The 13 Best Channels To Learn Danish On YouTube

For better or worse, YouTube is the go-to place for many of us, whether we want to take care of beautiful orchids, or remind ourselves how to tie a bowtie.

Learning Danish is no different in this respect. YouTube a site with many informative, entertaining and interesting Danish channels. But it's also a wall that anybody who wishes to can write on. Even perhaps, when they shouldn’t really have bothered.

Maybe you have experienced that there is a lot of rubbish present too? That's why I've compiled a baker’s dozen of channels to learn Danish on YouTube for mainly the language, but with a bit of culture and history thrown in too.

You'll find videos for beginners, intermediate and advanced learners, with different tones and perspectives. Here they are in no particular order.

You can use the table of contents below to jump straight to the channel that interests you the most. Otherwise, keep scrolling to discover the 13 best channels to learn Danish on YouTube.

1. Danish Mastery

Danish Mastery features a bit of everything. This Danish guy has been posting videos for his language learning channel for more than 10 years, so you can consider him a veteran in this field.

His channels offer shorter but useful entries, with topics like “Basic Danish phrases” or “Essential adverbs”, as well as longer ones (3-4 hours) that delve deeper into Danish grammar. 

Many of them also include Danish short stories (yes, dear old HC Andersen is again unavoidable), which he reads aloud, and then translates/explains, sentence by sentence.

As you can imagine, this is a rather time-consuming affair. But many people find this method of reading and listening very effective, and on top of that, you get a good story for your efforts.

I love learning and teaching with stories too. But I actually prefer to teach with stories at your level that you can understand, which is what you'll find in my course Danish Uncovered as well as my book, Short Stories in Danish.

Oh, and the host seems to fancy himself a bit of a comedian, but I guess the jury’s still out on that.

2. Danish Class101

Without a doubt the biggest learning channel on YouTube, there’s no escaping Danish Class101. It has an impressive number of playlists, made for everyone from the absolute beginner to the advanced learner. 

The sheer magnitude of the channel can make it challenging to find your way at first. But if you bother to search the playlists, you will find something that suits you perfectly.

Within a click or two, I managed to get both “Learn how to count to ten”, a two-minute video, to “Learn Danish while you sleep”, which lasts for 7 hours. I’m not sure how many people the latter will appeal to, but it shows the diversity this channel has to offer.

3. Wanna Learn Danish

Meet Cherlyn, your new Danish friend! Wanna Learn Danish is so welcoming, it’s hard to pass. The tone here is light-hearted, informal, young and fresh.

It focuses on expressions and phrases that can be really helpful, like slang your teachers didn’t tell you about.

You'll also find videos about making an appointment with your GP, or getting familiar with the codes when visiting a restaurant.

In other words, this is for the learner who wants to get practical, immediately useful Danish, not for those who’d rather go into depth with the conjugation of adjectives.

While speaking English to the viewer as a point of departure, Cherlyn's pronunciation of Danish is impeccable and clear.

Anyone learning Danish as a beginner will gain a lot from this, and her enthusiasm is inspiring and infectious. And she will tell you what the characters from Donald Duck are called in Danish. What more could you ask for?

4. In Danish

With its explanatory subtitles, In Danish is very good in several ways, I find. The host, Vik, unlike Cherlyn, speaks Danish with a slight accent.

Make no mistake, it is still very, very good Danish pronunciation, to a level any foreigner would be applauded for in Denmark.

It sort of adds a sense of authenticity, and will hopefully inspire anyone who’s scared of not being perfect, to give it a try. I mean, even Danes don’t speak some imagined perfect Danish, with all their dialects and regional vocabulary. 

Vik has a brilliant grasp of Danish grammar and pronunciation, and points out the cases that usually cause trouble, like how mord (murder) and mor (mother), can seem inseparable to the non-Danish ear.

That fact that the host is not Danish, and not bilingual, perhaps helps to clarify where and why people get lost in Danish. The humour here is often understated and subtle, like I prefer it here. So, give it a try, you won’t regret it!

5. Oh My Danish

Here's one for absolute newbies, and remember, we all were once. Oh My Danish features short, easy videos, with words spoken in Danish, and written in Danish and English.

What you get here are simple single words and short sentences. It could be things like naming the colours, things you do at school, or the words to describe your relatives (uncle, grandmother etc).

This isn't a channel that will make you a fluent Danish speaker, but it can still be useful. With clips this short, it’s difficult to be discouraged.

And it invites you to repeat, until you feel more at home with, for example, the verb have (to have). If you've never heard Danish before, this is a good place to start.

6. Dansk Start

Dansk Start is targeted at a very specific audience, and I can’t tell you much about it. Why? It's in Persian, which, sorry to say, I don’t understand. If you’re not in the target group, this probably won’t give you much.

Yet I thought it deserved mentioning, as it seems very much like a community. The tag-line reads “Here we’re trying to master the Danish language together”, and the playlist consists of 1-hour long online meetings. 

If you speak Persian, you should certainly give it a go. Also, I think it's a great initiative, making it possible for this group to get together in their endeavours.

7. DanishTube

Like the previous entry, DanishTube is very community based. The host, Liam, has made over 700 videos, each lasting for about an hour. Mind you, some are for members only. But even taking a free ride, there’s much to be gained here.

