WotD #21 - kælder

Floors in offices / apartments / houses in Denmark have a different numbering system than in America. The Danish first floor or første sal is actually the American second floor. The ground floor or American first floor is called the stueetagen and is abreviated "S" on elevators and in other office signs and addresses. In elevators you may also see "K" which stands for kælder meaning basement or cellar.

Additionally, at least with apartments, each unit is labeled with either a th or tv depending on which side of the stairwell the apartment lies. th is short for til højre or "to the right" and tv is short for til venstre or "to the left". There's a third option that means basically "in the middle" but I can't remember that one.

So if you happened to see an address for an office or apartment that was 2 tv or 2.tv this would mean the American 3rd floor, door on the left. Alternatively, something like K.05 would mean basement room number 05.