Fixing a Loose Door Handle | Learn Danish in English

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Use Fixing a Loose Door Handle to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Håndtaget på badeværelsesdøren føles løst igen.

HAWN-teh-thuhd paw bah-deh-VAIR-uhls-es-DOHR-en FOHLS LOHST ee-GAIN. The bathroom door handle feels loose again.

Jeg lagde mærke til det i går, men glemte at stramme det.

YAI LEH-thuh MAIR-keh teel deh ee GOHR, men GLEM-deh uh STRAH-muh deh. I noticed it yesterday but forgot to tighten it.

Har vi en skruetrækker i skuffen?

HAH vee en SKROO-uh-treh-ger ee SKOO-fen? Do we have a screwdriver in the drawer?

Den lille burde virke til de her skruer.

Den LEL-uh BOO-uh-thuh VAIR-guh teel dee hair SKROO-uh. The small one should work for these screws.

Kan du holde håndtaget, mens jeg strammer det?

Kan doo HUL-uh HAWN-teh-thuhd, mens YAI STRAH-muh deh? Could you hold the handle while I tighten it?

Jeg holder det fast, mens du drejer det.

YAI HUL-uh deh FESD, mens doo DRY-uh deh. I'll keep it steady while you turn it.

Det føles meget mere stabilt nu.

Deh FOHLS MYE-uh MAY-uh stah-BEELD noo. It feels much firmer now.

Lad os tjekke det igen senere, bare for en sikkerheds skyld.

LATH ohs CHEK-uh deh ee-GAIN SAY-nuh-ruh, BAH-ruh fohr en SEH-guh-haiths SGEEL. Let's check it once more later, just in case.

Word by Word

Håndtaget “Håndtaget” means “the handle” in this dialogue. The ending makes it the specific handle being discussed, and “Håndtaget på badeværelsesdøren” is a useful pattern for naming a particular object.

på In “på badeværelsesdøren”, “på” means “on” and links the handle to the door. A reusable pattern is one object “på” another object.

badeværelsesdøren “Badeværelsesdøren” means “the bathroom door” here. It names the door where the handle is located, as in the expression “Håndtaget på badeværelsesdøren”.

føles “Føles” means “feels” and describes how the handle seems when touched. “Det føles” is a useful pattern for describing how something feels.

løst “Løst” means “loose” here and describes the condition of the handle after “føles”. The exact combination “føles løst” can be used when an object does not feel firmly attached.

igen “Igen” means “again”, showing that the handle has become loose another time. It commonly comes at the end of a statement such as “føles løst igen”.

Jeg “Jeg” means “I” and identifies the person who noticed the problem and forgot to tighten it. It is used as the subject in “Jeg lagde mærke til det”.

lagde mærke til “Lagde mærke til” means “noticed” as a whole expression. “Lagde” provides the verb part, “mærke” contributes the idea of noticing, and “til” completes the expression; it can be followed by an object, as in “lagde mærke til det”.

det “Det” means “it” and refers here to the loose handle. It is used as the object in “lagde mærke til det” and “stramme det”.

i In the time expression “i går”, “i” means “in” and forms part of the meaning “yesterday”. The complete expression “i går” is used to place an action in the previous day.

går In “i går”, “går” contributes to the meaning “yesterday”; the meaning comes from the whole time expression. Use the exact phrase “i går” when saying when something happened yesterday.

men “Men” means “but” and connects the fact that the handle was noticed with the contrasting fact that it was not tightened. It is useful for joining two contrasting statements.

glemte “Glemte” means “forgot” here and introduces an action that was not carried out. A reusable pattern is “glemte at” followed by an action, as in “glemte at stramme det”.

at Here “at” marks the action that was forgotten in “glemte at stramme det”. It is used before the verb form “stramme” in this construction.

stramme “Stramme” means “tighten”, referring to making the handle secure. In “at stramme det”, it follows “at” and takes “det” as the thing being tightened.

Har “Har” means “have” in the question “Har vi en skruetrækker i skuffen?”. At the beginning of this question, it asks whether the needed tool is available.

vi “Vi” means “we” and refers to the people at home together. In “Har vi”, it is the group being asked about having a screwdriver.

en “En” means “a” before the noun “skruetrækker”. It introduces one non-specific screwdriver in “en skruetrækker”.

skruetrækker “Skruetrækker” means “screwdriver”, the tool needed for the repair. It is used after “en” in “en skruetrækker” to name the tool being looked for.

skuffen “Skuffen” means “the drawer” and identifies the place where the screwdriver may be. In “i skuffen”, it follows “i” to express location in a specific drawer.

Den “Den” means “the one” and stands for the screwdriver already mentioned. In “Den lille”, it lets the speaker identify the smaller tool without repeating “skruetrækker”.

lille “Lille” means “small” and describes the screwdriver in “Den lille”. The pattern “Den lille” can identify a small one among several objects.

burde “Burde” means “should” here and expresses an expectation that the small screwdriver will be suitable. It is used before “virke” in “burde virke”.

virke “Virke” means “work” in the sense of functioning successfully for the repair. The reusable pattern “burde virke til” expresses that something should be suitable for a particular object or task.

til In “virke til de her skruer”, “til” means “for” and marks the screws the screwdriver is intended to work with. The pattern “virke til” can be followed by the relevant object.

de “De” contributes the meaning “these” in the expression “de her skruer”. Together with “her”, it points to the particular screws at hand.

her In “de her”, “her” adds the idea of “here” and helps point to the screws being discussed. The full expression “de her skruer” means “these screws”.

skruer “Skruer” means “screws” and refers to the screws being tightened. In “de her skruer”, it names the specific screws nearby.

