Politely discussing noise from next door | Learn Danish in English

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Use Politely discussing noise from next door to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Naboen var ret støjende i går aftes.

NAY-boh-en vahr RAYD STOY-uh-nuh ee GOHR AF-dess. The neighbor was quite noisy last night.

Jeg hørte høj musik, mens vi prøvede at sove.

YAI HER-duh HOY MOO-seek, mens vee PRUH-vuh-thuh uh SOH-vuh. I heard loud music while we were trying to sleep.

Skal vi lægge en høflig besked?

SGEL vee LEH-guh en HURF-lee buh-SGAYTH? Should we leave a polite message?

Vi bør gøre den venlig, ikke vred.

Vee BUR KUH-uh den VEN-lee, EH-guh VRAYTH. We should make it friendly, not angry.

Jeg siger, at støjen gjorde, at vi ikke kunne sove.

YAI SEE-uh, ad STOY-en YOH-uh, ad vee EH-guh KUN-uh SOH-vuh. I'll say the noise kept us from sleeping.

Tilføj, at vi ved, at aftener kan blive travle.

tel-FOY, ad vee VAYTH, ad AF-duh-nuh kan BLEE-vuh TROW-luh. Add that we know evenings can get busy.

Det gør beskeden mildere og tydeligere.

Deh KUH-uh buh-SGAYTH-en MEEL-thuh-ruh oh TEW-thuh-lee-uh-ruh. That keeps the message softer and clearer.

Vi kan lægge den ved deres dør senere.

Vee kan LEH-guh den VEH-thair-uhs DUR SAY-nuh-ruh. We can put it near their door later.

Word by Word

Naboen Naboen means “the neighbor” here. It is the definite form of nabo, identifying the specific neighbor being discussed. This form is used before describing the neighbor in Naboen var ret støjende.

var Var means “was” here and describes the neighbor’s condition last night. It is the past form of være. It commonly links a subject with a description, as in Naboen var ret støjende.

ret Ret means “quite” or “rather” here, slightly qualifying the description støjende. It comes before the adjective it modifies. This lets the speaker describe the noise without making the statement especially strong.

støjende Støjende means “noisy” here and describes the neighbor. It is used as a description after var in Naboen var ret støjende. This form is useful when commenting on a person, place, or situation that produces a lot of noise.

i går I går means “yesterday” in the time expression i går aftes. Together, i frames the time reference and går supplies the word for the previous day; the whole expression should be learned as one unit. It is used before or with another time expression to place an event in the past.

aftes Aftes means “last night” in i går aftes, referring to the previous evening. In this dialogue it narrows yesterday to the evening or night. It is useful when specifying that something happened during the previous evening.

Jeg Jeg means “I” and identifies the speaker as the person who heard the music and will say something. It is the subject of Jeg hørte and Jeg siger. Use it before a verb when talking about your own action or statement.

hørte Hørte means “heard” here and describes the speaker’s experience of noticing the music. It is the past form of høre. It can be used with a sound or other thing that someone perceived, as in Jeg hørte høj musik.

høj Høj means “loud” here because it describes the volume of the music. It comes directly before musik in høj musik. This is a common way to describe music or another sound as having a high volume.

musik Musik means “music,” the sound that the speaker heard. In høj musik, it is the thing being described as loud. It can be used after a description of the music’s volume or character.

mens Mens means “while” and introduces the time relationship in mens vi prøvede at sove. It connects the music being heard with the simultaneous attempt to sleep. Use it before a clause describing another action happening at the same time.

vi Vi means “we” here and refers to the speaker and another person together. It is the subject of vi prøvede and vi can. Use it before a verb when the action belongs to the speaker and at least one other person.

prøvede Prøvede means “tried” here and describes the attempt to sleep. It is the past form of prøve and appears in prøvede at sove. This construction is reusable when someone makes an effort to do a particular action.

at At is the infinitive marker before sove in at sove. Together, prøvede at sove means “tried to sleep,” so at connects the attempt with the action that was intended. It is used before an infinitive after certain verbs such as prøve.

sove Sove means “to sleep” here and names the action the speakers were trying to perform. It follows at in at sove. This form is used after at when describing the intended action.

Skal Skal means “should” in Skal vi lægge en høflig besked? and opens a suggestion about what the speakers might do. It is the form related to skulle used in this question. The pattern Skal vi ...? is useful for suggesting a shared action.

lægge Lægge means “leave” or “put” here, referring to placing a message somewhere. It follows Skal in Skal vi lægge en høflig besked? and takes the message as its object. It is useful for describing putting an item in a particular place.

en En means “a” here and introduces one non-specific message in en høflig besked. It comes before the noun besked. Use it before an indefinite noun of the same type as besked.

høflig Høflig means “polite” and describes the intended tone of the message. It comes before besked in en høflig besked. This form is useful when describing respectful language or behavior.

besked Besked means “message,” the note the speakers plan to leave. In lægge en høflig besked, it is the thing being placed. It can be used with an adjective to describe the message’s tone or content.

bør Bør means “should” or “ought to” and expresses the speaker’s recommendation that the message be friendly. It comes before gøre in Vi bør gøre den venlig. Use it to recommend an action or say what would be appropriate.

gøre Gøre means “make” here in the construction gøre den venlig, meaning make it friendly. It comes after bør and takes den as its object and venlig as the resulting description. This construction is useful for describing a change in something’s quality or tone.

den Den means “it” here and refers back to besked, the message. In gøre den venlig, it is the object that is being made friendly. It can refer back to a previously mentioned noun when that noun is the thing affected by the action.

