har svaret og det er en dansker der har skrevet det hele.. fatter krans her
Hvorfor snakker vi alle engelsk, når det er tydeligt vi alle er danskere xD
Du glemte en:
– Danes cannot bend English verbs properly.
Som i:
– Danes put_s_ salt on food without even tasting it.
Just thought of another one: Danes have great problems with the th sound.
And as far as grammar: well English/american is after all a second language so lets not get petty.
How can you (or studies) say you are the (or one) of the happiest countries in the world, when you feel uncomfortable if a stranger try to approach you, when somebody brings an unexpected guest to your house, when you can have fun, chat, hug, laugh with someone, when drunks, and barely greeting her/him the day after…and on an on.
Sorry danes, but many people in the poor Africa, South America and South Europe, live the life in a happier way, regardless what studies say.
Danmark är vackert, danskar är för härliga (och snygga) och danskan är ett häftigt språk! Men jag förstår inte, varför handlar 99% av kommentarsfältet om alkohol och pengar?
If this is weird… that must be a very boring life! Come on, these things are natural 🙂
I disagree with this being “facts” about danes, however I do recognise the parallels which can be drawn along side the reality.
sjovt i skriver på engelsk når 99% af jer er danskere. Men den skal vel også på listen.
ellers fin artikel, jeg vil sende den til min Svenske kæreste, hun undrer sig nogle gange også over vores adfærd.
Actually, they won European Championship 1992 without coming thru the qualifications. Thanks to the civil war in Ex Jugoslavia, which was disqualified by Uefa, Danes came like a first best looser and they even Won. This is wired
I am a foreigner living in Denmark and I must say the post and the comments made my day. Denmark is a lovely and wonderful country, with great people! I must admit that my weirdness made it easy to integrate, I guess. 🙂
PS: Thanks for keeping this discussion in English.
Danes on vacation:
Two kinds of Danes: The ones that goes on vacation only to sit at the pool listening to “Kim Larsen”, and the ones that pretends not to be Danish when they hear/see other Danes.
Danes TOTALLY loves to communicate with other Danes in english rather than in danish. It’s just SO much cooler 🙂 Those who still remember their danish are invited to check out Glad i Udlandet.com or on facebook 🙂
my reaction was like… “wow… are danes hungarians?” 🙂
Danish national dish, it must be Koldskål, translated into English the word means could bowl. Koldskål is a cold milk soup. soup consisting of buttermilk, eggs, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice. In certain parts of Denmark also add soured whole milk to the soup.
in terms of how old you must be, before a store can legally sell alcohol to a customer. A store may not sell alcohol to persons under the age of 16 . if it is a restaurant or bar, the age limit for the sale of alcohol is 18yo. In Denmark you cant get prosecuted before you turn 15, but your parents still have a legal responsibility until you are 18yo, and you are financially dependent on your parents until you are 21yo, if you need to receive money from the state eg. SU(goverment study monny)
I think you can compare our Alcohol Act to the United States where you in some States Can get a driver’s license when you are 16 years old. I do not know what is worst, drunk teenagers or teenagers behind the wheel . Furthermore, we have in the Danish legal system something called, Common sense. This means in short that if you are with your common sense could have avoided the incident, then it’s your own fault. E.g.. you can not sue a company for their hairdryer can not withstand use in the bath. Basically, it is common sense that you do not use electrical appliances in the bath.
What about the Dane’s obsession to communicate in English even if they’re shocking at it?
I dated a Danish guy for five years. He kept talking about his ex. I was wondering if this has happened to any Danish ladies? I am French and Icelandic, but I grew up in America, as did my parents and grandparents. Anyway while we dated, he never did quite stop talking about her. We met at university and developed a casual relationship, no strings attached, no marriage. He told me Danish guys like casual relationships and only marry if they really want to have children. I didn’t mind though, because I am a very liberal person, but talking about his ex seemed odd. We broke up last year, then I find out he has a new girlfriend. I don’t have any hard feelings and understand his casual attitude, but I don’t think I was a marriage threat LOL! I didn’t care about marriage either. He complained about his ex and never once made me feel jealous , because he had so disliked her. No broken heart , but just wondering why he needed a new girlfriend. I am with someone else now anyway. He was nice and all, but seemed like a serial dater. oh well LOL!
Dont forget: No one ever crosses the red traffic lights, even when no cars or bicycles are coming
That’s because we have to pay a huge fine if the police catches us in the crime!
“Smørrebrød” seems to be the national dish.
You know Danes are beer lovers, when you read the comments here…and most people here is having a friendly debate about the drinking age… 😀
Hold nu kæft en lorteliste.
Danskere er mærkelige og gør mange mærkelige ting. Så er der sgu da ingen grund til at komme med 4000 punkter som ikke har noget som helst med virkeligheden at gøre. LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORT
Some Danes hide if they meet other Danes abroad. The rest gets happy and relieved …
Completely stupidity… This isn’t even correct… Go to hell
I’m really impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your weblog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Anyway keep up the excellent quality writing, it’s rare to see a nice blog like this one today.
