A quiet dinner with a friend | Learn Danish in English

Danish lesson set in a contemporary Copenhagen everyday setting: While making plans with a friend, two adults arrange a quiet dinner and choose familiar food at a calm place..

EN → DA / Level: A2

About This Lesson

Use A quiet dinner with a friend to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Har du lyst til at spise middag sammen?

ha doo luhsd til eh SPEE-suh MID-dah sah-men? Would you like to have dinner together?
B

Det vil jeg gerne. En rolig middag lyder dejligt.

deh veel yai YER-nuh. en ROH-lee MID-dah LOO-uh DYE-lee. I'd like that. A quiet dinner sounds nice.
A

Skal jeg vælge et roligt sted?

skahl yai VEL-uh ed ROH-lee STEYD? Should I choose a calm place?
B

Et roligt sted ville hjælpe os med at tale.

ed ROH-lee STEYD VIL-uh YEL-puh os meh eh TAY-luh. Somewhere quiet would help us talk.
A

Foretrækker du enkel mad eller noget nyt?

foh-TREK-er doo ENG-el mahdh OH-ler NOH-uhd noot? Do you prefer simple food or something new?
B

Jeg vil helst vælge noget velkendt i aften.

yai veel HELST VEL-uh NOH-uhd vel-KENDT ee AF-den. I would rather choose something familiar tonight.
A

Jeg kan bestille et bord på en restaurant i nærheden.

yai kan beh-STIL-uh ed BOHR poh en res-tow-RANG ee NAIR-hay-den. I can reserve a table at a nearby restaurant.
B

Send mig venligst detaljerne, når du kan.

sen mai VEN-leest day-TAL-yer-nuh, nawr doo kan. Please send me the details when you can.