venlig Venlig means “friendly” or “kind” and describes the desired tone of the message. In gøre den venlig, it describes what the message should become. It is useful when describing a warm, non-hostile way of communicating.

ikke Ikke means “not” and negates vred in ikke vred. Here it tells the listener that the message should not have an angry tone. It is placed before the word or description being negated.

vred Vred means “angry” here and describes a tone the speakers want to avoid. In ikke vred, it is negated by ikke. This form is useful when describing an angry person, reaction, or style of communication.

siger Siger means “say” here in Jeg siger, at ..., introducing the content the speaker plans to put in the message. It is the present form of sige. The pattern siger, at introduces a statement or message content.

støjen Støjen means “the noise” and refers to the specific noise that disturbed the speakers. It is the definite form of støj. In støjen gjorde, at ..., it is the cause being discussed.

gjorde Gjorde means “made” or “caused” here in støjen gjorde, at vi ikke kunne sove. It is the past form of gøre and links the noise to its result. The construction gjorde, at introduces the consequence caused by something.

kunne Kunne expresses being able to in vi ikke kunne sove. With ikke, the phrase means that the speakers were not able to sleep. It is useful before another action to describe ability or inability to do that action.

Tilføj Tilføj means “add” and gives a direct instruction to include more information in the message. It is the imperative form related to tilføje and appears before at vi ved, at .... Use it when asking someone to include another point in a text or statement.

ved Ved means “know” here in vi ved, at ..., introducing information the speakers recognize as true. It is the present form of vide. This pattern is useful before a clause that states what someone knows.

aftener Aftener means “evenings” and refers to evenings in general. It is the plural form of aften and is the subject of kan blive travle. It is useful when discussing what may happen during evenings rather than one specific evening.

kan Kan means “can” here and expresses the possibility that evenings become busy. It comes before blive in aftener kan blive travle. Use it before an action or change to describe what is possible.

blive Blive means “become” or “get” here in kan blive travle. It describes a change into the state expressed by travle. It follows kan and is useful when describing something becoming a particular way.

travle Travle means “busy” here and describes aftener. It is the form of travl used with plural aftener, as in aftener kan blive travle. It is useful for describing evenings or other plural things that may have many activities.

Det Det means “that” or “it” here and refers to the addition to the message described in the previous line. It is the subject of Det gør beskeden mildere og tydeligere. This form can refer back to an idea or action just mentioned.

gør Gør means “makes” here and describes the effect of adding the extra point to the message. It is the present form of gøre and appears in Det gør beskeden mildere og tydeligere. It is useful for explaining what effect an action has.

beskeden Beskeden means “the message” and refers to the specific message the speakers are preparing. It is the definite form of besked. In Det gør beskeden mildere og tydeligere, it is the thing whose tone and clarity are affected.

mildere Mildere means “softer” or “milder” and describes the message’s less harsh tone. It is the comparative form of mild and appears after gør beskeden. It is useful when comparing a revised message with an earlier, stronger version.

og Og means “and” and joins mildere with tydeligere in mildere og tydeligere. It connects two effects of the message. Use it to link descriptions or actions that belong together.

tydeligere Tydeligere means “clearer” and describes the message as easier to understand. It is the comparative form of tydelig and is joined to mildere by og. It is useful when explaining that wording communicates an idea more clearly than before.

deres Deres means “their” and identifies the door as belonging to the neighbors. It comes before dør in deres dør. Use it before a noun when referring to something belonging to more than one person or to people already mentioned.

dør Dør means “door” here, specifically the neighbors’ door in deres dør. It is the noun after the possessive deres. It can be used with a possessive when identifying whose door is meant.

senere Senere means “later” and indicates that the message will be put near the door at a later time. It comes at the end of Vi kan lægge den ved deres dør senere. It is useful for referring to a time after the current conversation or another event.

Grammar Points

-en bestemt endelse

naboen

NAY-boh-en

the neighbor

Danish often adds -en to a common-gender noun to form the definite singular: nabo → naboen.

Komparativ med -ere

mildere; tydeligere

MEEL-thuh-ruh; TEW-thuh-lee-uh-ruh

softer; clearer

Many Danish adjectives form the comparative by adding -ere: mild → mildere and tydelig → tydeligere.

Danish Vocabulary

høflig adj

HURF-lee polite

Skal vi lægge en høflig besked?

høj adj

HOY loud; high

Jeg hørte høj musik, mens vi prøvede at sove.

høre verb

HUR-uh to hear hørte

Jeg hørte høj musik, mens vi prøvede at sove.

i går aftes phrase

ee GOHR AF-dess last night

Naboen var ret støjende i går aftes.

lægge verb

LEH-guh to put; to leave

Skal vi lægge en høflig besked?

mens conj

MENS while

Jeg hørte høj musik, mens vi prøvede at sove.

musik noun

MOO-seek music

Gender: common

Jeg hørte høj musik, mens vi prøvede at sove.

nabo noun

NAY-boh neighbor naboen

Gender: common

Naboen var ret støjende i går aftes.

prøve verb

PRUH-vuh to try prøvede

Jeg hørte høj musik, mens vi prøvede at sove.

ret adv

RAYD quite; rather

Naboen var ret støjende i går aftes.

sove verb

SOH-vuh to sleep

Jeg hørte høj musik, mens vi prøvede at sove.

støjende adj

STOY-uh-nuh noisy

Naboen var ret støjende i går aftes.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Should we leave a polite message?

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Skal vi lægge en høflig besked?

That keeps the message softer and clearer.

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Det gør beskeden mildere og tydeligere.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

neighbor

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naboen

to hear

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hørte

while

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mens

music

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musik