Please refrain from swearing. That is totally unnecessary. It was meant to be a fun article. Get a life.
Insulting is totally unnecessary.
Weird (not \’wierd\’).
Why don\’t you get a life instead of swearing at the author of what was intended to be a humorous piece? If anyone is a \’dumb ass\’ it is you.
\”Danes have no problem with self-irony and being laughed at ;-)\”Clearly not some of the Danes who have posted on this forum!
there is a age restriction on alcohol in denmark, you have to be 16 to drink beer and cider and 18 to drink alcohol with a 18% alcohol or higher
A week straight of sunshine has been a damn good summer.
Danmarks highest celebrated “mountain” stands at an elevation of 561ft (Møllehøj). It was Himmelbjerget until disproven in 1875.
Danes perpetuate the myth of horned Viking helmet in souvenirs, art, and toys; even though they will be the first to tell you horns are not historically accurate.
We are stubborn as f**k. If we want to keep something we keep it. We never change becuase we are afraid of changes. We do the same things every year over and over again because we like it. We freaking loe ourselfes and our country 🙂
I think it\’s funny, but some of it is not true. I mean, you can\’t say that about all Danes just in general, but it also depends on where you are in Denmark of course. But really funny. Hope you enjoyed being here even though we are so weird. 😉
Danes don’t trust weather forecasts- how often is it accurate where you live?
Danish boys think that grabbing ass in the club is the same as shaking hands. – news to me?
If it’s cozy, it’s called “Hygge” – and no Dane can explain exactly what that is.- its being cozy/relaxed/happy/welcomed all in one
Danes that buy a car end up paying almost 2 times the cars value in taxes and charges….a bit more
Danes are usually very relaxed about sex. Having sex at 15 is very normal. Having sex even earlier isn’t that uncommon either. – only difference is the danes do not have a problem admitting or talking about it – see global teen statistic on pregnacy.
Danes get 5 weeks paid holiday a year, and a 37 hour work week… and we are still some of the most stressed people in the world….its 6 weeks
There is no age restriction on drinking alcohol in Denmark. Seeing drunk 15 year-olds in the streets (weekends) on their way to parties is a pretty normal sight. – there is a age restriction, however most people have a relaxed view on alcohol and most parebt would rather have their teenager drink under supervision and safe.
It is not truely correct, that we as students get $1000USD frome the government while studying. Only very few students get $1000USD a month. The average is around $300USD. It all depends on your parent’s income, if you live at home or by yourself, if your parent’s are divorced etc.
Its kinda wierd….
There you have it! A perfect example of the danish folk/logic mentioned above. Thank you Ole for being an perfect example of an arrogant dane.
honestly, it makes me feel like a man doing such stuff for girls, the problem just is that many feminists keep banging peeps heads with equallity, it makes me kinda mad, the fact that they want all the good benefits of equallity, but not all the bad ones.
Jamen det er jo danske kvinder der vil have ligestilling og det agter vi danske mænd at give dem, for fuld skrue! Ellers er det jo ikke ligestilling?But it is the Danish women who want\’s equality and therefore do we danish men treat them as equality should be. Either it wouldn\’t be equality, would it?;)I believe that most or lots of danish women don\’t want equality but just benefits, and that is why we are quibbling so much! 😀
It is very much true – still! My mother had to get a head scan because the doctors were afraid that she had a tumor and she still had to wait for 4 months to get it!
Vi dansker er veldigt lige de underbare Svenskerne, våre hjälter!
Ask a totally wasted Dane if he or she is drunk and the answer will most certainly be “No no no no no, not at all!”
Its called IRONY
Og en ting kan vi da konkludere efter alle ovenstående bemærkninger. Med mindre man kan kildehenvise så skal ikke lave en sådan liste. For en sådan liste finder en dansker ikke sjov, og vi skal nok korrekse – også selvom vi korrekser den samme bemærkning for Gud hvilken gang. Jeg morede mig da jeg læste den, og ja skulle der være en lille fejl, så er helheden den sjoveste. Men qua alle de bemærkninger der er kommet så lader det ikke til at dansken har megen humor. Og fint at komme med sine betragtninger, men at kalde andre skribenter øgenavne af værste skuffe, det må være fordi man mangler ord, det er ikke ok.
Great article, I\’m going to share it with all my non-Danish friends. There\’s just one thing bothering me, which is your use of verbs after plural nouns. Danes buy, and a Dane buys. See the one about bathtubs and the one about 5 beers. Thank you for an otherwise great read!
I think most of this is pretty accurate for swedes as well! Except the part about the alcohol laws unfortunately, but that is why we go to Denmark instead 🙂
1000 USD a month ??? Thats is a pretty bad estimate.
To be fair, the dollar has gone up lately 😉
Pretty much true, except for the healthcare.
