About This Lesson
Use Checking a message before sending to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
Kan du tjekke denne besked?
kan doo CHEK-uh DEN-uh beh-SKAYTH? Can you check this message?
B
Jeg kan læse den nu.
yai kan LAY-suh den noo. I can read it now.
A
Ser beskeden tydelig ud?
sair beh-SKAY-thn TYOO-thuh-lee ooth? Does it look clear?
B
Hovedpointen er nem at forstå.
HOH-thuh-POYN-ten air nem ad for-STOH. The main point is easy to understand.
A
Kan du se nogen fejl?
kan doo say NOH-en fyle? Do you see any mistakes?
B
Jeg kan se én lille stavefejl nær slutningen.
yai kan say ayn LIL-uh STAY-vuh-FYLE nair SLOOT-ning-en. I see one small spelling mistake near the end.
A
Jeg retter den nu.
yai RED-uh den noo. I will fix that now.
B
Efter det burde den være klar til at sende.
EF-tuh dayth BOO-thuh den vair klahr teel uh SEN-uh. After that, it should be ready to send.Word by Word
Kan
“Kan” means “can” in “Kan du tjekke denne besked?” and is used to ask whether someone is able or willing to do something. It comes before the person and the action, as in “Kan du ...?” You can use this pattern when asking someone to check, read, or do something.
du
“du” means “you” in “Kan du tjekke denne besked?” and refers to the person being addressed. It commonly appears after “Kan” in a question asking someone to do something. Use “du” when speaking directly to one person.
tjekke
“tjekke” means “check” in “Kan du tjekke denne besked?” It follows “Kan du” and names the action being requested. A reusable pattern is “Kan du tjekke ...?” when asking someone to check a message, document, or detail.
denne
“denne” means “this” in “denne besked” and points to the particular message being discussed. It comes directly before the noun it describes. Use “denne” when identifying one specific nearby thing.
besked
“besked” means “message” in “denne besked.” Here it refers to the message that the two people are checking. It can be used after a word such as “denne” to identify a particular message.
Jeg
“Jeg” means “I” in “Jeg kan læse den nu.” It marks the speaker as the person who can read the message. Use “Jeg” at the beginning when describing your own action or ability.
læse
“læse” means “read” in “Jeg kan læse den nu.” It follows “kan” and names the action the speaker is able to do. A reusable pattern is “Jeg kan læse ...” when saying that you can read a message, text, or document.
den
“den” means “it” in “Jeg kan læse den nu” and refers back to the message. It is placed after “læse” as the thing being read. Use “den” to refer back to the message when its identity is already clear.
nu
“nu” means “now” in “Jeg kan læse den nu.” It shows that the reading is possible at the present time. It commonly comes at the end of a short sentence to specify when something happens.
Ser
“Ser” contributes the meaning “looks” in the question “Ser beskeden tydelig ud?” The sentence asks about the message’s appearance or clarity, with “beskeden” following the verb because it is a question. Use this question pattern when asking whether something looks clear.
beskeden
“beskeden” means “the message” in “Ser beskeden tydelig ud?” It refers to the specific message being checked. The related form “besked” means “message,” while “beskeden” identifies the message as a particular one.
tydelig
“tydelig” means “clear” in “Ser beskeden tydelig ud?” It describes how the message appears to the reader. Use it in the pattern “Ser ... tydelig ud?” when asking whether a message or explanation looks clear.
ud
“ud” is part of “Ser beskeden tydelig ud?” and helps express how something looks or appears. Together, “Ser ... tydelig ud?” asks whether the message looks clear. Keep “ud” at the end of this appearance pattern.
