Buying bread and finding orange juice | Learn Danish in English

About This Lesson

Use Buying bread and finding orange juice to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Hvor mange skiver brød skal vi købe?

VOH-uh MAHNG-uh SKEE-vah BRURTH sgal VEE KUR-buh? How many slices of bread should we buy?

Fire skiver i alt.

FEE-ah SKEE-vah ee AHLT. Four slices in total.

To til mig og to til dig.

TOH tell MY oh TOH tell DYE. Two for me and two for you.

Det burde være nok. Vi mangler stadig appelsinjuice.

Deh BOO-ah VAY-ah NAWG. VEE MANG-luh STAY-thee ah-PEL-seen-YOOS. That should be enough. We still need orange juice.

Kan du finde appelsinjuicen?

KAHN doo FEH-nuh ah-PEL-seen-YOO-sun? Can you find the orange juice?

Ikke endnu. Lad os tjekke den næste hylde.

EG-guh EN-nyoo. LAH aws CHEH-guh dehn NES-tuh HILL-uh. Not yet. Let's check the next shelf.

Lad os spørge en, der arbejder her.

LAH aws SPUR-ah en, dair AR-bai-dah hair. Let's ask someone who works here.

Word by Word

Hvor “Hvor” means “how” here and introduces the question “Hvor mange skiver brød”. It is used before a quantity expression, as in the new example “Hvor mange æbler?” for asking how many apples there are.

mange “mange” means “many” in “Hvor mange skiver brød” and asks about a countable quantity. It is used after “Hvor” before a plural noun, as in the new example “Hvor mange bøger?”

skiver “skiver” means “slices” here, referring to slices of bread. It is the plural form used in “skiver brød”; use it with the thing being sliced, as in the new example “tre skiver ost” for three slices of cheese.

brød “brød” means “bread” in “skiver brød”. It names the food being bought, and it follows the quantity word “skiver” in this expression. A new example is “Jeg køber brød” for “I am buying bread.”

skal “skal” expresses what the speakers plan or should do in “skal vi købe”. It is followed here by “vi” and the infinitive “købe”; the pattern “skal vi ...?” can be used for a shared plan, as in the new example “Skal vi spise?”

vi “vi” means “we” and refers to the two people deciding together what to buy. It is the subject of “skal vi købe”; use it before an action when talking about yourself and at least one other person, as in the new example “Vi skal hjem.”

købe “købe” means “buy” in “skal vi købe”. It follows “skal” in the question and names the action the two people are considering. The reusable pattern is “skal vi købe ...?” with the item after the verb, as in the new example “Skal vi købe mælk?”

Fire “Fire” means “four” and gives the total number of slices in “Fire skiver i alt”. It comes before the counted noun “skiver”; a new example is “Fire æbler” for four apples.

i “i” means “in” as part of the expression “i alt”, which means “in total”. Here it combines with “alt” to give the total quantity, and the same expression can follow a number in a new example such as “Ti kroner i alt.”

alt “alt” means “all” inside “i alt”, giving the meaning “in total” in this dialogue. Keep it together with “i” when stating a total, as in the new example “Fem personer i alt.”

To “To” means “two” and is used twice in “To til mig og to til dig”. Each occurrence gives the number of slices intended for one person. It is placed before the relevant phrase, as in the new example “To til børnene.”

til “til” means “for” in “til mig” and “til dig”, showing who the slices are intended for. It is followed here by a person word; the reusable patterns are “til mig” and “til dig”, as in the new example “Denne er til dig.”

mig “mig” means “me” in “til mig”, identifying the speaker as the intended person. It follows “til” in this phrase; use “til mig” when something is meant for you, as in the new example “Kaffen er til mig.”

og “og” means “and” and joins the two allocations in “To til mig og to til dig”. It connects words or phrases of equal function, as in the new example “brød og mælk.”

dig “dig” means “you” in “til dig”, identifying the other person as the intended recipient. It follows “til” in this phrase; use “til dig” when something is meant for the person you are addressing, as in the new example “Denne bog er til dig.”

Det “Det” means “that” here and refers to the amount just discussed in “Det burde være nok”. It is used as the subject of the statement about whether the amount is sufficient, as in the new example “Det er godt.”

burde “burde” expresses an expectation in “Det burde være nok”: the amount is expected to be sufficient. It is followed here by “være”; the pattern “burde være ...” can describe what is probably the case, as in the new example “Det burde være nemt.”

være “være” means “be” in “burde være nok” and completes the expression about the amount being sufficient. It follows “burde”; a new example is “Det skal være klart” for “It should be clear.”

nok “nok” means “enough” in “burde være nok”, describing the amount as sufficient. It follows “være” in this expression; use “være nok” when saying that something is sufficient, as in the new example “Det er nok.”

mangler “mangler” says that something is still needed or missing in “Vi mangler stadig appelsinjuice”. Here the subject is “vi”, and the needed item follows the verb; a new example is “Vi mangler mælk” for “We still need milk.”

stadig “stadig” means “still” in “Vi mangler stadig appelsinjuice”, showing that the need has not changed yet. It is placed before the item that is still needed in this sentence; a new example is “Jeg er stadig træt.”

appelsinjuice “appelsinjuice” means “orange juice” in “Vi mangler stadig appelsinjuice”. It names the drink that is still needed and follows “mangler”; a new example is “Jeg drikker appelsinjuice.”