Lets just say the healthcare may be free, but could cost you your life……
Bullshit! You could not be futher away from the truth…
Well, if it should be truly equal, the girl should open the door herself, pull out the chair herself and wash her own dish – Same goes for the guy. I am a dane, but I always open the door for girls – And on dates, i alwats pull out her chair… I don\\’t care if it\\’s equal or not, it\\’s still being generous when you do small tasks 🙂
Only danes will ever read this post and only danes will finds this interesting…
Did you ever Wonder about what generalization Means?
Jamen and what about the danish flag, what you can see EVERYWHERE??!!!! 😀
Last point really says it all. 😉
Great list, some of these things I’ve never thought of. Like the sitting thing.
Only… the reason Danes pay for private hospitals is because they don’t want to risk their lives by going to public hospitals, which aren’t excellent at all. No matter who you compare us to, Denmark unfortunately has one of the worst health care systems in the world – though the theory behind the system is good, it works horribly.
We might be a stressed nation, but we are also known to be the happiest nation in the world. Properly to the fact we speak up when something is bothering us and not letting it stew for days, months or even years. However, this occasionally does offend others although that is not intentionally.
Jeg har laest ( og, nej jeg gider ikke fedte med æ,ø og å paa min US pc. ) det meste af svarene og blev mindet om hvorfor jeg forlod Danmark. De fleste svar fokuserede paa alderen for koeb/indtagelse af alkohol, pris paa bil eller stoerrelsen af SU og gramma !!!!!!! REALLY?. Jeg faldt over denne blog, blev nysgerrig men ser desvaerre den typiske danske fornaermelse og midelmaadige misundelse som de fleste svar viser. Megen snak om penge men ikke hvorfor. Der er to andre ting som kunne tilfoeres: 1. danskere er hylebange for at tilkendegive deres politiske holdning offentligt og 2. ingen toer roere ved den altoedelaeggende invation af fremmede. Danmark er under afvikling og ikke i udvikling. Tag et kig paa statens aarsvaerk og vaagn op. 5.5 mill. borgere hvor ca. 1 mill. skal traekke laesset holder ikke. Ikke engang med tiltag som ekstrem afgifter ala pose-afgift (1/4 milliard i aarlig indtaegt) el-paere afgifter X % af koeretoejer osv. osv kan det lade sig goere at broedfoede mere end + 4 mill. Free education siger i, ja men hvad er det vaerd naar statsministerens egne boern gaar i privatskole det er da daarlig reklame. Anyway Magnus du har ramt de fleste finurlighedder med din liste. Jeg er sikker paa jeg for et moegfald for dette indlaeg om ikke andet saa fra alle wannabe skolelaerene med gramma fiksering.
Men du havde alligevel behov for at ytre hvorfor du forlod DK 🙂
Alle er frie til at flytte, men så ryger brokke-muligheden sgu også.
Held og lykke over there! Og det er ikke ironisk.
Vh Peter
Okay danskere… Slaaaap af. Fordi en side er skrevet på engelsk behøver I ikke at gå helt amok over det, og skrive engelsk, som om det er en international nyhed, der er delt flere hundrede gange blandt forskellige lande. Der er ikke andet end danskere der læser og kommenterer det her, så lad vær med at føl jer så international haha
Stramt nok? Du er med på at S.U er en forkortelse for Statens Uddannelsesstøtte… STØTTE! Hvis jeg havde magten annullerede jeg støtten til alle der klager over at den ikke er høj nok. Det er ikke meningen at S.U skal dække alle dine udgifter, det er blot et bidrag til at gøre livet som studerende lidt nemmere. Man er jo mere end velkommen til at finde et studiejob ved siden af, og hvis man ikke mener man kan overskue det, eller blot er for doven er der også muligheden for at få et af de mest fordelagtige lån her i landet ved siden af. Desuden har du mulighed for at flytte på kollegie hvor huslejen kan være en del mindre end 3-4000 kr i måneden. Du kan også leje et værelse. Hvis du partout vil bo inde i en af de store studiebyer hvor huslejen er højere, ja så er det en prioritering du selv har lavet og det må du betale for. I mange tilfælde kan man jo vælge at flytte til en forstad hvor huslejen er væsentlig mindre og så pendle til dit studiested. Jeg bliver SÅ harm når danske studerende brokker sig over de luksuriøse muligheder vi har her i landet når det gælder uddannelse.. Den der mig, mig, mig og jeg har ret til.. attitude skal bare pakkes langt væk. For ikke så længe siden blev der skrevet det her fuldstændigt naive indlæg i politiken som jeg kun har hovedrysten til overs for:http://politiken.dk/debat/debatindlaeg/ECE2382446/det-er-ikke-sandt-at-vi-har-gratis-uddannelse-for-alle-i-danmark/Og jeg er selv studerende og har været det de sidste 5 år så jeg ved godt hvordan det er.
Her er en til: Danskere elsker at læse facts om dem selv..Det er virkelig sjovt at alle skriver på engelsk selvom det kun er danskere der læser det :\’)
I\’m sorry, but I have to say, A LOT of the social ones (which most of them are) don\’t just apply to Denmark. Saying you\’re not drunk when you are. Not saying hi to a person you met the night before. Not closing your jacket in the Winter because you want to look cool. W Not intiating conversation with random people if sober. Really? Those have nothing to do with being a dane. They are personal confidence issues that you\’ll find in any bloody country.
