Danish Word of the Day: Kondolerer

Learning the Danish word kondolerer helps you express sympathy respectfully. It gives you a safe phrase when someone loses a loved one. You can use it at workplaces, funerals, or in cards.

The Local selected this word after several prominent figures passed away recently. The term comes from the Latin word condolere. It means to suffer together or share someone's pain.

The word entered written Danish in the 1700s through French influence. Playwright Ludvig Holberg used it in the 1710s as formal vocabulary.

The standalone word kondolerer is the most common phrase when speaking to someone grieving. The present tense ending r is silent in Danish. Many native Danes mistakenly write jeg kondolere without the final r. The correct written form is jeg kondolerer. Knowing this rule will surely impress many local Danes.