Breakfast shopping | Learn Danish in English

About This Lesson

Use Breakfast shopping to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Hvad skal vi købe i dag?

vath sgal vee KUR-buh ee DAY? What should we buy today?

Vi skal bruge ting til morgenmaden i morgen.

vee skal BROO-uh teng tel MOR-en-mah-den ee MOR-en. We need things for tomorrow's breakfast.

Så skal vi have brød og smør.

soh skal vee HAY-vuh bruhth uh SMUR. Then we need bread and butter.

Skal vi også have yoghurt?

skal vee OW-soh HAY-vuh YOH-goort? Do we need yogurt too?

Jeg vil spise den med jordbærsyltetøj.

yai vel SPEE-suh dehn mehth YOR-bair-SOOL-tuh-toy. I want to eat it with strawberry jam.

Så lad os købe yoghurt og syltetøj.

soh lad ohs KUR-buh YOH-goort uh SOOL-tuh-toy. Then let's get yogurt and jam.

Word by Word

Hvad Hvad means “what” in the question Hvad skal vi købe i dag? It asks which thing or things the speakers should buy. A reusable pattern is Hvad skal vi ...? for asking what someone should do.

skal Skal expresses “should” or “need to” in Hvad skal vi købe i dag? and Vi skal bruge ting til morgenmaden i morgen. Here it is followed by an infinitive such as købe or bruge. Use skal when discussing a plan, necessity, or what someone is expected to do.

vi Vi means “we” and refers to the two people making the shopping plan. It appears before skal in vi skal bruge and skal vi købe. Use vi when the speaker includes themself and at least one other person.

købe Købe means “to buy” in Hvad skal vi købe i dag? and Så lad os købe yoghurt og syltetøj. It follows skal or lad os in these sentences. A reusable pattern is købe noget, meaning “buy something.”

i I contributes the meaning “on” in the time expression i dag, “today.” It is also used in the dialogue in i morgen, “tomorrow.” Use i dag and i morgen as complete time expressions.

dag Dag means “day” in the expression i dag, which means “today.” The word refers to the current day because it is used with i in this fixed time expression. A common pattern is i dag when saying when something happens.

bruge The Danish word bruge means “need” in skal bruge ting til morgenmaden i morgen. In this dialogue, the construction skal bruge expresses needing something for a purpose. A reusable pattern is bruge noget til noget, meaning “need something for something.”

ting Ting means “things” in ting til morgenmaden i morgen, referring generally to the items needed for breakfast. It is followed by til to show the purpose of the things. Use ting when referring to unspecified objects or items.

til Til means “for” in ting til morgenmaden, showing that the things are intended for breakfast. It can connect an item with its purpose or intended use. A reusable pattern is noget til morgenmad, “something for breakfast.”

morgenmaden Morgenmaden means “the breakfast” in ting til morgenmaden i morgen. The form refers to a specific breakfast being planned for tomorrow; the related citation form is morgenmad. Use morgenmaden when referring to the particular breakfast in the conversation.

morgen Morgen means “tomorrow” in the expression i morgen. Together, i morgen identifies when the breakfast will take place. A common reusable pattern is i morgen for talking about the following day.

Så Så means “then” in Så skal vi have brød og smør and Så lad os købe yoghurt og syltetøj. It links the next decision to what was just said. Use så to introduce a consequence, response, or next step.

have Have means “have” in skal vi have brød og smør and Skal vi også have yoghurt? In these shopping questions and plans, have refers to obtaining or having an item available. A reusable pattern is have noget, “have something.”

brød Brød means “bread” and names one of the breakfast items to buy. It appears in brød og smør after skal vi have. Use brød when asking for or talking about bread.

og Og means “and” and joins items in brød og smør and yoghurt og syltetøj. It connects two elements of equal importance in the list. Use og to add another item or idea.

smør Smør means “butter” and names the second item in brød og smør. It is joined to brød with og in the shopping list. Use smør when talking about buying or serving butter.

også Også means “also” or “too” in Skal vi også have yoghurt? It adds yogurt to the items already being considered. Use også when including an additional person, item, or action.

yoghurt Yoghurt means “yogurt” and is the item being considered in Skal vi også have yoghurt? and Så lad os købe yoghurt og syltetøj. It can follow have when asking whether to get it and købe when deciding to buy it. Use yoghurt when discussing this food item.

