Basic home actions and choices | Learn Danish in English

About This Lesson

Use Basic home actions and choices to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Åbn venligst døren.

OHM VEN-list DUHR-en. Please open the door.

Luk venligst vinduet.

LOOK VEN-list VIN-oo-eth. Please close the window.

Tænd den venligst.

TEN den VEN-list. Please turn it on.

Sluk den venligst.

SLOOG den VEN-list. Please turn it off.

Giv mig dette, tak.

GEEV my DEH-də, TEG. Please give me this.

Jeg tager dette.

YAI TAIR-uh DEH-də. I will take this.

Word by Word

Åbn “Åbn” means “open” in the request “Åbn venligst døren.” It is the form used to tell someone to open something. A reusable pattern is “Åbn venligst …” when making a polite request at home.

venligst “venligst” means “please” and makes the request polite in “Åbn venligst døren.” It appears after the requested action in the dialogue. Use “venligst” after a request word when you want to ask someone politely to do something.

døren “døren” means “the door” in “Åbn venligst døren.” The form refers to the specific door that should be opened. A reusable pattern is “Åbn … døren” when asking someone to open the door.

Luk “Luk” means “close” in “Luk venligst vinduet.” It is the form used to tell someone to close something. Use the pattern “Luk venligst …” for a polite request to close an object.

vinduet “vinduet” means “the window” in “Luk venligst vinduet.” It identifies the specific object that should be closed. A reusable pattern is “Luk … vinduet” when asking someone to close the window.

Tænd “Tænd” means “turn on” in “Tænd den venligst.” It is used when asking someone to activate something. A reusable pattern is “Tænd den venligst” when making a polite request to turn an item on.

den “den” means “it” in “Tænd den venligst” and “Sluk den venligst.” It refers to the item being turned on or off. Use “den” after the action word when the object is already understood from the situation.

Sluk “Sluk” means “turn off” in “Sluk den venligst.” It is used when asking someone to deactivate something. A reusable pattern is “Sluk den venligst” when making a polite request to turn an understood item off.

Giv “Giv” means “give” in “Giv mig dette, tak.” It is the form used to ask someone to give something. Use the pattern “Giv mig …” when asking someone to give an item to you.

mig “mig” means “me” in “Giv mig dette, tak.” It identifies the person who should receive the item. A reusable pattern is “Giv mig …” followed by the thing being given.

dette “dette” means “this” in “Giv mig dette, tak” and “Jeg tager dette.” It points to the specific item being discussed or selected. Use “dette” when the item is clear from the immediate situation.

tak “tak” means “thanks” at the end of “Giv mig dette, tak.” Here it makes the request sound polite. Use “tak” after a request when thanking someone for the requested action.

Jeg “Jeg” means “I” in “Jeg tager dette.” It identifies the speaker as the person taking or choosing the item. Use “Jeg” at the beginning when stating what you yourself do or choose.

tager “tager” expresses the speaker’s taking the item in “Jeg tager dette.” Together with “Jeg” and “dette,” it states that the speaker chooses or takes this specific thing. A reusable pattern is “Jeg tager …” followed by the item being taken.

Grammar Points

Imperativ: verbets stamme

Åbn døren, venligst.

OHM DUHR-en, VEN-list.

Open the door, please.

Den danske imperativ bruger ofte verbets stamme uden et subjekt: åbne → Åbn.

Bestemt form: substantiv + -en eller -et

Luk døren. Åbn vinduet.

LOOK DUHR-en. OHM VIN-oo-eth.

Close the door. Open the window.

På dansk sættes bestemt kendeord ofte bag på navneordet: dør → døren og vindue → vinduet.

Danish Vocabulary

den pron

den it

Gender: common

Tænd den venligst.

dette pron

DEH-də this

Gender: neuter

Giv mig dette, tak.

dør noun

DUHR door døren

Gender: common

Åbn venligst døren.

give verb

GEE-vuh give Giv

Giv mig dette, tak.

lukke verb

LOOK-uh close Luk

Luk venligst vinduet.

mig pron

MY me

Giv mig dette, tak.

slukke verb

SLOOG-uh turn off Sluk

Sluk den venligst.

tak intj

TEG thank you

Giv mig dette, tak.

tænde verb

TEN-nuh turn on Tænd

Tænd den venligst.

venligst adv

VEN-list please

Åbn venligst døren.

vindue noun

VIN-oo-uh window vinduet

Gender: neuter

Luk venligst vinduet.

åbne verb

OHB-nuh open Åbn

Åbn venligst døren.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Please open the door.

Show Answer

Åbn venligst døren.

Please close the window.

Show Answer

Luk venligst vinduet.

Please turn it on.

Show Answer

Tænd den venligst.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

door

Show Answer

døren

turn off

Show Answer

Sluk

window

Show Answer

vinduet

please

Show Answer

venligst