Danish word of the day: Fornem
Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Unsplash and Nicolas Raymond/FlickR
Add a touch of class to your vocabulary with today’s word.
What is fornem?
The adjective fornem has its roots the in Lower German word vorneme, and thereby makes use of for, a suffix which often means “before” or “in front of”.
Nehmen is “to take” in German, with connotations of being something you choose in preference to something else. For example, when ordering a coffee to-go in German you can say mitnehmen, “to take with”.
The meaning of fornem has a few nuances, all related to being something respectable or of high quality.
It can be used to describe someone who excels in their field in the same way you might say “a prominent researcher” in English. Close to this, it can be a thing recognised as the pinnacle of its type: the Opera House in Copenhagen might be described as blandt Københavns fornemste bygninger (“among Copenhagen’s finest buildings”).
You could also have the pleasure of visiting et fornemt sted (“an upmarket place”) like a fine dining restaurant.
The word has a homograph to be aware of to avoid confusion: the imperative form of the verb at fornemme (“to sense”) is fornem. They are pronounced differently (more on pronunciation below): the adjective places stress on the first syllable, the verb on the second syllable.
Why do I need to know fornem?
In addition to the meanings above, it can be used as a disarming compliment or way of saying thank you to someone.
For example, if you place an order at a café and the bar staff bring it over to where you are sitting, you can tell them you consider their service fornem by saying something like det er fornemt, tak (“that’s very classy, thank you”).
If you are invited to a meal at the house of a friend or family member, you can complement the host when you see the prepared meal ready at the table by saying ej, hvor fornemt (“ooh, it looks classy”) or det ser fornemt ud (“this looks very fancy”).
Pronunciation
Approximate pronunciation: Place the stress on the first syllable and pronounce as it is spelt: “Four-nem”.
Examples
Jeg var på rundtur ved Amalienborg Slot forleden. Det hele var ekstremt fornemt.
I went on a guided tour of Amalienborg Palace the other day. It was all extremely posh.
Tak for fornem service.
Thank you for the excellent service.
Comments
See Also
What is fornem?
The adjective fornem has its roots the in Lower German word vorneme, and thereby makes use of for, a suffix which often means “before” or “in front of”.
Nehmen is “to take” in German, with connotations of being something you choose in preference to something else. For example, when ordering a coffee to-go in German you can say mitnehmen, “to take with”.
The meaning of fornem has a few nuances, all related to being something respectable or of high quality.
It can be used to describe someone who excels in their field in the same way you might say “a prominent researcher” in English. Close to this, it can be a thing recognised as the pinnacle of its type: the Opera House in Copenhagen might be described as blandt Københavns fornemste bygninger (“among Copenhagen’s finest buildings”).
You could also have the pleasure of visiting et fornemt sted (“an upmarket place”) like a fine dining restaurant.
The word has a homograph to be aware of to avoid confusion: the imperative form of the verb at fornemme (“to sense”) is fornem. They are pronounced differently (more on pronunciation below): the adjective places stress on the first syllable, the verb on the second syllable.
Why do I need to know fornem?
In addition to the meanings above, it can be used as a disarming compliment or way of saying thank you to someone.
For example, if you place an order at a café and the bar staff bring it over to where you are sitting, you can tell them you consider their service fornem by saying something like det er fornemt, tak (“that’s very classy, thank you”).
If you are invited to a meal at the house of a friend or family member, you can complement the host when you see the prepared meal ready at the table by saying ej, hvor fornemt (“ooh, it looks classy”) or det ser fornemt ud (“this looks very fancy”).
Pronunciation
Approximate pronunciation: Place the stress on the first syllable and pronounce as it is spelt: “Four-nem”.
Examples
Jeg var på rundtur ved Amalienborg Slot forleden. Det hele var ekstremt fornemt.
I went on a guided tour of Amalienborg Palace the other day. It was all extremely posh.
Tak for fornem service.
Thank you for the excellent service.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.