Danish word of the day: Ajourføre

What is ajourføre? 

The verb ajourføre (pronunciation below) means to “supply with new information to thereby ensure actuality and accordance with the latest development”, according to the dictionary.

The first part of the word is loaned from the French à jour, meaning “up to date”.

This is followed by føre, a suffix seen on various Danish verbs to denote a form of action. Examples of this include at gennemføre (“to complete”) and at udføre (“to conduct [a task]”).

Putting these together, at ajourføre is to complete the process of making something up-to-date.

Why do I need to know ajourføre?

It's meaning is not exactly the same as “to update”, for which you can use a different Danish verb, at opdatere, as in jeg har opdateret indstillingerne på min computer (“I’ve updated the settings on my computer”).

Ajourføre refers more to the process of making sure something is in-line with its most recent version and can refer to something like record keeping as well as technology.

You could opdatere something without making it the newest version. This is not the case with ajourføre, where the most recent development is implicit in the word.

Pronunciation

Easier if you speak French and know how to pronounce jour (day), ajourføre is approximately pronounced “a-joour-fur”, with the “j” given the French-style “zh” sound and “fur” pronounced similarly to how you would say “fur coat” (but don’t pronounce the “r”).

Example

Virksomheder er forpligtet til at ajourføre sikkerhedsdokumenter hver femte år.

Companies are obliged to ensure security documents are up-to-date every five years.