Speak Danish clearly: free pronunciation test
Find out how clear your Danish pronunciation is. Take the free Danish pronunciation test, get a score for every word you say, and learn the sounds Danish learners find hardest, from the soft d and the R to the stød.
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The hardest Danish sounds for learners
Many vowels
Danish has more vowel sounds than most languages, and small differences change words: læse (to read), løse (to solve), lyse (to shine). Ø is like 'e' said with rounded lips, y is 'ee' with rounded lips, and å is close to the o in 'more' without the r. Many words differ only in the vowel, so listen closely and copy native audio.
The soft d
After a vowel, d is usually soft: the tip of the tongue rests behind the lower front teeth and the sound comes out close to the th in 'the', but lighter (mad, god, brød, hvad). In some words the d is silent, as in land, mand and kold. A hard d appears at the start of a syllable: dag, Danmark.
The Danish R
At the start of a syllable, r is made deep in the throat, a light friction like a soft gargle (Rasmus, rundt, rød). After a vowel it is not a consonant at all, just a darker vowel sound: kører, hurtigt, mor. Never roll it with the tip of the tongue.