– Nydheder handler ikke om politik passer vist ikke rigtig.
– At stundenter holder afslutningsfest før de er færdige passer kun halvt, der festes vel før og er studenterdage osv.. men der er altid en dimension.
– Ordet hygge er vel ligesom i alle lande. Det er en subjektiv mening om hvad hygge er..
– At forlade en pub fordi de ikke er sidde pladser sker vist kun i de helt store byer.. Har hverken oplevet det i Aalborg eller andre mindre byer, hvor folk forlader et sted fordi de ikke kan sidde ned.
– Den med hospitalerne fortæller vist lidt mere om vente tiden og at der er mangler på det offentlige, end det gør om danskerne.
Ellers meget sjov liste, med mange sandheder 🙂
**** Danes CAN get up to 1000USD pr. month for studying, depending on the circumstances ****
Most get a lot less. I’ve only seen people get that if they have moved away from their parents.
I find to much of it to be wrong. It sounds like it is 10 to 20 people it is based on. It is like say, that alle from USA is fat or all germans is a nazi or say that all men are the same. I think you get the point. So if you are not from Denmark and think that is true then travel and see for you self, because we not all like told.
Sorry, but you forgot one!!! …………Danes think it’s really strange that someone from a different country, would actually take the time, making a list about what weird stuff danes do 😉
Want to upset a Dane? Critizise (their) humor!
They’ll act in a way you’d only see people who are religious react towards criticism of their religion…
=> There’s no religion in Denmark. But humor is religion!!
Actually: Just mention religion to a Dane. They’d react like you told them about the morning poo you had. Too personal for a Dane, that.
And then there’s the whole getting invited into a Danes home-thing.
Does not apply to students, but for settled adults… Forget about it! (Except from rural areas, but most foreigners won’t go there).
1000 USD?!
How and where do you get those money from?
– I’m only getting about 200 USD.
This mean i’m only half Dane?
First half is true.
2nd half is NOT like me.
And a few of the last ones, like number four from the end is only 50/50. We got age restrictions. But yes you see drunk people at the age of 15, and it is also easy to get 16,5% We got more restriction. And you can’t go to a club without ID that show you are 18.
So this is only half true. Not all danes are like this. And i know many who are, as i know who arrent.
As far as I know, you actually have to be 16 years as well to drink alcohol in public places. The law is just not enforced.
Det er nu blevet til over 256 kommentarer, der strækker sig over flere måneder (fra februar til oktober).
Her er ingen emner urørte – alt er vist blevet debatteret:
fra ‘den kønsmæssige (u)ligestilling’ til ‘danskernes ungdummelige drikkevaner’,
fra ‘dovne og ugidelige studerende med skyhøje månedlige indtægter’ til ’danskernes ulykkelige lykke’,
fra ’den totalt – næsten uforklarlige – (u)hyggelige gæstfrihed’ til ‘at huske at sætte et “m” mere i “gramatik” og et punktum efter hver sætning’!
90 % af indlæggene har været på det anerkendte og elskede sprog ’denglish’ (som jo selvfølgelig nok skyldes den massive tilstrømning af internationale læsere og debattører – som forstår ’denglish’!), ca. 30 % har omhandlet vikinger, svenskere, perfekte regeringsledere og andre fantasidyr og omtrent 5 % vasker ikke fingre efter, at de har været i karbad. FØJ!
Det er nu meget morsomt at observere folks adfærd så snart, at det handler om os selv. Man må konkludere, at når det kommer til dét at være dansk, så har alle en mening…..på nettet…..bag et dæknavn….uden et billede!
ADVARSEL: Der kan forekomme ironi, dobbeltmorale og andre ubehageligheder (som eks. gramatiske fegl og M4T3M4T1SK3 G3N1STR3G3R) i denne kommentar. Man er velkommen til at kommentere på denne besked, men jeg sætter altså grænsen ved komplimenter!!!
You could remove the ones that are not unique to the danish community. Such as *Riding a bicycle in the winter is considered normal in Denmark. (think that is seen elsewhere aswell) * Danes are usually very relaxed about sex. Having sex at 15 is very normal. Having sex even earlier isn’t that uncommon either. (Europe much?) * Danes don’t like initiating a casual conversation with strangers on the street – unless they are drunk, of course. (Anyone in the world?) * Want to upset a Dane? Compare them to a Swede. (A norwegian?) * Danes get confused and embarrassed if you compliment them. (other small countries?) And some of them are simply not true. Its not normal in the part of Denmark im from at least. * Danish students get approx. 1000 USD/month studying, and access to free education (even universities). And still bitch about it. (Not a lot of bitching) * Danes love their scarves. You even see guys in clubs wearing scarves. (Probably only in Copenhagen) * Danish boys think that grabbing ass in the club is the same as shaking hands. (They would get beat up) Other than that, pretty accurate, at bit harsh. But sure.
