Expressing Likes and Preferences in Danish

In Brief

The everyday Danish equivalent of “like” is kan lide, often kan godt lide: Jeg kan godt lide kaffe means “I like coffee.” Put a noun after it for a thing or person, or use at plus a verb for an activity: Jeg kan lide at læse (“I like reading”). Use elsker for “love,” foretrækker for a choice between alternatives, and kan bedst lide for “like best.”

Overview

Talking about tastes is an A1 skill that immediately makes Danish more personal. With a few patterns, you can discuss food, music, hobbies, seasons, places, and people, as well as ask what somebody else enjoys. The central expression is at kunne lide. Although its individual words resemble “to be able to” and “like,” learn the whole expression as the normal Danish verb phrase meaning “to like.”

English speakers need to resist translating “I like” word for word with a single verb. Danish normally says jeg kan lide or jeg kan godt lide. Here kan is the present-tense form of kunne, and lide stays in the infinitive (the basic verb form) because it follows a modal verb. The word godt is very common in positive statements and is part of the natural rhythm of the expression; it does not need a separate “well” in the English translation.

Danish also distinguishes a general positive feeling from a comparison. Jeg kan godt lide te says that tea appeals to you. Jeg foretrækker te frem for kaffe explicitly chooses tea over coffee. Learning that contrast prevents you from using the stronger, more formal-sounding foretrækker every time English uses “prefer.”

How It Works

The beginner pattern: kan (godt) lide

A subject (the person or thing the sentence is about) comes before kan in a statement. The item liked is the object (the person or thing the feeling is directed toward).

Danish pattern	English meaning	Note
Jeg kan lide kaffe.	I like coffee.	Basic positive statement
Jeg kan godt lide kaffe.	I like coffee.	Very common natural form
Jeg kan lide at lave mad.	I like cooking.	Activity: at + infinitive
Jeg kan ikke lide kaffe.	I do not like coffee.	ikke follows kan in a main clause
Kan du lide kaffe?	Do you like coffee?	Yes/no question: kan comes first

After kan, use lide without at:

• Jeg kan lide musik. — I like music.
• not Jeg kan at lide musik.

However, when the thing you enjoy is another action, that second action normally has at:

• Jeg kan lide at danse. — I like dancing.
• Vi kan godt lide at rejse. — We like travelling.

This gives the useful structure subject + kan (godt) lide + at + activity. The first at is absent because lide follows the modal kan; the second at introduces the activity.

Positive statements, negatives, and questions

In an ordinary main clause, godt or ikke comes after the finite verb (the verb carrying tense), kan:

• Hun kan godt lide jazz. — She likes jazz.
• Hun kan ikke lide jazz. — She does not like jazz.

In a yes/no question, move kan before the subject:

• Kan hun lide jazz? — Does she like jazz?
• Kan I lide dansk mad? — Do you like Danish food?

Danish does not add an equivalent of English “do/does.” A question word comes first when you ask for specific information:

• Hvad kan du lide at lave i weekenden? — What do you like doing at the weekend?
• Hvilken film kan du bedst lide? — Which film do you like best?
• Hvorfor kan han ikke lide ost? — Why does he not like cheese?

Short answers usually repeat kan rather than the entire phrase:

• Kan du lide lakrids? — Ja, det kan jeg godt. — Do you like liquorice? — Yes, I do.
• Kan hun lide det? — Nej, det kan hun ikke. — Does she like it? — No, she does not.

Nouns, people, and activities

You can place several kinds of complement after lide:

Danish	English	What follows lide
Jeg kan godt lide chokolade.	I like chocolate.	A substance or general category
Han kan lide bøger.	He likes books.	A plural noun used generally
Vi kan lide den nye café.	We like the new café.	A specific noun phrase
Jeg kan godt lide hende.	I like her.	An object pronoun
De kan lide at svømme.	They like swimming.	at + infinitive

With people, use an object form such as mig (me), dig (you), ham (him), hende (her), os (us), or dem (them): Jeg kan godt lide ham, not Jeg kan godt lide han.

