Taking photos of quiet streets | Learn Danish in English

Danish lesson set in a contemporary Copenhagen everyday setting: At home, two adults talk about taking photos of quiet streets and looking at one picture..

EN → DA / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Taking photos of quiet streets to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Tager du billeder?

TAIR doo BEL-uh? Do you take photos?
B

Jeg bruger mit lille kamera de fleste dage.

yai BROO-er mid LEL-uh ka-MAIR-uh dee FLEH-stuh DAIR-wuh. I use my small camera most days.
A

Hvad kan du lide at tage billeder af?

va kan doo LEE-thuh uh TAIR BEL-uh ow? What do you like to photograph?
B

Jeg kan bedst lide stille gader.

yai kan best LEE-thuh STEL-uh GAIR-uh. Quiet streets are my favorite.
A

Må jeg se et?

Maw yai SAY AEDH? Can I see one?
B

Her er et, jeg tog tæt på mit hjem.

HAIR air AEDH, yai toh TED poh mid YEM. Here is one I took near my home.
A

Det ser enkelt og klart ud.

Deh SAIR ENG-gult oh KLAH-th OOTH. It looks simple and clear.
B

Jeg øver mig, når jeg har tid.

yai EUH-vuh mai, NOR yai har TEEDH. I practice whenever I have time.

Word by Word

Tager In “Tager du billeder?” it means “take,” as in taking photos. It comes first in this question, before the subject “du,” and is useful when asking whether someone takes photos or does a similar activity.
du In “Tager du billeder?” it means “you,” referring to the person being addressed. It follows “Tager” in this question and is used when speaking directly to one person.
billeder In “Tager du billeder?” it means “photos” or “pictures.” It is the object of “Tager” and can be used for multiple pictures in a conversation about photography.
Jeg In “Jeg bruger mit lille kamera de fleste dage.” it means “I” and identifies the speaker. It begins a first-person statement and is useful for describing the speaker’s own habits or actions.
bruger In “Jeg bruger mit lille kamera de fleste dage.” it means “use.” It is followed by the object “mit lille kamera,” so it can be reused when saying that someone uses a particular tool or object.
mit In “mit lille kamera” it means “my,” showing that the camera belongs to or is associated with the speaker. It comes before the noun and can be reused before something the speaker identifies as their own.
lille In “mit lille kamera” it means “small” and describes the camera’s size. It comes before the noun “kamera,” as adjectives commonly do when describing an object.
kamera In “mit lille kamera” it means “camera.” It is the object that the speaker uses most days, so it is useful when talking about equipment for taking photos.
de In “de fleste dage” it is part of the expression meaning “most days.” It comes before “fleste” and helps form a recurring time expression for a routine.
fleste In “de fleste dage” it means “most,” referring to the majority of the days. It combines with the plural time word “dage” to describe how often the speaker uses the camera.
dage In “de fleste dage” it means “days.” Together with “de fleste,” it describes a routine that happens on most days.
Hvad In “Hvad kan du lide at tage billeder af?” it means “what” and asks which thing or subject the person likes to photograph. It begins a question about a thing or activity.
kan Here “kan” is part of “kan lide,” the expression used to say that someone likes something. In “Hvad kan du lide at tage billeder af?” it works with “lide” before the activity “at tage billeder af,” rather than expressing ability by itself.
lide Here “lide” contributes with “kan” in “kan lide,” meaning “like.” The expression can be followed by a thing someone likes or by an activity introduced with “at,” as in the dialogue.
at In “at tage billeder af” it marks the following verb phrase as an activity: “to take photos of.” It comes directly before “tage” and connects the activity to “kan lide.”
tage In “at tage billeder af” it means “take,” specifically as part of the expression “take photos of.” The phrase keeps “billeder” and “af” together when naming what someone photographs.
af In “tage billeder af” it marks the subject being photographed, meaning “of.” It comes after “billeder,” so the full phrase preserves the relationship between taking photos and their subject.
bedst In “Jeg kan bedst lide stille gader.” it means “best” and strengthens the speaker’s preference. Together with “kan lide,” it expresses what the speaker likes most, useful when naming a favorite type of subject.
stille In “stille gader” it means “quiet” and describes the streets. It comes before “gader” and is useful when describing a calm place or scene.
gader In “Jeg kan bedst lide stille gader.” it means “streets.” It is the thing the speaker likes most and combines with “stille” to describe the preferred photography subject.
Må In “Må jeg se et?” it asks for permission, meaning “may I” or “can I.” It begins a polite question about whether the speaker is allowed to do the following action.
se In “Må jeg se et?” it means “see.” It names the action for which the speaker asks permission and can be followed by the thing the speaker wants to look at.
et In “Må jeg se et?” it means “one,” referring to one photo or picture already under discussion. The same form appears in “Her er et,” where it avoids repeating the noun.
Her In “Her er et, jeg tog tæt på mit hjem.” it means “here” and presents the photo to the listener. The phrase “Her er et” is useful when showing or pointing out something that is present.
er In “Her er et” it means “is,” linking the location “Her” with the photo being presented. It is useful in this kind of statement that introduces or points out an item.
tog In “jeg tog tæt på mit hjem” it means “took,” referring to the photo the speaker made near home. It describes a completed action and is useful when saying where a particular photo was taken.
tæt In “tæt på mit hjem” it contributes the meaning “near” or “close.” The full expression “tæt på” is used with a place to identify a nearby location.
på In “tæt på mit hjem” it completes the location expression meaning “near my home.” It follows “tæt” and is used before the place that identifies what something is close to.
hjem In “mit hjem” it means “home.” Together with “mit,” it identifies the speaker’s own home as the place near which the photo was taken.
Det In “Det ser enkelt og klart ud.” it means “it” and refers to the picture being discussed. It serves as the subject when the speaker comments on the picture’s appearance.
ser In “Det ser enkelt og klart ud.” it is part of the expression meaning “looks.” Its meaning here comes with “ud,” and the construction describes how something appears rather than what someone sees.
enkelt In “Det ser enkelt og klart ud.” it means “simple” and describes the picture’s appearance. It is one of the descriptions placed after “ser” and before “ud.”
og In “enkelt og klart” it means “and” and joins the two descriptions of the picture. It is useful for connecting two qualities in one statement.
klart In “Det ser enkelt og klart ud.” it means “clear” and gives a second description of the picture’s appearance. It is joined to “enkelt” by “og” within the same comment.
ud In “Det ser enkelt og klart ud.” it completes the expression “ser ... ud,” which means “looks” or “appears.” This construction is useful for commenting on how a picture, object, or scene appears.
øver In “Jeg øver mig, når jeg har tid.” it means “practice” as part of the expression “øver mig.” It describes the speaker’s repeated effort and is useful when talking about practicing a skill.
mig In “Jeg øver mig” it refers back to the speaker and completes the expression meaning “practice.” It follows “øver” when the speaker says that they are practicing themselves.
når In “når jeg har tid” it means “when” or “whenever” and introduces the condition for practicing. It connects the practice to the time when the speaker has free time.
har In “jeg har tid” it means “have.” Together with “tid,” it expresses having time available, and this phrase is useful when explaining when an activity can happen.
tid In “jeg har tid” it means “time,” specifically time that is available for practicing. It is used with “har” to say that the speaker has enough free time for an activity.