Not really…
Totally agree. Most statements are spot-on!! Let me add a few more danish quirks:Even if it\’s 2.30 AM and there\’s not a car in sight, most danes will obidiently wait for green before crossing the road!Before the smokinglaws were initiated, smokers were untouchables..! You would be looked on, as a weirdo and complainer, if you spoke agains 2ndhand smoking. Smoking was as holy as breathing!!We love handball….a sport totally unfamilliar in most english speaking countries!We eat just about anything from the pig. Liver, skin, tale, feet…you name it!!All our churches are almost empty on sundays all year round. On christmas eve, there\’s full house and often a line of people who can\’t get in!!
That is not entirely true. There are laws against buying alcohol. You can buy the weakest stuff after sixteen and then at eighteen you can buy everything including cigarettes but there is no age limit to when you can drink alcohol. The same thing actually goes for cigarettes too as you can smoke whenever you want you just can\\’t buy them until you\\’re eighteen.
Meh… A few facts, A lot of assumptions and even more mythical facts based on the authors own behaviour or that of friend (I recon). Not really accurate or fun at all.
Danes puts salt on food without even tasting it – I do not believe that this is true for most Danes.
Want to upset a Dane? Compare them to a Swede – Not entirely true either. You do not upset them, but it is a great way to get a conversation going.
Danish news is either about politics or shows on TV – No entirely true either. There are a lot of other stuff like economy, local history and trends.
Danes get confused and embarrassed if you compliment them – Some do, others don’t.
Danish media goes mental when a Dane is on CNN or Oprah – This goes for whenever a Dane is successful abroad.
Students have their graduation party before the graduation – That really depends on the graduation.
Danes think you are a creep if you smile at a stranger’s baby – This I haven’t experienced.
Riding a bicycle in the winter is considered normal in Denmark.
Danes can’t agree upon what the national dish is. Help me out here?
Danes love their scarves. You even see guys in clubs wearing scarves – That is restricted for a certain type of Danes.
Danish boys think that grabbing ass in the club is the same as shaking hands – Again, this is restricted to a certain type of danish boys.
If it’s cozy, it’s called “Hygge” – and no Dane can explain exactly what that is – Oh yes they can. And have done so numerous times.
Danes love their Licorice: Candies, gum, ice cream, food, drinks – anything goes – except does who do not.
Danes will leave a pub or a bar if there is no place to sit. Sitting is important. Definately not true. I have been to numerous bars where people have stood. No one left in a hurry.
Danes never ever sit next to someone on a bus if there is a free seat anywhere else- This is also true for most english speaking countries.
If a Dane wants to be “undaned” and move abroad they are taxed approx. 50% of their assets.
Danes that buy a car end up paying almost 2 times the cars value in taxes and charges.
Danish people have excellent free healthcare but still pay to go to private hospitals. Only people that have a good amount of money and this trend has died out, I think.
Danes celebrate religious holidays (Christmas and Easter) by brewing an extra strong beer. Well, Danish breweries do this.
Danes are proud – and makes sure to point that out – each time they see a MAERSK container abroad.
Danes loves bathtubs as most people don’t have them. And when they do, they rarely use them.
Danish people can be your best friends when they are drunk. The next day they don’t even say “Hi”. Not true either.
Many Danes don’t close/zip their coat even in the winter time… They would rather be cold than look uncool!
Ask a totally wasted Dane if he or she is drunk and the answer will most certainly be “No no no no no, not at all!”
Danes don’t like initiating a casual conversation with strangers on the street – unless they are drunk, of course.
Have this weird folk-law/logic saying, “Don’t think you’re anything special – You’re no better than the rest of us”.
Majority of Danes do not like wearing bright colors during autumn/winter. Wear a red coat and you will be stared upon.
Danes have sooooo many religions holidays – but few Danes very rarely practice or even believe in any specific religion.
Equality is important. That’s why most Danish guys don’t open the doors for a girl or take her bag if it’s heavy (come on guys!). Not true either.
Danes are usually very relaxed about sex. Having sex at 15 is very normal. Having sex even earlier isn’t that uncommon either.
Danes get 5 weeks paid holiday a year, and a 37 hour work week… and we are still some of the most stressed people in the world.
Danish students get approx. 1000 USD/month studying, and access to free education (even universities). And still bitch about it. I don’t believe this to be true. Most students know how fortunate they are.
Danes get EXTREMELY proud if you mention us winning the European Football Championship in 1992. This is our nation’s proudest moment!
Danes buys 5 good beers, then cheap stuff for the rest of the party, thinking “I’m going be drunk and don’t really care about the taste then”. This is certainly too specific to apply to all.
Danes are hysterical about hygiene, but apparently do not mind having birthday cakes candles blown out by people with no control of their saliva.
There are basically two types of Danes… The ones that buy their Christmas gifts at the latest possible time, and the one that buys them in October. And then there are all the people who buy them in November and early December….