Kan “Kan” means “can” in “Kan du finde appelsinjuicen?” and introduces a request about someone’s ability or willingness to find something. It comes first in this question, before “du”; the reusable pattern is “Kan du ...?” as in the new example “Kan du hjælpe?”

du “du” means “you” and identifies the person being asked in “Kan du finde appelsinjuicen?” It follows “Kan” in this question and comes before the action “finde”; a new example is “Du arbejder her.”

finde “finde” means “find” in “Kan du finde appelsinjuicen?” It follows “kan” in the request and takes the item being searched for after the verb; use the pattern “Kan du finde ...?” as in the new example “Kan du finde nøglerne?”

appelsinjuicen “appelsinjuicen” means “the orange juice” in “finde appelsinjuicen”, referring to a specific orange juice the speakers are looking for. It is the definite form of the dialogue word “appelsinjuice”, marked here by the ending “-en”; a new example is “Jeg køber appelsinjuicen.”

Ikke “Ikke” means “not” in the short answer “Ikke endnu”. It negates the idea that the orange juice has been found at this point; use it with “endnu” to say “not yet”, as in the new example “Ikke endnu, tak.”

endnu “endnu” means “yet” in “Ikke endnu”, referring to a result that has not happened up to now. Together with “Ikke”, it forms the practical answer “Ikke endnu”; a new example is “Er du færdig? Ikke endnu.”

Lad “Lad” introduces a suggestion in “Lad os tjekke den næste hylde”. Together with “os”, it forms “Lad os ...”, meaning “let’s ...”; use this pattern before an action, as in the new example “Lad os gå.”

os “os” means “us” in “Lad os tjekke den næste hylde”, referring to the speaker and the other person together. It follows “Lad” in the suggestion “Lad os ...”; a new example is “Lad os spise.”

tjekke “tjekke” means “check” in “Lad os tjekke den næste hylde”. It follows “Lad os” and names the suggested action; the reusable pattern is “Lad os tjekke ...” with the thing to inspect after the verb, as in the new example “Lad os tjekke listen.”

den “den” means “the” in “den næste hylde”, pointing to a specific shelf. It comes before the adjective “næste” and the noun “hylde”; a new example is “den store butik” for “the big shop.”

næste “næste” means “next” in “den næste hylde”, identifying the shelf that comes after the one they are checking. It comes before the noun “hylde” in this phrase; a new example is “den næste dag” for “the next day.”

hylde “hylde” means “shelf” in “den næste hylde”, the place they plan to check for the juice. It follows “næste” in the noun phrase; a new example is “Bogen står på en hylde” for “The book is on a shelf.”

spørge “spørge” means “ask” in “Lad os spørge en”. It follows “Lad os” and names the suggested action of asking someone for help; use the pattern “spørge en” when asking a person, as in the new example “Jeg vil spørge en lærer.”

en “en” means “someone” or “a person” in “en, der arbejder her”. It introduces the person they want to ask, and the following “der”-clause describes that person; a new example is “Jeg spørger en.”

der “der” introduces the clause “der arbejder her”, which describes the person they want to ask: someone who works here. It links “en” with the information about where that person works; a new example is “en, der bor her” for “someone who lives here.”

arbejder “arbejder” means “works” in “der arbejder her”, describing what the person does here. It follows “der” in the clause and is followed by “her”; a new example is “Hun arbejder i en butik.”

her “her” means “here” in “arbejder her”, referring to the grocery shop where the conversation takes place. It comes after “arbejder” to specify the location; a new example is “Jeg bor her.”

Grammar Points

Hvor mange + flertalsnavneord

Hvor mange skiver brød?

VOH-uh MAHNG-uh SKEE-vah BRURTH?

How many slices of bread?

Efter "hvor mange" står navneordet i flertal: "skiver", ikke "skive".

Lad os + infinitiv

Lad os tjekke næste hylde.

LAH aws CHEH-guh NES-tuh HILL-uh.

Let's check the next shelf.

"Lad os" bruges til at foreslå noget og efterfølges af verbets infinitiv, som "tjekke".

Danish Vocabulary

brød noun

BRURTH bread

dig pron

DYE you

fire num

FEE-ah four

hvor mange det

VOH-uh MAHNG-uh how many

i alt phrase

ee AHLT in total

købe verb

KUR-buh buy

mangle verb

MANG-luh need; be missing mangler

mig pron

MY me

nok adv

NAWG enough

skive noun

SKEE-vuh slice skiver

stadig adv

STAY-thee still

til prep

tell for; to

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Four slices in total.

Show Answer

Fire skiver i alt.

Can you find the orange juice?

Show Answer

Kan du finde appelsinjuicen?

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

slice

Show Answer

skiver

four

Show Answer

fire

bread

Show Answer

brød

buy

Show Answer

købe