"Har du en kæreste?"

Translation: Do you have a boyfriend?

[Mamemimomu73]

Same word for girlfriend and boyfriend?

[M.Ugatu]

Yes.

[Mamemimomu73]

Tak. It makes things easier :)

[viktorine.k]

"Do you have a dearest one?" Perfect.

[hendivana]

I tried with a lover, it passed xD

[Handsome_Boh]

What is the etymology?

[Karilighed]

I am not sure, but the word 'kær' means 'dear' in Danish... Basically kæreste means 'dearest', allowing to be used by both gender

[flojspiller]

in hungarian 'Kedvesem' :) remember the ESC song of Hungary in 2013?

[Seraph259]

Are you suggesting that the two are related? Because they almost certainly aren't, Hungarian isn't even a descendent of proto-indo-european

[zhatva]

eeee this makes me think of my husband

[itaskov]

I translated kæreste with fiancé but I got it wrong. Can fiancé/fiancée be accepted too?

[adcoon]

Fiancé(e) would be "forlovede", when you wish to be clear.

A fiancé(e) is also a boy/girlfriend, but the opposite is not always true. Same in Danish: a "forlovede" is also a "kæreste" but a "kæreste" is not always a "forlovede."

[itaskov]

Thanks, so if I got it right a kæreste is simply someone you care about (even cousin or colleague for example) while a forlovede is someone you are engaged with in a love relationship?

[adcoon]

No, a fiancé(e)/forlovede is someone you've promised to marry in the near future, with engagement ring and everything.

A kæreste is "just" a boy/girlfriend, it's where you're in love but maybe haven't promised to marry each other yet.

[marifig143]

loved the structure of this word!!!!

[Sawteeth]

Why is the E after T not pronounced but in other words it is?

[Monika914903]

It should be pronounced. Check it on Forvo.

[andthelamb74]

The audio is a bit off imo. It's kærestE, not kæresT.