Word by Word

Har In “Har du lyst til at spise middag sammen?” “Har” means “have” and begins the invitation about wanting to eat together. The reusable pattern “Har du lyst til at ...?” asks whether someone would like to do something.
du In “Har du lyst til at spise middag sammen?” “du” means “you,” the person being invited. It is used as the subject in the pattern “Har du lyst til at ...?”.
lyst In “Har du lyst til at spise middag sammen?” “lyst” expresses desire or willingness to do something. The reusable construction is “have lyst til at” followed by an action, as in “Har du lyst til at spise middag sammen?”.
til In “Har du lyst til at spise middag sammen?” “til” is part of the construction expressing a desire to do something. It is reused in “lyst til at” before the action being considered.
at In “Har du lyst til at spise middag sammen?” “at” marks the verb phrase “spise middag sammen” after “lyst til.” The reusable pattern is “til at” followed by an action.
spise In “Har du lyst til at spise middag sammen?” “spise” means “eat” and names the proposed activity. It follows “at” in the pattern “lyst til at spise ...”.
middag In “spise middag” the word “middag” means “dinner,” the meal the speakers are proposing to have together. The reusable expression is “spise middag,” meaning to have dinner.
sammen In “Har du lyst til at spise middag sammen?” “sammen” means “together” and shows that the speakers would share the activity. It can be placed after the activity, as in “spise middag sammen”.
Det In “Det vil jeg gerne” “Det” refers to the proposed dinner and means “that” in the reply. The reusable response pattern is “Det vil jeg gerne” when accepting a suggestion.
vil In “Det vil jeg gerne” “vil” helps express willingness to accept the proposed dinner. Together with “gerne,” it forms the reusable response “Det vil jeg gerne” meaning “I’d like that.”
jeg In “Det vil jeg gerne” and “Jeg kan bestille et bord” “jeg” means “I,” the person accepting the plan and offering to make the reservation. It is used as the subject before the verb, as in “Jeg kan ...”.
gerne In “Det vil jeg gerne” “gerne” expresses that the speaker is willing or pleased to accept the suggestion. The reusable construction is “vil jeg gerne” in an affirmative response.
En In “En rolig middag lyder dejligt” “En” means “a” and introduces the proposed quiet dinner. It is used before the description and noun in “En rolig middag.”
rolig In “En rolig middag” and “Et roligt sted” “rolig” describes something quiet or calm. The reusable pattern is “rolig” before a noun, as in “rolig middag”.
lyder In “En rolig middag lyder dejligt” “lyder” means “sounds” and introduces the speaker’s impression of the dinner. It can be used with an evaluation in the pattern “lyder ...”.
dejligt In “En rolig middag lyder dejligt” “dejligt” gives a positive evaluation, meaning “nice” or “pleasant.” Together, “lyder dejligt” says that the proposed dinner sounds nice.
Skal In “Skal jeg vælge et roligt sted?” “Skal” asks whether the speaker should take the suggested action. The reusable pattern “Skal jeg ...?” offers to do something or asks for confirmation.
vælge In “Skal jeg vælge et roligt sted?” “vælge” means “choose” and names the action the speaker offers to take. It follows “Skal jeg” in the reusable pattern “Skal jeg vælge ...?”.
et In “et roligt sted” “et” means “a” and introduces the place being considered. It is used before the adjective and noun in “et roligt sted.”
sted In “et roligt sted” “sted” means “place,” here referring to a calm location for dinner. The reusable pattern is “et ... sted” when referring to a place with a description.
ville In “Et roligt sted ville hjælpe os med at tale” “ville” means “would” and presents the benefit as a possible result. It is used before “hjælpe” in the pattern “ville hjælpe ...”.
hjælpe In “Et roligt sted ville hjælpe os med at tale” “hjælpe” means “help,” referring to the place making conversation easier. The reusable construction is “hjælpe nogen med at” followed by an action.
os In “ville hjælpe os med at tale” “os” means “us,” the people who would be helped to talk. It follows “hjælpe” in the reusable pattern “hjælpe os med at ...”.
med In “ville hjælpe os med at tale” “med” is part of the construction meaning “help us with talking.” The reusable pattern is “hjælpe nogen med at” followed by an action.
tale In “ville hjælpe os med at tale” “tale” means “talk,” the activity that the quiet place would make easier. It follows “med at” in the construction “hjælpe os med at tale.”
Foretrækker In “Foretrækker du enkel mad eller noget nyt?” “Foretrækker” means “prefer” and asks which option the other person likes better. The reusable question pattern is “Foretrækker du X eller Y?”.
enkel In “enkel mad” “enkel” describes the food as simple or uncomplicated. It is placed before the noun in the reusable pattern “enkel mad.”
mad In “enkel mad” “mad” means “food,” specifically the type of food being discussed for dinner. It can follow a description, as in “enkel mad.”
eller In “Foretrækker du enkel mad eller noget nyt?” “eller” means “or” and connects the two choices. It is used between alternatives in the pattern “X eller Y.”
noget In “noget nyt” “noget” means “something” and refers to an unspecified food or option. The reusable pattern is “noget” followed by a description, as in “noget nyt.”
nyt In “noget nyt” “nyt” means “new” and describes the unspecified option being offered as an alternative to simple food. It is used after “noget” in the expression “noget nyt.”
helst In “Jeg vil helst vælge noget velkendt i aften” “helst” means “rather” or “preferably” and shows the speaker’s preference. The reusable pattern is “vil helst” followed by an action.
velkendt In “noget velkendt” “velkendt” means “familiar” or “well-known,” describing the food the speaker would prefer tonight. It follows “noget” in the reusable expression “noget velkendt.”
i In “i aften” “i” is part of the time expression meaning “this evening” or “tonight.” The reusable expression is “i aften” when referring to the evening of the current day.
aften In “i aften” “aften” means “evening.” Together with “i,” it forms the time expression “i aften,” meaning “tonight.”
kan In “Jeg kan bestille et bord” “kan” means “can” and shows that the speaker is able or willing to make the reservation. The reusable pattern is “Jeg kan” followed by an action.
bestille In “Jeg kan bestille et bord” “bestille” means “reserve” in the context of reserving a table. It follows “kan” in the pattern “kan bestille et bord.”
bord In “bestille et bord” “bord” means “table,” referring to the table being reserved at the restaurant. The reusable expression is “bestille et bord.”
på In “på en restaurant” “på” introduces the restaurant where the table will be reserved. The reusable location pattern in this dialogue is “på en restaurant.”
restaurant In “på en restaurant i nærheden” “restaurant” means “restaurant,” the place where the speakers plan to eat. It is used after “på” in the location expression “på en restaurant.”
nærheden In “i nærheden” “nærheden” refers to the nearby area, so the restaurant is close to the speakers or the relevant place. The reusable expression “i nærheden” means “nearby.”
Send In “Send mig venligst detaljerne” “Send” means “send” and is a polite request for the information. The reusable request pattern is “Send mig ...” when asking someone to send something to you.
mig In “Send mig venligst detaljerne” “mig” means “me,” the person who should receive the details. It follows “Send” in the reusable pattern “Send mig ...”.
venligst In “Send mig venligst detaljerne” “venligst” means “please” and makes the request polite. It can be placed inside a request such as “Send mig venligst ...”.
detaljerne In “Send mig venligst detaljerne” “detaljerne” means “the details,” referring to the information about the dinner plans. It is the thing being requested after “Send mig venligst.”
når In “når du kan” “når” means “when” and introduces the time condition for sending the details. The reusable pattern is “når du kan,” meaning “when you can.”

Grammar Points

rolig / roligt

roligt sted

ROH-lee STEYD

quiet place

Danish adjectives take -t with neuter nouns: rolig becomes roligt, as in roligt sted.

lyst til

lyst til middag

luhsd til MID-dah

feel like dinner

lyst til is a fixed expression meaning “feel like”; til introduces what you want.

Danish Vocabulary

gerne adv
YER-nuh gladly; would like to

Det vil jeg gerne.

hjælpe verb
YEL-puh help

Et roligt sted ville hjælpe os med at tale.

lyder verb
LOO-uh sounds

En rolig middag lyder dejligt.

lyst til phrase
luhsd til feel like

Har du lyst til at spise middag sammen?

middag noun
MID-dah dinner
Gender
common

En rolig middag lyder dejligt.

rolig adj
ROH-lee quiet; calm

En rolig middag lyder dejligt.

roligt adj
ROH-lee quiet; calm

Skal jeg vælge et roligt sted?

sammen adv
SAH-men together

Har du lyst til at spise middag sammen?

spise verb
SPEE-suh eat

Har du lyst til at spise middag sammen?

sted noun
STEYD place
Gender
neuter

Skal jeg vælge et roligt sted?

tale verb
TAY-luh talk

Et roligt sted ville hjælpe os med at tale.

vælge verb
VEL-uh choose

Skal jeg vælge et roligt sted?

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Should I choose a calm place?

Show AnswerSkal jeg vælge et roligt sted?

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

sounds

Show Answerlyder

eat

Show Answerspise

choose

Show Answervælge

gladly; would like to

Show Answergerne