Word division in Danish and English
Correct word division improves readability and helps ensure that the text flows naturally. In this month's language tip, you'll learn how to divide words correctly and avoid misunderstandings.

Danish hyphenation
In Danish, words are typically divided after morphemes, i.e. meaning-bearing units. In other words, you should be careful not to divide words in a way that changes their meaning. For example, pastaske should not be split as pas-taske and mandater should not be split as mand-ater. Hyphenation often occurs with compound words, e.g. arbejds-glæde.
English hyphenation
In English, words are divided after syllables and, where possible, between consonants, e.g. bet-ter and hap-py. Emphasis is also placed on ensuring that divided words remain easy to decode (recognisable) while preserving their meaning.
For both Danish and English, you should avoid leaving a single letter on its own. For example, orange should be split as oran-ge and not o-range.
Examples of correct hyphenation | |
Danish | English |
Sol-skin | Run-ning |
Bil-dør | Driv-ing |
Hus-ejer | Ex-am-ple |
Op-læring | In-form |
Sprog-tip | Lan-guage |
Tip: Use word divisions sparingly – too many divisions can reduce readability, especially in narrow columns or on screens.