Master the Danish modal verbs kan, skal, vil, må, bør and tør, the irregular verbs you use every day. Watch out for false friends: "skal" often means "have to" or "am going to", and "må ikke" means "must not".
at kunne: jeg kan
to be able to: I can
at skulle: jeg skal
to have to, to be going to: I must, I'm going to
at ville: jeg vil
to want to: I want to
at måtte: jeg må
to be allowed to, must: I may, I must
at burde: jeg bør
ought to: I should
at turde: jeg tør
to dare: I dare
Jeg kan tale tre sprog
I can speak three languages
Kan du hjælpe mig?
Can you help me?
Jeg kan ikke komme i morgen
I can't come tomorrow
Kan jeg betale med kort?
Can I pay by card?
Han kan dansk
He knows Danish
Jeg skal på arbejde
I have to go to work
Du skal udfylde blanketten
You have to fill in the form
Vi skal flytte i maj
We're going to move in May
Hvad skal du lave i weekenden?
What are you doing at the weekend?
Skal vi tage en kop kaffe?
Shall we have a cup of coffee?
Du skal ikke bekymre dig
Don't worry
Jeg vil gerne have en kop te
I'd like a cup of tea
Jeg vil lære dansk
I want to learn Danish
Hun vil ikke spise
She doesn't want to eat
Vil du med i biografen?
Do you want to come to the cinema?
Må jeg komme ind?
May I come in?
Man må ikke ryge her
You're not allowed to smoke here
Du må gerne sidde her
You're welcome to sit here
Jeg må hellere gå nu
I'd better go now
Du bør tale med din læge
You should talk to your doctor
Man bør cykle med hjelm
You should wear a helmet when cycling
Jeg tør ikke sige det
I don't dare say it
Jeg kunne ikke sove i nat
I couldn't sleep last night
Jeg skulle hente børnene
I had to pick up the children
Han ville ikke komme
He didn't want to come
Vi måtte vente i to timer
We had to wait for two hours
Du burde have ringet
You should have called
Kunne du lukke vinduet?
Could you close the window?
Ville du have noget imod at vente?
Would you mind waiting?
Jeg skal til samtale på jobcentret
I have a meeting at the job centre
Du skal logge på med MitID
You have to log in with MitID
Man skal huske at tjekke e-Boks
You have to remember to check e-Boks
Jeg vil gerne søge om statsborgerskab
I'd like to apply for citizenship
Jeg skal op til Prøve i Dansk 3.
I'm going to take Danish Test 3.
Det kan godt være
That may well be
Det må du undskylde
I'm sorry about that
Hvad skal det koste?
How much will it cost?