Danish word of the day: Træls
Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Unsplash and Nicolas Raymond/FlickR
For one of those days when things just aren’t going your way.
What is træls?
Træls belongs to local dialects in Jutland, although it’s also very common to hear it in Copenhagen – not least because of all the “eksiljyder” or “exile Jutes” who relocate from Jutland to the capital to study or work.
It may have roots in the old Norse word træl, which, according to the dictionary, was used to describe people who were captured on Viking raids in other countries and then brought back to Viking Scandinavia and forced into labour.
A related verb, at trælle, meaning to work hard under appalling conditions, is an archaic term that can be found in Danish translations of the Bible.
The modern træls does not have such dark connotations and is used as an adjective to describe something annoying, tiresome, exasperating, inconvenient or just plain boring.
Why do I need to know træls?
If you want to throw a regional word into your everyday Danish to try and sound like a local, træls is probably the best choice of all.
It will be understood by everyone and people in Jutland in particular will be impressed at your use of local slang. This applies with Danes of all ages, since træls is a word used by all generations (but is probably a bit more popular with older age groups).
It’s a light word that can be used seriously or ironically to describe a situation. You can also call a person træls if they are a bit of a drag. Although calling someone træls to their face is possibly the only way you could use the word to cause offence.
Pronunciation
Træls is not the easiest word to pronounce because of the ‘r’, which is pronounced as a guttural r sound from the back of the throat. Think of how ‘r’ is spoken in French when it occurs in the middle of a word (like “Paris”) – it’s more or less the same in many Danish words, including træls.
The ‘æ’ in this word sounds close to a regular ‘a’, giving us “trra-l-s”.
Examples
Jeg får altid tekniske problemer med min email og skal oprette et nyt kodeord. Det er virkelig træls.
I keep getting technical problems with my email and have to reset the password. It’s very annoying.
Nu bliver vejret koldt og gråt igen. Det synes jeg er træls.
The weather is getting cold and grey again. I find it dull.
Christian afbryder hele tiden, når jeg holder oplæg. Jeg synes han er træls.
Christian always interrupts when I’m giving a presentation. I think he’s a bore.
Comments
See Also
What is træls?
Træls belongs to local dialects in Jutland, although it’s also very common to hear it in Copenhagen – not least because of all the “eksiljyder” or “exile Jutes” who relocate from Jutland to the capital to study or work.
It may have roots in the old Norse word træl, which, according to the dictionary, was used to describe people who were captured on Viking raids in other countries and then brought back to Viking Scandinavia and forced into labour.
A related verb, at trælle, meaning to work hard under appalling conditions, is an archaic term that can be found in Danish translations of the Bible.
The modern træls does not have such dark connotations and is used as an adjective to describe something annoying, tiresome, exasperating, inconvenient or just plain boring.
Why do I need to know træls?
If you want to throw a regional word into your everyday Danish to try and sound like a local, træls is probably the best choice of all.
It will be understood by everyone and people in Jutland in particular will be impressed at your use of local slang. This applies with Danes of all ages, since træls is a word used by all generations (but is probably a bit more popular with older age groups).
It’s a light word that can be used seriously or ironically to describe a situation. You can also call a person træls if they are a bit of a drag. Although calling someone træls to their face is possibly the only way you could use the word to cause offence.
Pronunciation
Træls is not the easiest word to pronounce because of the ‘r’, which is pronounced as a guttural r sound from the back of the throat. Think of how ‘r’ is spoken in French when it occurs in the middle of a word (like “Paris”) – it’s more or less the same in many Danish words, including træls.
The ‘æ’ in this word sounds close to a regular ‘a’, giving us “trra-l-s”.
Examples
Jeg får altid tekniske problemer med min email og skal oprette et nyt kodeord. Det er virkelig træls.
I keep getting technical problems with my email and have to reset the password. It’s very annoying.
Nu bliver vejret koldt og gråt igen. Det synes jeg er træls.
The weather is getting cold and grey again. I find it dull.
Christian afbryder hele tiden, når jeg holder oplæg. Jeg synes han er træls.
Christian always interrupts when I’m giving a presentation. I think he’s a bore.
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