There is no age restriction on drinking alcohol in Denmark. Seeing drunk 15 year-olds in the streets (weekends) on their way to parties is a pretty normal sight. There IS a age restriction!
If you’re at a party, approach a Dane, give him/her a hug and ask “So long, how have you been?” – Most Danes will be confused but play along for quite some time, embarrassed to tell they don’t know you.
Danes hate surprise visits. We don’t know how to handle unexpected guests. Please, call a week in advance to set something up – even though you are childhood friends and see each other all the time anyway.
Danes have no problem with self-irony and being laughed a
Weird? haha I’d say you’re fucking idiots, robots who despise anything human and natural for people. If it weren’t for alcohol you wouldn’t be able to socialise like human beings. Which brings me to the fact – going out means getting drunk. The same goes for the whole scandinavia.
måske du skulle prøve med research først. der er mange ting der er helt forkerte. du har ret i mange af tingene ang. københavnere. men ikke vest- og sønderjyder. meget gæstfrie, meget venlige, og vil da bestemt snakke hvis der er noget at snakke om. vi har ingen problemer med at betale ekstra for biler, da det giver os en af verdens laveste dødsrater indenfor trafik, og selvfølgelig spiller vi med hvis du giver et kram og siger \”længe siden\” da vi sikkert har mødtes engang, det vil sikkert gå således: maybe you should try a bit of research before typing all this. there is a lot of things wrong. you are right about alot in relation to people from copenhagen. but regarding people from west- or southern \”jutland\” you are sooooo wrong. we love guests, very very kind and ofc. we wanna talk to strangers… if there is something to talk about… we dont have a problem paying extra for cars, cause it gives us one of the lowest death ratios in the world (in trafic)… and ofcause we play along if you hug us and say \”long time no see\” when we are drunk… –>hej… long time ago… — play along, play along, play along — actually we never met…… \”ohh!!! that explains a lot… i thought i had a shot\”
Not all of this is entirely true, but a lot of it is close enough.One thing is that there actually is an age limit to buy alcohol (I know you wrote drink). Just so people don\’t confuse thouse two things.
Danes idea on having a good time with the family is all about eating!
When two danish men have to spend more than 5 minutes together, the issue of wether to have a beer or not to have a beer always comes up!
I would add that they put sugar on foods that really wouldn\’t call for it pretty much anywhere else in the world. Like on potatoes, pickles, cabbage and herring. Though yogurt is sugar free coz sugar is bad for ya 🙂
Hvis det nu rent faktisk var en udenlandsk der havde skrevet det….istedet for at det kommer fra en dansker selv lol. Hov det var ikke meningen det skulle have stået på dansk i dette internationale kæmpeforum.
Most danes tend to take things that apply to basicaly half of the world and try desperately to make it unique to themselves, just like half of the things here. Or the fact that a hotdog is considered a traditional danish meal, even though it originaly comes from Germany. And the alcohol part, danes are weak as hell and their “strong beer” is 4,7%.
But that’s none of my business.
Last November I had an MR scan scheduled…for March 19th. I\\\’d say that was quite a lengthy wait, and not exactly years ago. Funny someone typing \\\’dude\\\’ into an Internet comment calling someone else an idiot.
I do
Jeg viste det til min familie i Australien, og de fandt det bare sjovt. Umiddelbart synes jeg det er dumt, at hidse sig så meget op over det. Ta\’ det med et gran salt, som vi danskere er blevet opdraget med. Jeg er stolt over at være dansk, men vi har altså en masse sære ting, det må vi erkende! :-)Men smil blot over dem, for vi er anderledes på nogle punkter, men hellere unormal end helt normal!
I do not agree. I think this stupid, generalising , untrue and insulting.You can not put all danes in a box, thinking that 7 million people are all like the ones you have been hanging around with. All people are different.This is just plain dumb.
…. De fleste er rigtige nok, men nogle af dem har jeg aldrig oplevet.
Og det dér med opførsel i byen…. hvor fanden har du været i byen????
i did realize a few of the stereotypes mentioned above but yea no Dane is absolutly typical there\’s some who are like this and like that so yea but thats a good joke and laugh you made there nice one !
Det passer for nogle dele af Danmark, men ikke alle. Sådan er jo det med alle ting.
\”1000 USD/month\” – passer jo ikke for andre end udeboende som alligevel arbejder i fritiden. Hjemme boende får mellem 1300 Dkk og 5000 dkk, mindre med de nye satser.\” no age restriction on drinking alcohol in Denmark\”- der er aldersgrænser for salg/køb af alkohol… det er bare butikkerne der aldrig tjekker ID selvom de burde.Køb af alkohol indtil 16,5% : 16 år. Køb af alkohol over 16,5% : 18 år
Add this one.. :)Many danish choose to either wear shorts all the year or only in the winter. (For the looks) 😛
So true so true. Skide god liste 😀 😀
The word \’police\’ is a collective noun. \’Police\’ is always plural.
