Do you speak Danish?

Yes, you need Danish to get integrated here. Danes, understand and speak English but that is not enough to get to know the Danes.

Hello. Yes I do speak Danish. It's a hardest language in the world. If you learn this language then you can have better job and can communicate with Danish people. Well You can learn it by going language school, and practicing with Danish people and friends.

I speak Danish but do not agree it is essential to integrate.

There are more important abilities needed to integrate - the first is to be open and friendly, the second is to be active in society. Danes do not naturally go out of their way to be inclusive. Also, as an English speaker, Danes invariably reply to my danish in English !

That said, with Denmark giving free danish lessons to foreigners it would be rude not to try!

Yes I speak Danish now but I didn't when I arrived. I came to Denmark to marry my current wife and before I left my own land, I was led to believe that language would not be a problem. I had the understanding that one could find a job without knowing the language but I quickly learned that was not true.

I came to Denmark in 2008 and within a few months of my arrival, 1,000s of people lost their jobs because of the economic crisis. When I tried to find a job as a truck driver, I was told that if you couldn't speak Danish, you couldn't compete with the 100s of Danish people looking for the same job.

It took me 3 years to learn basic Danish in the free language school. It took another year of specialized language study to qualify for a 3½ year course of study in a Danish school to be trained  as a pædagog (someone who works in kinderkartens, school clubs or institutions with disabled people). Even after all that I have a lot to learn and I still have to compete with 100s of Danes looking for the same job. The better you are at the language the more competetive you are in the danish job market.

Things are a little better now but if you come to Denmark be prepared to really apply yourself to learn a very difficult language even if it is just to do the usual things like grocery shopping or travelling with public transport. It is not only an advantage to learn Danish but also a requirement for permanent residence.