Liam is really enthusiastic about the language, and it shows and, hopefully, inspires.

He goes to the gym, he sings and translates Danish pop songs, he analyses complex sentence structures, and even goes through the queen’s latest and final New Year’s speech, and informs you why sourdough is cool.

I would say this channel is best suited for the intermediate learner. It's all presented in English, but without a basic knowledge of Danish, you probably won’t feel that you’re taken by the hand. But if you're at that level, there’s plenty to be had on this entertaining channel.

8. Danish Spot

If you're a beginner wanting to learn some basic Danish words and useful phrases, Danish Spot is a great place. It has a pleasant and professional look, a bit like the material you would find on a night school course.

Gently and gracefully, you'll be taken through exercises like introducing yourself, naming the fruits, or the clothes that you are wearing. 

In many ways this is a sort of no-nonsense channel. It doesn’t aim to be entertaining, and there are no unorthodox sketches, giggle inducing inputs or wacky ideas. Just plain animations, with simple, short phrases in Danish and English. To some, this could be a relief.

9. Robe Trotting

Robe Trotting is an American channel, not primarily focused on language learning itself, but rather the cultural “clashes” or curiosities a foreigner might meet in Denmark.

And since language and conversation forms such a big part of our interaction, language often crops up here, but not on a grammar-level. 

Centred around life in Copenhagen, the two hosts discuss things that foreigners find strange about Danes, and what Danes find weird about foreigners, particularly Americans.

Topics covered include how Danes can seem rude when really not wanting to be, and how Americans can seem to be over the top to Danes.

All the videos are served in a humorous, easily understood way. Oh, and they have an episode called “Do NOT move to Denmark!”. They both did, though.

10. Erin In Copenhagen

Not too far from the entry above, but with a different feel and content is Erin in Copenhagen. You’ll also find plenty of amusing anecdotes here, describing the cultural oddities and do’s and don’ts of social life in Denmark.

But this time the perspective is Canadian, and there are several videos on the playlist that deal with cultural and historical topics, both locally in Copenhagen and Denmark in general. 

It's obvious that an effort has been made here to do research for the playlists. So, you’ll find great videos like “The Danish boy who inspired Tintin”, “Secret spots in Copenhagen”, or even “Danish American history of migration”.

I think they are well done and informative, without ever getting boring. At least not if you have an interest in the subject.

11. How To Live In Denmark

How to Live in Denmark is hosted by Kay Xander Mellish, who has made a name for herself in her work for US/Danish professional relationships.

Having lived in Denmark for a long time, she focuses especially on work culture in Denmark, and how it differs from what you’d experience in other parts of the world.

So, if you've visited Denmark, and most likely met the love of your life and landed a great job, you might want to watch this.

And don’t worry; this isn't like a long description of some dull board meeting. She's perfectly aware of keeping her videos, as well as her books and lectures, entertaining and interesting.

After all, work life is not only signing contracts and negotiating pay-checks, it’s also about having drinks on a Friday afternoon, and conversations with colleagues.

12. Norse Magic And Beliefs

For the penultimate entry, I thought I’d go full blown nerd with Norse Magic and Beliefs. Knowing this is not to everyone’s taste, I’m glad there are lots of other channels you can pick. But if you give it a try, you just might acquire a taste for it.

This is ancient history and beyond. The host is Norwegian, and the point of departure could be called pan-Scandinavian, though the main language is English, so that shouldn’t scare you off.

As the name indicates, this is a hot spot for all things to do with Norse mythology, viking raids, pagan rituals etc.

Not directly aimed at language, it has videos such as “Did the vikings and the English understand each other”, which contains surprising examples of similarities between the two languages.

Apart from that, this channel invites you into a rich and magic world, that in turn laid the foundation for what is today known as Danish. If you'd like a primer on that, take a look at my post about Danish language history.

13. LEGOLAND® Billund Resort

And finally, one for the kids, young and old, and families looking for a good time. As one of Denmark’s major tourist attractions, Legoland of course has a presence on YouTube. And for once, the language is Danish.

But don’t worry, the language is very simple and clear, since the channel is mainly aimed at children. As such, it might even be a good opportunity to hear Danish.

You'll find presentations of the various rides, short videos of people having fun, bedtime stories, and quite a few behind the scenes insights with the people working at the park. It seems that a lot of work goes into keeping the park going.

The channel can be really inspirational, so watch it before your kids!

Learn Danish On YouTube: Time To Press Play

With this, I have given you my recommendations to learn Danish on YouTube. Now, the rest is up to you. I hope a few of them are to your liking, and will help you in your further endeavours.

Learning Danish with YouTube is a great method for several reasons. First of all, you get to hear Danish while at the same time getting visual input. Of course, it all depends on your preferences, but many people have found this combination particularly helpful.

Secondly, the need for attention on such a site forces the poster to avoid being tedious. There has to be some measure of entertainment involved. Of course, this can result in a loud chaotic mess with little substance, but I hope I’ve managed to steer clear of such channels. 

Finally, it's totally flexible in time and space. YouTube is there for you more or less when you want it, and you can start, stop and repeat as you please. Plus, you get to leave and watch cat videos instead, without having to ask your teacher for permission! Good luck with all of it.