It isn’t an excellent free health care system. It is a taxpayer funded drain of money providing second rate treatment opttions.
Danes really enjoy anything that starts with: …..”we are the best at —– whatever”
Danes firmly believe that everybody should listen to their five pence worth of advice or wisdom.
Lack of knowledge or experience has never stopped a Dane from having an opinion or some advice ready to share.
Danes expect the state to sort out most things and love talking about the alledge benefit of said systems.
Danes firmly believe they are the best at everything and never really miss an opportunity to mention this little known fact
What doesn\’t kill you makes you stronger. 🙂
omg yah.. i lived in denmark once.. some people did ask me if they could buy a cigarette from me for 3 kr.. even though i knew them. i told them i don\’t wanna have money they could get it for free. and they got mad and said. no because when you need one, you will say that i owe you one.danish people are really nærig. and i dont like when people are like that..
Sorry to say, men vi er et af de ikke-engelsktalende folkeslag i verden, der er bedst til engelsk. Engelsktalende bliver helt lykkelige, når de skal spørge en dansker om vej på gaden, for næsten alle forstår rent faktisk, hvad de siger.Og hvad angår grammatikken er de engelsktalende vist ikke meget bedre selv. Jeg krummer ofte tæer, når jeg ser nogle af de samtaler, engelsktalende fører på Facebook.Så kan en dansker også have nogle slå- og grammatikfejl, men giv nu folk en chance. Der er jo en god grund til at det står på engelsk – de vil også have ikke-danskere til at læse dette.
kan ikke være mere enig, og så endda om så simpel en ting som at holde døren for hinanden, og sætte fokus på ligestilling…
I don’t want to paint all Danes with the same brush, but pretty much every single one I’ve ever met (there is a fair amount) can’t take a harmless joke, act completely superior to everyone else and are presumptious assholes… I’ve met two who were good guys, so if I am to generalize. Yes, Danes are weird, and most are assholes…
You are missing Dybbøl-traumet that says that: the danes think that Denmark is a small country that nothing can.
If a Dane wants to be “undaned” and move abroad they are taxed approx. 50% of their assets.
Where do you have this from? Never heard about it.
Danes that buy a car end up paying almost 2 times the cars value in taxes and charges.
If you want a good car, then taxes can go up to 180%.
Google: Fraflytningsbeskatning (eller “Havelågebeskatning”)
That\’s probably caused by the fact the danish verb form doesn\’t change for plural subjects.It\’s like Google Translate, direct translation of the word without checking the grammar ;-)BTW: I\’m Dutch and have a lot of friends in Denmark (mainly Aalborg), so I recognize most of them.
Sooo thru, looking at the younger people, they are kids of parents from the 60th. and that is what came out of that, take a look around the country, not just Copenhagen, as this is were all that stuff happens, this is not common for the rest of the country, so before making that announcement, take a hike and see the rest of the country, have a talk with people around and have a taste of the rest, then you can say what ever, but couple of month in Denmark and Copenhagen does not give you anything knowledge about Danes, so let us hear your whole story before this shit, there are a lot more to it then that. On the other side, younger people should take a look at this, consider if that is the way the rest of the world is seeing them as such, then it is shameful to be a Dane, and they really should man them up and show that this is NOT the way Danes are. WE ARE PROUD TO BE DANES!!! and we pay our taxes with pride, as we still have social security no matter what.
A few I found living in Denmark for a year:
– Danes do not use the right lane on the high way
– Danes do not give right of way (I used to almost crash into cars while driving on the parking lot. They have a common understanding of what the “main” road is, not known by anyone else. I think it has to do with the with of the road.. not sure though)
– Don’t you dare to be not efficient at the grosserie store check out
I have been reading most of the comments and well one more thing for the list comes to mind. Danes are slightly obsessed with details at least when you make a funny list about us…….:D
I am only writing in english because I dont have a danish keyboard…..so sorry in advance….lol
Oliver M try to check how long you have to wait for a CT og MR scan in Aalborg or Odense http://esundhed.dk/sundhedskvalitet/NIV/NIV/Sider/Venteinfo.aspxalot of the services of general interest in Denmark are the same level as in a 3. world country but is typical danish to think they have the best of everything 🙂
Some says it is because you need to have an IQ above 30 to open a door.
You forgot this one
Danes are the biggest Islamophobes in Scandinavia.
Hold da lige kæft. Der er ikke nogen, der er bange for islam. De er bange for sorte mennesker, der laver ballade og ikke vil integrere sig i det Danske samfund. og så fucking videre. og så fucking videre.
Ha’ en god dag ik?
100% rigtigt…
1) Danes have this irony and sarcasm that only we understands. other people would take it personal.2) danes don´t smoke unless they are drunk and there is a party. then everybody smokes, even those who don´t like it you can rewrite them if you want 🙂
I honestly don’t think that the media would give a shit.
YES , In Denmark we have (or just heard the fact that we used to…), but very recently (months) the stupid danish nation were a proud country with LEGAL ANIMAL BROTHELS, and its illegal to smoke a joint, hmmmmmm , you can rape a hamster but not smoke a spliff? DANISH DENIAL! AMOR!