Grammar Points

se ud → ser ... ud

ser ... ud

SAIR ... OOTH

look; appear

In Danish, ud stays after the verb, even when another element comes between the verb and ud.

øve sig → øver mig

øver mig

EUH-vuh mai

practice

Reflexive verbs use a pronoun that changes with the subject; mig means myself for the first person.

Danish Vocabulary

billede noun
BEL-uh-thuh picture; photo billeder
Gender
neuter

Tager du billeder?

bruge verb
BROO-uh use bruger

Jeg bruger mit lille kamera de fleste dage.

dag noun
DAIR day dage
Gender
common

de fleste dage

gade noun
GAIR-uh street gader
Gender
common

stille gader

her adv
HAIR here

Her er et, jeg tog tæt på mit hjem.

hvad pron
VA what

Hvad kan du lide at tage billeder af?

kamera noun
ka-MAIR-uh camera
Gender
neuter

mit lille kamera

lide verb
LEE-thuh like

Hvad kan du lide at tage billeder af?

lille adj
LEL-uh small
Gender
neuter

mit lille kamera

se verb
SAY see

Må jeg se et?

stille adj
STEL-uh quiet

stille gader

tage verb
TAIR take; photograph tager

Tager du billeder?

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Do you take photos?

Show AnswerTager du billeder?

Quiet streets are my favorite.

Show AnswerJeg kan bedst lide stille gader.

Can I see one?

Show AnswerMå jeg se et?

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

what

Show Answerhvad

like

Show Answerlide

picture; photo

Show Answerbilleder

day

Show Answerdage