Suggesting a coffee break | Learn Danish in English

Danish lesson set in a contemporary Copenhagen everyday setting: At work, two adults decide to save a file and take a short coffee break before returning to a report..

EN → DA / Level: A2

About This Lesson

Use Suggesting a coffee break to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Jeg mister fokus.

yai MIS-duh FOH-goos. I am losing focus.
B

Lad os gå væk og hente kaffe.

LAH us goh vek oh HEN-duh KAF-uh. Let's step away and get coffee.
A

En kort pause lyder nyttig.

en KAWD POW-suh LYOO-thuh NUHD-ee. A short break sounds helpful.
B

Vi kan strække os, før vi sætter os igen.

vee kan SDREK-uh us, fuh vee SED-uh us ee-GEHN. We can stretch before we sit down again.
A

Skal vi gå tilbage til rapporten efter kaffen?

sgal vee goh tuh-BAI-guh tuhl rah-PAW-duhn EF-duh KAF-uhn? Should we return to the report after coffee?
B

Så kan vi gøre næste del færdig.

soh kan vee KUH-uh NEG-duh deel FAIR-dee. We can finish the next part then.
A

Jeg gemmer filen, før vi går.

yai GEM-uh FEE-luhn, fuh vee goh. I will save the file before we leave.
B

Gem den nu, så vi ikke mister noget.

gem den noo, soh vee EG-uh MIS-duh NOH-th. Save it now, so we do not lose anything.

Word by Word

Jeg In "Jeg mister fokus", "Jeg" means I, the person speaking. It is used at the beginning of the clause before the verb. A useful pattern is Jeg followed by an action or state.
mister In "Jeg mister fokus" and "vi ikke mister noget", "mister" expresses losing something, such as focus or anything at all. The citation form is miste; mister is the exact form used in the dialogue. It follows the subject in these clauses.
fokus In "Jeg mister fokus", "fokus" means focus, the thing that is being lost. It comes after mister as the object of the action. The same noun can be used when talking about keeping or regaining focus.
Lad os The whole expression "Lad os" makes a suggestion to do something together. In "Lad os gå væk", Lad contributes the invitation, while os identifies the people as us. A useful pattern is Lad os followed by an action.
gå In "Lad os gå væk", "gå" means go or walk away from the current place. It is the action suggested after Lad os. It can be reused before a direction or destination.
væk In "gå væk", "væk" means away, showing movement away from the current place. Together, "gå væk" means step away or go away. It follows the verb gå in this expression.
og In "gå væk og hente kaffe", "og" means and and joins two actions. It connects gå væk with hente kaffe. A useful pattern is one action followed by og and another action.
hente In "hente kaffe", "hente" means get or fetch something. Here it describes getting coffee as the second action in the suggestion. It is followed by the thing being fetched.
kaffe In "hente kaffe", "kaffe" means coffee, the drink they plan to get. The exact form is used without referring to one previously identified serving. Later, "kaffen" refers to the coffee already under discussion.
En In "En kort pause", "En" means a and introduces one non-specific break. It comes before kort pause. A useful pattern is En followed by an adjective and a noun.
kort In "En kort pause", "kort" means short and describes the length of the break. It comes directly before pause. It can be reused before a noun when describing something as short.
pause In "En kort pause", "pause" means a break from the work. It is the thing described as short and helpful. A useful pattern is en pause when referring to a break.
lyder In "lyder nyttig", "lyder" means sounds and introduces an assessment of the break. The citation form is lyde; lyder is the exact form used here. A useful pattern is a subject followed by lyder and an adjective.
nyttig In "En kort pause lyder nyttig", "nyttig" means helpful or useful. It describes how the proposed break seems. It follows lyder as the evaluation of the pause.
Vi In "Vi kan strække os", "Vi" means we, referring to the two people together. It is the subject before kan. A useful pattern is Vi followed by an action.
kan In "Vi kan strække os" and "Så kan vi gøre næste del færdig", "kan" expresses that the action is possible or available. The citation form is kunne; kan is the exact form used in the dialogue. It is followed by the action verb.
strække In "strække os", "strække" means stretch. Together with os, it describes the two people stretching themselves during the break. It is followed by os in this expression.
os In "Lad os", "os" means us, the people included in the suggestion. In "strække os", it refers back to we and means ourselves. Its meaning depends on the construction in which it appears.
før In "før vi sætter os igen", "før" means before and introduces the action that must happen first. It connects the stretching with sitting down again. A useful pattern is før followed by a clause.
sætter In "sætter os", "sætter" is used for sitting down in this dialogue. The citation form is sætte; sætter is the exact form used with vi here. Together with os, it describes the people sitting down again.
igen In "sætter os igen", "igen" means again and shows that they will sit down one more time after the break. It comes after the action phrase. It can be used after an action that is repeated.
Skal In "Skal vi gå tilbage", "Skal" helps form a question suggesting a shared action: should we return? The citation form is skulle; Skal is the exact form at the beginning of this question. A useful pattern is Skal vi followed by an action.
tilbage In "gå tilbage til rapporten", "tilbage" means back and shows a return to something. It combines with gå and is followed by til rapporten. The full pattern is used when returning to a place or task.
til In "tilbage til rapporten", "til" means to and marks the thing they return to. It follows tilbage and comes before rapporten. A useful pattern is til followed by a noun naming a destination or target.
rapporten In "tilbage til rapporten", "rapporten" means the report they were working on. The citation form is rapport; rapporten is its definite form in the dialogue. It follows til as the target of the return.
efter In "efter kaffen", "efter" means after and places the return to the report later than the coffee break. It comes before the noun kaffen. A useful pattern is efter followed by a time or event.
kaffen In "efter kaffen", "kaffen" means the coffee already being discussed. The citation form is kaffe; kaffen is the definite form used here. It names the event or thing that comes before returning to the report.
Så At the beginning of "Så kan vi gøre næste del færdig", "Så" means then and links the next action to the earlier plan. It shows that finishing the next part will happen after the break. A useful pattern is Så followed by a possible or planned action.
gøre In "gøre næste del færdig", "gøre" is part of the construction meaning finish the next part. The word færdig completes the meaning by describing the result. A useful pattern is gøre followed by an object and færdig.
næste In "næste del", "næste" means next and identifies which part they will finish. It comes directly before del. It can be reused before a noun to identify the next item in an order.
del In "gøre næste del færdig", "del" means part, referring to one section of the report. It is the object of the finishing construction. It follows the describing word næste.
færdig In "gøre næste del færdig", "færdig" means finished or complete and describes the intended result for the part. It is an essential part of the construction with gøre. A useful pattern is an object followed by færdig after gøre.
gemmer In "Jeg gemmer filen", "gemmer" means save, referring to saving the file before leaving. The citation form is gemme; gemmer is the exact form used with Jeg here. It is followed by the thing being saved.
filen In "Jeg gemmer filen", "filen" means the file that is being saved. The citation form is fil; filen is its definite form in the dialogue. It follows gemmer as the object of the action.
Gem In "Gem den nu", "Gem" is a direct command to save something. The citation form is gemme; Gem is the command form used here. It comes before den, which identifies what should be saved.
den In "Gem den nu", "den" means it and refers to the file mentioned in "filen". It is the object of Gem. A useful pattern is a command followed by den when the thing is already known.
nu In "Gem den nu", "nu" means now and makes the requested saving immediate. It comes after the command and its object. It can be used to specify that an action should happen at the present time.
ikke In "så vi ikke mister noget", "ikke" means not and makes the action of losing something negative. It appears before mister in this clause. A useful pattern is placing ikke before the verb it negates in a clause.
noget In "vi ikke mister noget", "noget" means anything that could be lost. It appears after the negative ikke and completes the object of mister. It is used here for an unspecified thing rather than a named object.

