Danish Names for Animals that are Quite Interesting in English...

Danish animal names can be quite special... A lot of them are two different words put together, and when directly translated into English can be quite funny.

1) Næsehorn (Nose horn)

Any guesses which this animal is? If you guessed Rhino, then you're correct! I guess this name makes sense... but I always chuckle a bit when I think about it. It does have a horn as a nose, so I can't argue!

2) Flodhest (River horse)

River horse... hmm... which animal swims, that looks like a horse? This one is harder to guess. A hippopotamus, or more simply, a hippo, is a flodhest in Danish. I don't know why a hippo is compared to a horse, but it sort of makes sense!

3) Pindsvin (Stick pig)

A pig with sticks? It sounds a bit dangerous, but it's actually just a hedgehog. When I think "Stick pig", I imagine a baby pig with little sticks poking out of his back, which I guess you could say that a hedgehog is similar!'

4) Søpindsvin (Sea Stick Pig)

Sea stick pig... baby pig with sticks on him while swimming? No, just a sea urchin.

5) Fårekylling (sheep chicken)

Now, this one is my personal favorite. I have no idea how this name became to be. In my mind it makes zero sense, but, a fårekylling is a cricket.

6) Vaskebjørn (wash bear)

Well, they're not the cleanest of animals due to their reputation for searching through trash... but I guess they're still called wash bears. These "wash bears" are raccoons.

7) Stinkdyr (stink animal)

This one makes PERFECT sense. Skunks are definitely some stinky animals.

8) Dovendyr (lazy animal)

Poor sloths, getting such a reputation for being lazy. Even Disney picks on them in their movie, Zootopia, with Flash the sloth. Now even Denmark is calling them lazy.

9) Bænkebider (bench biter)

Well, they do bite benches. A woodlouse or pillbug is a bænkebider.

10) Sommerfugl (summer bird)

Finishing with quite a lovely name, this is a butterfly. "Summer bird" reminds me of everything colorful and happy during the summer months.

I hope you were able to get a laugh out of some of these names. There are many more to the list, but these are my favorite animal names in Danish.

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