This past Saturday, April 2, was the 200th anniversary of the birth of Hans Christian Andersen, and in tributes to him, I've been hearing various pronunciations of Copenhagen.

What is the accepted ENGLISH form? Is the "a" long or short, i.e. "hay" or "hog"? And is the accent on the first or third syllable. I've heard all variants.

Secondly, how does one pronounce "Odense", Andersen's birthplace. I understand that the "d" is silent, so that one gets something like "OUN-se"

Hi Lav,

If you can't pronounce København, I think that the Danes prefer haygen to hahgen or hogen.

I believe that the d in Odense is a slurred "th" as in "the".

There is a very nice dessert, Rødbud med Flød", that is unpronounceable to any but the Danes.

Thanks, ira. Now tell us more about Rødbud med Flød, even if we will never be able to order it.

Interesting question re the pronunciation. Last year when I flew to Denmark on SAS the flight crew definitely pronounced the name of the city as Copen-HAY-gen.

it is actually called "Rødgrød med fløde". It is a dessert made from strawberries and rhubarb, which you cook with sugar and some ingredient that makes it gel, and serve with cream. bon appetit! It is quite old fashioned but the name is always used as a joke - as it is impossible to say unless you are Danish!

Thanks for the correction, katrine.