Degrees of preference

Use bedst (“best”) for your favourite within a group. Use bedre … end (“better … than”) to compare two likes.

• Jeg kan bedst lide sommer. — I like summer best.
• Hvilken farve kan du bedst lide? — Which colour do you like best?
• Jeg kan bedre lide te end kaffe. — I like tea better than coffee.

The phrase min yndlings-… expresses “my favourite …”: Min yndlingsfilm er Festen (“My favourite film is Festen”). This is a noun phrase rather than a form of kunne lide, but it answers the same kind of question.

Four useful ways to express a positive preference

Danish form	English meaning	Typical use
kan (godt) lide	like	The everyday default
elsker	love	A strong feeling or great enthusiasm
foretrækker	prefer	A choice or comparison
synes om	like; think well of	A positive opinion, often less conversational than kan lide

Unlike kan lide, the other three are ordinary present-tense verb forms:

• at elske → elsker: Hun elsker at læse.
• at foretrække → foretrækker: Jeg foretrækker toget.
• at synes om → synes om: De synes om planen.

Foretrække can stand alone when the alternatives are clear: Jeg foretrækker te (“I prefer tea”). To name both alternatives, use frem for (“rather than/over”): Jeg foretrækker te frem for kaffe. With activities, repeat at when it improves clarity: Hun foretrækker at gå frem for at tage bussen (“She prefers walking to taking the bus”).

Be careful with synes. Jeg synes om filmen means that you like or approve of the film. Jeg synes, filmen er god means “I think the film is good.” In the second pattern, synes introduces a whole clause (a group of words containing its own subject and verb), and there is no om.

Examples in Context

Danish	English	Note
Jeg kan lide chokolade.	I like chocolate.	Core pattern
Maja kan godt lide stærk mad.	Maja likes spicy food.	Natural positive statement
Hun elsker at læse om aftenen.	She loves reading in the evening.	elsker + activity
Kan du lide kaffe?	Do you like coffee?	Yes/no question
Hvad kan I lide at lave sammen?	What do you like doing together?	Asking about activities
Jeg kan ikke lide at stå tidligt op.	I do not like getting up early.	Negative + activity
Vi kan godt lide vores nye naboer.	We like our new neighbours.	People as the object
Jeg kan bedst lide sommer.	I like summer best.	Favourite among alternatives
Noah kan bedre lide katte end hunde.	Noah likes cats better than dogs.	Direct comparison
Min søster foretrækker te frem for kaffe.	My sister prefers tea to coffee.	Explicit choice
De foretrækker at spise hjemme.	They prefer eating at home.	foretrækker + activity
Jeg synes godt om dit forslag.	I like your suggestion.	Positive opinion or approval
Hvad synes du om restauranten?	What do you think of the restaurant?	Open request for an opinion
Han elsker hende.	He loves her.	Strong feeling toward a person
Kan du ikke lide lakrids?	Don’t you like liquorice?	Negative question

Common Mistakes

Translating “like” with only lide

• Wrong: Jeg lider kaffe.
• Right: Jeg kan godt lide kaffe.
• Why: The everyday expression “to like” is kunne lide. Lider on its own is a form of lide meaning “suffers,” so jeg lider does not express a preference.

Adding at directly after kan

• Wrong: Jeg kan at lide jazz.
• Right: Jeg kan lide jazz.
• Why: A modal verb such as kan takes the infinitive without at. Add at only before a following activity: Jeg kan lide at høre jazz.

Copying English question structure

• Wrong: Gør du kan lide kaffe?
• Right: Kan du lide kaffe?
• Why: Danish forms this yes/no question by putting kan before the subject. It does not use “do.”

Putting ikke in the wrong place

• Wrong: Jeg ikke kan lide fisk.
• Right: Jeg kan ikke lide fisk.
• Why: In a normal main clause, ikke comes after the finite verb kan. In a subordinate clause, the order changes: fordi jeg ikke kan lide fisk (“because I do not like fish”).

Using a subject pronoun as the object

• Wrong: Jeg kan godt lide hun.
• Right: Jeg kan godt lide hende.
• Why: The person receiving the feeling is the object, so Danish requires hende (“her”), not the subject form hun (“she”).