Errh no.
It’s illegal to do harm to animals in Denmark, raping an animal the size of a hamster would most likely be doing harm to the poor thing… Unless your penis is a tiny hamster penis that is. Besides, people sick enough to want to have sex with an animal will most likely do this whether it is illegal or not. Just because something isn’t illegal doesn’t mean it is ok or acceptable in a society. The same is true the other way around, some things that are illegal by law is acceptable in the general society.
Så er jeg ikke dansk? Over halv delen af det passer ikke til mig?
5500DKK (about 935USD$) While living on your own (paying rent and all). 2800DKK When you are living with your parents. Those are just about right for the max amount of money that you can get from SU during your education. (I got max during HF, hehe) The amount you get depends on the income of your parents. In Denmark, the state wants the parents to support the children for as long as possible, instead of making the state do it for them. Thus, the more money your parents make, the less you get from the state during your education. When sent to a work place for study and practice, you get PAID a special form of pay instead of receiving SU from the state. Here the normal is to get 9000, being the most normal, and even more, depending on the subject you choose. This one, is not affected by what your parents make monthly. Veeery sweet, loooots of pie 😛 some examples to the people whom get this sort of pay in periods of their education, could be:hair dressers (of any kind), handymen (of any kind), mechanics and such.. many, many.. really. mostly the \”low\” educations, where the resulting job does not pay super well, but just well.soo, hope people got jealous! I\’m a lacy ass, good looking, tax money pumping, young and uncontrollable brat living in Denmark.. a country with so much social care, that even all the junkies that I am acquainted with, are living the good life.. and i am proud of all of it at that! HAH! x\’DPS. add this to your list.. Many Danes don\’t really care about flunking a year or two, because one: hey, shits free! Or said in another manor. two: you can\’t waist time.. (it\’s all part of the \”hygge\” thing that none of us can explain any better than \”cozy-ness\” or \”feeling good\”). 😉
Shitty list.
Half of this list is either directly untrue or a generic description of general behavior in western society.
It is very important for Danes what the rest of the world think of them. It once made the front page when Dolly Parton said that she loved Danish audiences. Jeremy Clarkson was on national TV and the interviewer used most of the time questioning the man about his opinion of Denmark. Currently no word about the F1 driver Kevin Magnussen goes unnoticed, and is duly reported in the Danish press.
nah, man. i dont think that is exactly true…i recall my old history teacher telling us about this at school, and he told us that every craftsmen were allowed to bear swords, in case the damn swedes come. it was hyped a couple of years ago because a crafstman realised this and that the law was still valid, so he walked through the streets with a sword and people called the cops but they couldnt do anything about it. it was all legit.
Danes are also the strangest group of people I have ever come across in my 10 years in London. I have met up to 20 random Danes, most of them men, a VERY weird bunch. Swedes are cool, friendly, easy going, Danes are robots, cyborgs, unfriendly, the sort of people who would never go out of their way to help a stranger, even an old lady.
They are very self absorbed, selfish, generally think they are better looking than they really are (Norwegians and Swedes not only look better and trendier, but are also more polite)
I noticed that Danes in London are NOT popular amongst the English and other nationalities. They are usually the strange or weird guy, hence they stick with other Danes when they leave Denmark. They are almost identical to Germans its scary.
Danish women don’t have a feminine cell in their body. Cold robotic stern quarterback looking chicks who don’t stand out in London. I am no fan of English women but even they are preferable over Danes.
Danes, a group not work knowing in general. If anyone is interested in Scandinavians, my advise would be to skip Denmark and Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, etc are a MUCH better lot 🙂
Toodles.
This is great – and true! I wish I could say Swedes are better but….
Sadly, true…One of the most confusing thing is trying to figure out Danish men.You staring at me with those blue eyes making one think you are interested but don\\’t do anything about it. And then maybe after months you hear through the grapevine that \\”THAT\\” danish guy had the biggest crush on you.??
Jeg hader det når jeg skal helt til bunden for at dele min mening. No GW no CC Gen 8:22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
Helt enig, mega pinligt.
Danes have the biggest collective inferiority complex in the world. They strongly remind me of the old Eastern Block countries that always cheated to look better to the West than they really were, in order to proove that their way of life was superior. In Denmark cheating and lying to look good to the rest of the world is a popular sport, they even fake their statistics to look better on paper. Lived in this country for far too long, and with every passing day I thank God more for not being born Danish, for not having that lazy-bum attitude, for not being small minded, arrogant, humourless, and completely overwhelmed by everything that acts, looks, or smells different than myself. I thank God that I can be happy and be myself around others without a 2 per mill blood-alcohol-level, and that I grew up in a society where politeness and thoughtfulness are seen as the appreciation of others and not as the degradation of my tiny ego. Really, everyone not born to Danish parents should thank the universe several times daily for its generosity of not exposing them to this tragic fate.