Basic messages and asking for help | Learn Danish in English

About This Lesson

Use Basic messages and asking for help to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Sig det igen, tak.

see deh ee-GEN, tahk Please say it again.

Skriv det ned, tak.

skreev deh nehth, tahk Please write it down.

Vis mig det, tak.

vees my deh, tahk Please show me.

Hjælp mig, tak.

yelp my, tahk Please help me.

Hvordan kan jeg hjælpe?

voh-DAHN kan yai YEL-buh? How can I help?

Ring til mig senere, tak.

reng tel my SAY-nuh-ruh, tahk Please call me later.

Word by Word

Sig “Sig” means “say” here and is used to make a direct request: “Sig det igen, tak.” It is the request form related to “sige”. A reusable pattern is “Sig [something] igen, tak” when asking someone to repeat something.

det “Det” means “it” or the thing already being referred to in “Sig det igen, tak.” It is the thing that should be said again. A reusable pattern is to place “det” after a verb when referring to a known thing.

igen “Igen” means “again” in “Sig det igen, tak.” It shows that the action should happen one more time. It can be reused after an action when asking for repetition.

tak “Tak” makes the request polite in “Sig det igen, tak.” At the end of a request, it works like “please” in this dialogue. A reusable pattern is to add “tak” after a polite request.

Skriv “Skriv” means “write” and is used as a direct request in “Skriv det ned, tak.” It is the request form related to “skrive”. A reusable pattern is “Skriv [something] ned, tak” when asking someone to write something down.

ned “Ned” contributes the idea of writing something down in “Skriv det ned, tak.” The meaning comes from its use with “Skriv” and the object “det”, not from “ned” alone. A reusable pattern is “skrive [something] ned” for recording something in writing.

Vis “Vis” means “show” in the request “Vis mig det, tak.” It is the request form related to “vise”. In “Vis mig det”, the person is placed before the thing being shown.

mig “Mig” means “me” in “Vis mig det, tak.” It identifies the person who should be shown something or helped. A reusable pattern is to place “mig” after a verb when the action is directed toward the speaker.

Hjælp “Hjælp” means “help” and is used as a direct request in “Hjælp mig, tak.” It is the request form related to “hjælpe”. A reusable pattern is “Hjælp mig, tak” when asking someone for assistance.

Hvordan “Hvordan” means “how” in “Hvordan kan jeg hjælpe?” It asks about the way in which the speaker can help. A reusable question pattern is “Hvordan kan jeg ...?” when asking what kind of help is possible.

kan “Kan” means “can” or “be able to” in “Hvordan kan jeg hjælpe?” It expresses ability or possibility and is followed here by “hjælpe”. A reusable pattern is “kan” followed by an action word when describing what someone can do.

jeg “Jeg” means “I” in “Hvordan kan jeg hjælpe?” It identifies the speaker as the person who can help. In this question, it comes before the action word “hjælpe” after “kan”.

hjælpe “Hjælpe” means “help” in “Hvordan kan jeg hjælpe?” It names the action the speaker may be able to do. After “kan”, a reusable pattern is “kan ... hjælpe” to ask or state whether someone can help.

Ring “Ring” means “call” or “phone” in the request “Ring til mig senere, tak.” It is the request form related to “ringe”. A reusable pattern is “Ring til [person]” when asking someone to phone a person.

til “Til” means “to” and connects “Ring” with the person being called in “Ring til mig senere, tak.” It shows who the phone call is directed to. A reusable pattern is “ringe til [person]” with the person after “til”.

senere “Senere” means “later” in “Ring til mig senere, tak.” It gives the time for the requested call. It can be reused as a time expression when an action should happen at a later time.

Grammar Points

Imperativ: verbstamme

Skriv det ned.

skreev deh nehth

Write it down.

The imperative uses the verb stem without a subject: skrive becomes Skriv, and sige becomes Sig.

Verb + object pronoun

Vis mig det.

vees my deh

Show me it.

The object pronoun mig comes directly after the verb; det can follow it as the thing being shown.

Danish Vocabulary

det pron

deh it; that

Vis mig det, tak.

hjælpe verb

YEL-buh help Hjælp

Hjælp mig, tak.

hvordan adv

voh-DAHN how

Hvordan kan jeg hjælpe?

igen adv

ee-GEN again

Sig det igen, tak.

jeg pron

yai I

Hvordan kan jeg hjælpe?

mig pron

my me

Vis mig det, tak.

ned adv

nehth down

Skriv det ned, tak.

ringe verb

REN-uh call; ring Ring

Ring til mig senere, tak.

sige verb

SEE-uh say Sig

Sig det igen, tak.

skrive verb

SKREE-vuh write Skriv

Skriv det ned, tak.

tak intj

tahk please; thank you

Sig det igen, tak.

vise verb

VEE-suh show Vis

Vis mig det, tak.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Please say it again.

Show Answer

Sig det igen, tak.

Please write it down.

Show Answer

Skriv det ned, tak.

Please show me.

Show Answer

Vis mig det, tak.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

write

Show Answer

Skriv

again

Show Answer

igen

help

Show Answer

Hjælp

how

Show Answer

hvordan