Confusing synes om with synes + clause

• Wrong: Jeg synes om, at filmen er god.
• Right: Jeg synes, at filmen er god. / Jeg synes om filmen.
• Why: Use synes + clause for “think that …”; use synes om + noun for “like/approve of …”. The meanings overlap, but the structures are different.

Usage Notes

Kan godt lide is the safest everyday choice. The shorter kan lide is also fully grammatical and appears naturally, especially in questions, negatives, and concise statements. Do not translate godt separately every time; in this expression it often simply supports a positive reading.

Elsker is stronger. With a partner or family member, it expresses love: Jeg elsker dig. With food and activities, it can express enthusiastic enjoyment: Jeg elsker at bage (“I love baking”). If you only mean mild approval, choose kan godt lide.

Foretrækker focuses on selection and can sound more deliberate than kan bedst lide. A menu choice, travel option, or working preference suits it well. In relaxed conversation, Jeg kan bedst lide X or Jeg vil hellere have X (“I would rather have X”) may sound more immediate.

Hvad synes du om …? is a very common way to ask “What do you think of …?” The answer may be positive or negative, so the question itself does not mean that the speaker likes the item. The affirmative Jeg synes om … is correct, but Jeg kan godt lide … is often the more neutral conversational way to state a simple like.

To soften a dislike, Danish can use Jeg er ikke så vild med … (“I’m not that keen on …”) or Jeg bryder mig ikke om … (“I don’t care for …”). Plain Jeg kan ikke lide … is direct but normal. Jeg hader … (“I hate …”) is much stronger.

Finally, distinguish a stable preference from a request. Jeg kan godt lide kaffe describes your taste. Jeg vil gerne have kaffe means “I would like coffee” in the sense that you want some now.

Beyond the Basics

You do not need to master the following forms at A1, but they make the same system useful when you begin talking about the past and expressing finer shades of meaning.

In the past, kunne lide becomes kunne lide: Jeg kunne godt lide filmen (“I liked the film”). Context tells you that kunne lide is the past preference expression rather than literal past ability. The perfect form uses har kunnet lide: Jeg har altid kunnet lide havet (“I have always liked the sea”). Notice that the fixed phrase stays together even though another verb is added.

The other verbs have their own past forms:

Danish	English	Form
Hun elskede bogen.	She loved the book.	Past of elske
Vi foretrak toget.	We preferred the train.	Past of foretrække
Jeg syntes om idéen.	I liked the idea.	Past of synes om

The present synes and past syntes differ by one written t, although the pronunciation can make the distinction hard to hear. This spelling contrast matters in writing.

More advanced alternatives add emotional or stylistic nuance. Jeg er vild med det means “I’m crazy about it” and is enthusiastic and conversational. Jeg holder af hende expresses lasting affection or fondness and is often gentler than Jeg elsker hende. Jeg sætter pris på hjælpen means “I appreciate the help,” which concerns gratitude or value rather than enjoyment.

Preferences also interact with Danish word order. In a subordinate clause introduced by words such as fordi (“because”), ikke normally comes before kan: Jeg bestiller te, fordi jeg ikke kan lide kaffe. This is part of the wider Danish main-clause/subordinate-clause distinction, not an exception limited to likes.

Practice Tips

1. Build a personal preference ladder. Choose one topic—food, music, films, or free-time activities—and write five true sentences ranging from kan ikke lide through kan godt lide to elsker and kan bedst lide.
2. Practise one statement, one negative, and one question. For example: Du kan godt lide kaffe → Du kan ikke lide kaffe → Kan du lide kaffe? Repeat with new subjects and nouns until the position of kan and ikke feels automatic.
3. Compare real alternatives. Ask yourself questions such as Kan du bedst lide sommer eller vinter? Answer once with kan bedst lide and once with foretrækker … frem for …. This trains both everyday and more explicit comparison patterns.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Modal Verbs — explains why lide follows kan without at, and how modal verbs form questions and negatives.