Grammar Points

Substantiv + -en

rapporten

rah-PAW-duhn

the report

Danish can add -en to a common-gender noun to make it definite: rapport becomes rapporten.

Verb + sig

sætte sig

SED-uh sai

sit down

Some Danish verbs use sig as a reflexive part of the expression; sætte sig means “sit down.”

Danish Vocabulary

fokus noun
FOH-goos focus
Gender
neuter

Jeg mister fokus.

før conj
fuh before

Vi kan strække os, før vi sætter os igen.

gå væk phrase
goh vek step away

Lad os gå væk og hente kaffe.

hente verb
HEN-duh get; fetch

Lad os gå væk og hente kaffe.

kaffe noun
KAF-uh coffee
Gender
common

Lad os gå væk og hente kaffe.

kort adj
KAWD short
Gender
common

En kort pause lyder nyttig.

lad os phrase
LAH us let's

Lad os gå væk og hente kaffe.

lyde verb
LYOO-thuh sound; seem lyder

En kort pause lyder nyttig.

miste verb
MIS-duh lose mister

Jeg mister fokus.

nyttig adj
NUHD-ee helpful; useful
Gender
common

En kort pause lyder nyttig.

pause noun
POW-suh break
Gender
common

En kort pause lyder nyttig.

strække sig phrase
SDREK-uh sai stretch

Vi kan strække os, før vi sætter os igen.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

I am losing focus.

Show AnswerJeg mister fokus.

A short break sounds helpful.

Show AnswerEn kort pause lyder nyttig.

I will save the file before we leave.

Show AnswerJeg gemmer filen, før vi går.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

get; fetch

Show Answerhente

lose

Show Answermister

focus

Show Answerfokus

sound; seem

Show Answerlyder