Glossary of Danish words
The words you will meet in letters and on government websites. We do not translate them away in the guides — we explain them, so you recognise them on screen.
The same hint appears inside every guide
Tap an underlined word and the explanation appears right there — no need to go anywhere.
If you have , it is cheaper to pay it before 1 July.
- A-kasse
- An unemployment insurance fund. Membership is voluntary and you pay for it.
- A-skat
- The income tax your employer withholds from your pay every month.
- Where it is on the document →
- AM-bidrag
- The labour market contribution: 8 % of your pay, taken before tax.
- Where it is on the document →
- ATP
- A small compulsory pension contribution. Your employer pays most of it.
- Where it is on the document →
- Befordringsfradrag
- A deduction for the journey to work, if the round trip is more than 24 km a day.
- Guide: Årsopgørelse: how to check and correct it →
- Bikort
- An extra tax card for a second job: no fradrag, but no 55 % either.
- Boligstøtte
- State help towards your rent. You apply on borger.dk, and Udbetaling Danmark pays it.
- Borgerservice
- The citizens' service centre in your kommune: address, CPR, sundhedskort.
- Børne- og ungeydelse
- A child benefit paid once a quarter. It comes by itself; you usually do not have to apply.
- CPR-nummer
- Your personal registration number. You need it for almost everything.
- Dagpenge
- Unemployment benefit from your A-kasse. Only for members of the fund.
- Dagtilbud
- Nursery, kindergarten or a childminder — everything the kommune offers for children before school.
- Depositum
- The deposit you pay the landlord. By law, no more than 3 months' rent.
- Digital Post
- Official electronic post from the state. Letters in it are legally binding.
- e-Boks
- The app many people use to read their Digital Post. It is a window onto your post, not the post itself.
- Ferieår
- The holiday year: 1 September to 31 August. Days earned in it can be used until 31 December.
- FerieKonto
- The state account where your feriepenge sit until you ask for them.
- Feriepenge
- Holiday pay: 12,5 % of your salary, set aside for your holiday.
- Where it is on the document →
- Forskudsopgørelse
- The preliminary tax assessment for the year. It opens in November.
- Fradrag
- A deduction: the amount that is not taxed.
- Frikort
- A tax-free card, valid until your yearly income passes your limit. Mostly for school pupils and students.
- Hovedkort
- Your main tax card: it carries your monthly fradrag. It works with one employer only.
- Huslejenævnet
- The board in the kommune that settles disputes between tenant and landlord.
- Jobcenter
- Your kommune's employment service. Support for people who are not in an A-kasse goes through it.
- Jobnet
- The state job-search portal. You register as unemployed there and keep your joblog.
- Kontanthjælp
- Support from the kommune for people with nothing to live on who do not get dagpenge.
- Egen læge
- Your family doctor. Their name is on your sundhedskort, and you reach specialists through them.
- Lejekontrakt
- A tenancy agreement. Usually on the standard form — typeformular A.
- MitID
- The digital signature you use to log in to public services and your bank.
- NemKonto
- Your account, the one the state sends all payments to.
- Opholdstilladelse
- A residence permit. The date it runs to is written in the decision from SIRI.
- Oplysningsskema
- The form where you add what SKAT does not already know about you.
- Opsigelse
- A dismissal, or your own notice of resignation. The notice period is written in your contract.
- Overskydende skat
- Overpaid tax that will be refunded to you.
- Guide: Årsopgørelse: how to check and correct it →
- Personfradrag
- The tax-free part of your yearly income that everyone has. It is the figure on your skattekort.
- Pladsanvisning
- The kommune department that allocates nursery places. You apply through the kommune website.
- Restskat
- Tax you underpaid during the year. You can see it in your årsopgørelse.
- Guide: Årsopgørelse: how to check and correct it →
- SIRI
- The agency that issues and extends residence permits. It writes to you in Digital Post.
- Skattekort
- Your tax card: the rate and deduction your employer can see.
- Sundhedskort
- The yellow health insurance card with your CPR number and your doctor on it.
- Indflytningssyn
- The move-in inspection of your home. Anything already broken must go in the report — otherwise you pay for it.
- Særloven
- The special act on residence permits for people from Ukraine.
- TastSelv
- Your personal account on skat.dk.
- Trækprocent
- The rate of tax withheld from your pay. It comes from your skattekort.
- Where it is on the document →
- Udbetaling Danmark
- The state body that pays housing support, child benefit and pensions. It is not the kommune.
- Ankestyrelsen
- The body that reviews appeals against decisions by your kommune and Udbetaling Danmark. Appealing is free.
- Børnetilskud
- An extra child benefit, separate from børne- og ungeydelse. You have to apply for it.
- Familieretshuset
- The authority that decides questions of custody over a child. Not the kommune and not a court.
- Forældremyndighed
- Custody: the right to make decisions about a child. Temporary custody is granted by Familieretshuset.
- Netværkspleje
- The child is officially placed with people close to them, and the kommune covers the costs.
- Plejetilladelse
- The kommune’s permission to care for someone else’s child at home. It opens the right to børne- og ungeydelse.
- Basiskort
- The travel card that replaced the old Rejsekort. It comes as a personal card for 50 kr. and an anonymous one for 80 kr.
- Guide: Bus and train: what to pay with and what it costs →
- Kontrolafgift
- The fine for travelling without a valid ticket, issued by an inspector on board.
- Pendlerkort
- A pass for 30–60 days in chosen zones. It pays for itself from roughly 13 working days a month.
- Guide: Bus and train: what to pay with and what it costs →
- Rejsekort
- The travel payment system. The blue plastic card is gone — what remains is the app and Basiskort.
- Guide: Bus and train: what to pay with and what it costs →
- Ungdomskort
- A cheap pass for pupils and students. You need a CPR, MitID and Digital Post.
- Zone
- Denmark charges by zones, not kilometres. The price depends on how many zones you crossed.
- Region
- Denmark is divided into five regions. They run the hospitals and doctors — and it is the region that bills you for an interpreter.
- Tolkegebyr
- sounds roughly like «tol-ke-gay-bewr»
- The fee for an interpreter at the doctor. It is charged to people who have lived in Denmark for more than three years.
- Guide: An interpreter at the doctor: when it is free and when a bill arrives →
- Årsopgørelse
- sounds roughly like «ors-op-GUR-el-se»
- The annual tax statement: your income and tax for last year, summed up.
- Guide: Årsopgørelse: how to check and correct it →