Hovedpointen
“Hovedpointen” means “the main point” in “Hovedpointen er nem at forstå.” It identifies the central idea of the message. Use it when referring to the most important idea in an explanation or message.
er
“er” links “Hovedpointen” with its description in “Hovedpointen er nem at forstå.” Here it says what the main point is like. It is commonly used between a subject and a description.
nem
“nem” means “easy” in “nem at forstå.” It describes the main point as easy for someone to understand. A reusable pattern is “[something] er nem at forstå” when an idea or instruction is easy to understand.
at
“at” introduces the action in “nem at forstå,” giving the meaning “easy to understand.” It comes directly before “forstå” in this construction. Use “at” in the pattern “[something] er nem at ...” when describing an action that is easy to do.
forstå
“forstå” means “understand” in “nem at forstå.” It names the action that is easy when the main point is clear. A reusable pattern is “nem at forstå” for an idea, message, or explanation.
se
“se” means “see” in “Kan du se nogen fejl?” It is the action the speaker asks the other person to perform when looking for mistakes. Use “Kan du se ...?” when asking whether someone can see something.
nogen
“nogen” means “any” in the question “Kan du se nogen fejl?” It asks whether there are mistakes without naming a specific number. It commonly comes before the thing being looked for in a question.
fejl
“fejl” means “mistakes” or “errors” in “nogen fejl?” Here it refers to possible errors in the message. Use it after “nogen” when asking whether a text contains any mistakes.
lille
“lille” means “small” in “én lille stavefejl.” It describes the spelling mistake as minor. It comes before the noun it describes, as in “lille stavefejl.”
stavefejl
“stavefejl” means “spelling mistake” in “én lille stavefejl.” It identifies the specific kind of error found in the message. Use it when referring to an incorrect spelling in a message or other text.
nær
“nær” means “near” in “nær slutningen.” It shows that the spelling mistake is located close to the end. Use “nær” before a place or point when describing something nearby.
slutningen
“slutningen” means “the end” in “nær slutningen.” It identifies the final part of the message as the location of the mistake. The related form “slutning” means “end,” while “slutningen” refers to a particular end.
retter
“retter” means “fix” or “correct” in “Jeg retter den nu.” It describes correcting the mistake in the message. Use “Jeg retter ...” when saying that you are correcting a specific error or text now.
Efter
“Efter” means “after” in “Efter det burde den være klar til at sende.” It places the next situation after the correction just mentioned. Use “Efter det” to say what happens after a previously mentioned action or event.
det
“det” means “that” in “Efter det” and refers to the correction mentioned just before. Together, “Efter det” means “after that.” Use it to connect the next step to an action or event already discussed.
burde
“burde” means “should” in “burde den være klar til at sende.” It expresses an expectation that the message will be ready. It comes before “være” in this pattern when describing what is expected to be true.
være
“være” means “be” in “burde den være klar til at sende.” It follows “burde” and connects the message with the description “klar.” Use “burde være ...” when saying what something should be like.
klar
“klar” means “ready” in “klar til at sende.” It describes the message as ready for the next action. A reusable pattern is “[something] er klar til at ...” when something is ready for an intended action.
til
“til” is part of “klar til at sende” and introduces the intended action. The whole expression means “ready to send.” Use “klar til at ...” before an action that is about to be carried out.
sende
“sende” means “send” in “klar til at sende.” It names the action the message is ready for and follows “til at.” A reusable pattern is “klar til at sende” when a message or document is ready to be sent.
Grammar Points
Bestemt form med -en
hovedpointen
HOH-thuh-POYN-tenthe main point
Danish can mark “the” by adding -en to a common-gender noun: hovedpoint → hovedpointen.
Danish Vocabulary
besked
noun
beh-SKAYTH
message
den
pron
den
it
denne
det
DEN-uh
this
du
pron
doo
you
hovedpoint
noun
HOH-thuh-POYN
main point
hovedpointen
jeg
pron
yai
I
læse
verb
LAY-suh
read
nem
adj
nem
easy
nu
adv
noo
now
se
verb
say
see; look
ser
tjekke
verb
CHEK-uh
check
tydelig
adj
TYOO-thuh-lee
clear
Quiz
Word Order
Arrange the words in the correct order.
Can you check this message?
Show Answer
Kan du tjekke denne besked?I can read it now.
Show Answer
Jeg kan læse den nu.Does it look clear?
Show Answer
Ser beskeden tydelig ud?Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
read
Show Answer
læsecheck
Show Answer
tjekkethis
Show Answer
dennemessage