What is klam? 

The dictionary definition of this word is “moist and cold in an unpleasant manner”.

It can be used to describe temperature and weather conditions, the condition of a piece of material, or the feeling you might get if you break out in a cold sweat.

So, for example, you might say regnvejret var klamt (“the rain was cold and wet”), min t-shirt er klam, jeg må skifte tøj (“my t-shirt is damp, I’d better change clothes”) or jeg er helt klam på panden, jeg har det ikke særlig godt (”my forehead is cold and sweaty, I don’t feel very well”).

Klam has its roots in an Old German word, also klam, meaning “narrow”. This is connected to another Danish word, at klemme, meaning “to squeeze” or “to hug” but distinct from klam.

Why do I need to know klam?

It has a particular figurative meaning similar to “creepy”, “disgusting”, or to denote something that makes your skin crawl.

It is likely that the physical description of something as being klam or unpleasantly cold and moist was broadened t some point to encompass anything that can have an effect of revulsion.

For example, the sentence jeg kunne mærke hans klamme hånd (”I could feel his disgusting/sweaty hand”) makes sense using either the literal or figurative meaning of klam.

In modern Danish, food can be klam even though it is neither cold nor moist. If something was burnt, for example, you could say it tasted klamt, i.e. disgusting.

A person can also be klam if they are particularly unpleasant or repellent. Jeg synes, han er så klam, jeg var nødt til at gå (”I think he’s so creepy, I had to leave”) carries connotations of both physical and intellectual disgust at another person.