Jeg Jeg means “I” and identifies the speaker in Jeg vil spise den med jordbærsyltetøj. It comes before vil to introduce the speaker’s wish. Use jeg when speaking about yourself.

vil Vil means “want to” in Jeg vil spise den med jordbærsyltetøj. It is followed by the infinitive spise and expresses the speaker’s intention or wish. A reusable pattern is Jeg vil + infinitive, meaning “I want to ...”

spise Spise means “eat” in Jeg vil spise den med jordbærsyltetøj. It follows vil as the action the speaker wants to perform. A reusable pattern is spise noget med noget, “eat something with something.”

den Den means “it” or “that one” in Jeg vil spise den med jordbærsyltetøj. It is the item being eaten, without needing to repeat its name. Use den to refer to a specific item in this kind of object position.

med Med means “with” in spise den med jordbærsyltetøj. It shows what the food is eaten together with. A reusable pattern is spise noget med noget, “eat something with something.”

jordbærsyltetøj Jordbærsyltetøj means “strawberry jam” and identifies what the speaker wants to eat with the item. It is used after med in med jordbærsyltetøj. Use it when specifying strawberry jam as an accompaniment.

lad Lad contributes to the suggestion “let’s” in lad os købe yoghurt og syltetøj. The full expression lad os + infinitive proposes that the speakers do something together. Use lad os when making a joint suggestion.

os Os means “us” in lad os købe yoghurt og syltetøj. Together with lad, it forms the suggestion “let’s buy,” including the speaker and the other person. The reusable pattern is lad os + infinitive.

syltetøj Syltetøj means “jam” in Så lad os købe yoghurt og syltetøj. It names the jam to add to the shopping list, while jordbærsyltetøj specifies strawberry jam earlier in the dialogue. Use syltetøj when referring to jam generally.

Grammar Points

lad os + infinitiv

Lad os købe brød og smør.

lad ohs KUR-buh bruhth uh SMUR.

Let's buy bread and butter.

Lad os + infinitiv bruges til at foreslå noget, vi gør sammen.

Bestemt form: -en

til morgenmaden

tel MOR-en-mah-den.

for breakfast

Et navneord får bestemt endelse: morgenmad bliver morgenmaden, når det er kendt.

Danish Vocabulary

bruge verb

BROO-uh need; use

Vi skal bruge ting til morgenmaden i morgen.

brød noun

bruhth bread

Så skal vi have brød og smør.

have verb

HAY-vuh have; get

Så skal vi have brød og smør.

hvad pron

vath what

Hvad skal vi købe i dag?

i dag phrase

ee DAY today

Hvad skal vi købe i dag?

i morgen phrase

ee MOR-en tomorrow

Vi skal bruge ting til morgenmaden i morgen.

købe verb

KUR-buh buy

Hvad skal vi købe i dag?

morgenmad noun

MOR-en-mahth breakfast morgenmaden

Gender: common

Vi skal bruge ting til morgenmaden i morgen.

smør noun

SMUR butter

Så skal vi have brød og smør.

så adv

soh then

Så skal vi have brød og smør.

til prep

tel for; to

Vi skal bruge ting til morgenmaden i morgen.

ting noun

teng things

Vi skal bruge ting til morgenmaden i morgen.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

What should we buy today?

Show Answer

Hvad skal vi købe i dag?

Do we need yogurt too?

Show Answer

Skal vi også have yoghurt?

I want to eat it with strawberry jam.

Show Answer

Jeg vil spise den med jordbærsyltetøj.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

what

Show Answer

hvad

breakfast

Show Answer

morgenmaden

need; use

Show Answer

bruge

buy

Show Answer

købe