Kan “Kan” means “can” or “could” in “Kan du holde håndtaget?”. At the beginning of the question, it introduces a request for the other person to do something.

du “Du” means “you” and refers to the person being asked to hold the handle. It is the person addressed in “Kan du holde håndtaget?”.

holde “Holde” means “hold” and describes keeping the handle in place. It follows “Kan” in “Kan du holde håndtaget?” and is followed by the object “håndtaget”.

mens “Mens” means “while” and links two actions happening at the same time. In “mens jeg strammer det”, it introduces the action that takes place during the holding.

strammer “Strammer” describes the tightening action in “mens jeg strammer det”. It is used with “det” for the thing being tightened, and the full clause is “jeg strammer det”.

holder “Holder” means “hold” or “keep” in “Jeg holder det fast”. It describes keeping the handle from moving while the other person turns it; “holder ... fast” is a useful combination.

fast “Fast” means “steady” here and describes the way the handle is being held. In “holder det fast”, it indicates that the object is kept firmly in place.

drejer “Drejer” means “turns” and refers to turning the handle while it is being held. The pattern “drejer det” places the object after the action.

meget “Meget” means “much” and strengthens the comparison in “meget mere stabilt”. It is useful before “mere” when emphasizing a greater change.

mere “Mere” means “more” and shows that the handle is now more stable than before. In “meget mere stabilt”, it modifies the description of how the handle feels.

stabilt “Stabilt” means “firm” or “stable” here and describes the improved feel of the handle. The full expression “føles meget mere stabilt” can describe something that feels noticeably steadier after a repair.

nu “Nu” means “now” and marks the handle’s current condition after tightening. It is placed at the end of “Det føles meget mere stabilt nu”.

Lad “Lad” means “let” in the suggestion “Lad os tjekke det igen senere”. The pattern “Lad os” is used to suggest doing an action together.

os “Os” means “us” and refers to the speakers as a group in “Lad os”. It follows “Lad” in a suggestion for shared action.

tjekke “Tjekke” means “check” and refers to examining the handle again later. It follows “Lad os” in the reusable pattern “Lad os tjekke det”.

senere “Senere” means “later” and postpones the suggested check to a future time. In “tjekke det igen senere”, it tells when the checking should happen.

bare “Bare” means “just” here and makes the precaution sound like a simple extra check. It appears in “bare for en sikkerheds skyld” to introduce the reason for checking again.

for en sikkerheds skyld “For en sikkerheds skyld” means “just in case” as a whole expression. “For” frames the precaution, “en sikkerheds” builds the idea of safety, and “skyld” completes the fixed expression; it can follow an action, as in “tjekke det igen senere, bare for en sikkerheds skyld”.

Grammar Points

et-ord + adjective with -t: løst, stabilt

Håndtaget er løst.

HAWN-teh-thuhd air LOHST.

The handle is loose.

After an et-word, the adjective usually takes -t: løs becomes løst, and stabil becomes stabilt.

lægge mærke til → lagde mærke til

Jeg lagde mærke til badeværelsesdøren i går.

YAI LEH-thuh MAIR-keh teel bah-deh-VAIR-uhls-es-DOHR-en ee GOHR.

I noticed the bathroom door yesterday.

The fixed phrase lægge mærke til means “notice”; its past form is the irregular lagde mærke til.

Danish Vocabulary

badeværelsesdør noun

bah-deh-VAIR-uhls-es-DOHR bathroom door badeværelsesdøren

Gender: common

badeværelsesdøren

glemme verb

GLEM-uh forget glemte

glemte at stramme det

håndtag noun

HAWN-teh handle håndtaget

Gender: neuter

Håndtaget på badeværelsesdøren

i går adv

ee GOHR yesterday

igen adv

ee-GAIN again

lille adj

LEL-uh small

Den lille

lægge mærke til phrase

LEH-guh MAIR-keh teel notice lagde mærke til

Jeg lagde mærke til det i går

løs adj

LOHSS loose løst

Gender: neuter

føles løst igen

skruetrækker noun

SKROO-uh-treh-ger screwdriver

Gender: common

skuffe noun

SKOO-feh drawer skuffen

Gender: common

stramme verb

STRAH-muh tighten

virke verb

VAIR-guh work

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

The bathroom door handle feels loose again.

Show Answer

Håndtaget på badeværelsesdøren føles løst igen.

Do we have a screwdriver in the drawer?

Show Answer

Har vi en skruetrækker i skuffen?

It feels much firmer now.

Show Answer

Det føles meget mere stabilt nu.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

handle

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håndtaget

forget

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glemte

screwdriver

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skruetrækker

loose

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løst