Danish refers to anything related to Denmark, a small Scandinavian country in northern Europe known for its flat countryside, historic castles, and coastal cities. A Danish person is someone from Denmark, and the Danish language is what people there speak (though most Danes also speak excellent English).

Danish can also mean a sweet, flaky pastry that Americans call a Danish, even though in Denmark itself, people call this pastry wienerbrød. A typical Danish pastry has thin, buttery layers that shatter when you bite into them, often filled with fruit, custard, or cream cheese.

Denmark gave the world many things beyond pastries: the LEGO brick was invented there, Hans Christian Andersen wrote his famous fairy tales there, and Danish furniture designers created the clean, simple style called Danish modern that influenced how people around the world think about chairs, tables, and lamps.