Tidsrejser, familie og hemmeligheder i Dragør

What does “godt fjendskab” mean in Danish?

Danish has a quietly ironic phrase: godt fjendskab, literally “a good enmity.” It describes a long-running rivalry that’s been polished over time into something almost cordial. Two characters in this Dragør time-travel drama say “vi har allerede et godt fjendskab kørende” (“we’ve already got a good enmity going”), framing their adversarial relationship as a shared craft.

The phrase plays on Danish jantelov sensibility, where overt enthusiasm is suspect. Calling an enmity “good” admits something matters without sounding earnest. Danes use the construction in workplace, sports, and family-rival contexts whenever a long-running tension has settled into routine.