Asking about the waiting time | Learn Danish in English

About This Lesson

Use Asking about the waiting time to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Undskyld, hvor lang er den forventede ventetid?

oon-SGEWL, vohr LAHNG air den foh-VEN-uh-duh VEN-tuh-teed? Excuse me, what is the estimated waiting time?

Cirka ti minutter, måske lidt længere.

SEER-guh tee mih-NOO-duh, MOH-sguh leth LENG-uh. About ten minutes, maybe a little longer.

Jeg har en anden aftale bagefter.

YIGH hah en AN-uhn AF-tay-luh BAIR-uhf-tuh. I have another appointment after this.

Hvis det er for sent, kan du komme tilbage efter frokost.

vess deh air foh SENT, kahn doo KOH-muh tuh-LAIR EF-tuh FROH-kost. If that is too late, you can come back after lunch.

Ville jeg beholde min plads, hvis jeg kom tilbage senere?

VEL-uh yigh buh-HOH-luh men PLESS, vess yigh kohm tuh-LAIR SAY-nuh? Would I keep my place if I came back later?

Så skal du tage en ny billet efter frokost.

SOH sgal doo TAY-uh en nyoo bih-LED EF-tuh FROH-kost. You would need to take a new ticket after lunch.

Så venter jeg indtil videre, fordi jeg allerede er her.

SOH VEN-uh yigh EN-tel VEE-thuh-uh, foh-THEE yigh AL-uh-RAY-thuh air HAIR. Then I'll wait for now since I'm already here.

Hold øje med skærmen, tak.

HULL UR-yuh meh SGEHR-muhn, tahg. Please keep an eye on the screen.

Word by Word

Undskyld “Undskyld” means “excuse me” here and politely gets the other person’s attention before a question. Use it when addressing someone politely in a public place or when apologizing.

hvor “hvor” helps ask how great a degree is in “hvor lang”, meaning “how long”. This pattern is used before an adjective when asking about a quality or measurement.

lang “lang” means “long” and describes the length of “den forventede ventetid”. It is used in the question pattern “hvor lang” when asking about duration.

er “er” means “is” and links the question subject with its description in “hvor lang er den forventede ventetid?”. It is the form used here to state what the waiting time is.

den “den” marks the specific waiting time being discussed in “den forventede ventetid”. It comes before the descriptive word and noun in this expression.

forventede “forventede” means “expected” and describes the waiting time in “den forventede ventetid”. It identifies the waiting time that is anticipated rather than a different waiting time.

ventetid “ventetid” means “waiting time”, the amount of time a person must wait in this situation. It is used in “den forventede ventetid” when asking for an estimate.

Cirka “Cirka” means “about” or “approximately” and introduces an estimate in “Cirka ti minutter”. Use it before a number when the amount is not exact.

minutter “minutter” means “minutes” and names the time unit after “ti” in “Cirka ti minutter”. It is used after a number when expressing a duration.

måske “måske” means “maybe” and shows that the speaker is not certain in “måske lidt længere”. It is useful when giving a possibility or qualified estimate.

lidt “lidt” means “a little” and makes the possible extension small in “lidt længere”. It is used before a describing word to indicate a small degree.

længere “længere” means “longer” and says that the wait may exceed the ten minutes already mentioned in “måske lidt længere”. It is used to compare a duration with another duration.

Jeg “Jeg” means “I” and is the subject at the start of “Jeg har en anden aftale bagefter.” The same word appears lowercase as “jeg” in “fordi jeg allerede er her”; the capitalization changes with its position in the sentence.

har “har” means “have” and expresses possession of an appointment in “Jeg har en anden aftale bagefter”. Use it before what someone has, owns, or is scheduled with.

en “en” means “a” or “an” and introduces the nonspecific appointment in “en anden aftale”. It is placed directly before the noun phrase here.

anden “anden” means “another” and describes “aftale” in “en anden aftale”. This expression refers to one more appointment in addition to the current situation.

aftale “aftale” means “appointment” here, referring to a scheduled commitment after the wait. It is used in “en anden aftale” for another appointment.

bagefter “bagefter” means “afterwards” or “after this” and places the other appointment after the current situation in “en anden aftale bagefter”. It can be used to refer to something happening later than an event just mentioned.

Hvis “Hvis” means “if” and introduces the condition in “Hvis det er for sent”. Use it at the beginning of a clause when one possibility depends on a condition.

det “det” refers to the situation or timing in “Hvis det er for sent”, meaning “if it is too late”. Here it functions as the subject of the condition.

for “for” means “too” in “for sent” and shows that the time would be later than acceptable. This expression is used before a describing word to say that something exceeds a suitable degree.

sent “sent” means “late” and describes the timing in “for sent”. Together with “for”, it says that the timing is too late for the speaker’s needs.

kan “kan” means “can” and shows that coming back is possible in “kan du komme tilbage efter frokost”. It is placed before the infinitive “komme” in this construction.

du “du” means “you” and is the person who can return in “kan du komme tilbage efter frokost”. Use it as the subject when addressing one person directly.

komme “komme” means “come” and follows “kan” in “kan du komme tilbage efter frokost”. Together with “tilbage”, it describes returning to the place.

tilbage “tilbage” means “back” and completes the return idea in “komme tilbage”. It is used after a movement verb when someone returns to an earlier place or situation.

efter “efter” means “after” and places the return after lunch in “efter frokost”. Use it before a time or event to state what happens later.

frokost “frokost” means “lunch” and is the time reference in “efter frokost”. The expression identifies when the person could return.

Ville “Ville” frames a hypothetical question about keeping the place in “Ville jeg beholde min plads, hvis jeg kom tilbage senere?”. It is used at the beginning of this question to ask what would happen under an imagined condition.

beholde “beholde” means “keep” or “retain” and describes not losing the place in “beholde min plads”. It follows “ville” and takes “min plads” as what is kept.

min “min” means “my” and shows that the place belongs to the speaker in “min plads”. It is placed before the noun being possessed.

plads “plads” means “place” or “spot” here, specifically the speaker’s place in the waiting arrangement. It is used in the expression “min plads” for one’s current position.

kom “kom” marks the imagined return in “hvis jeg kom tilbage senere”. It appears with “tilbage” to express the condition of coming back later.

senere “senere” means “later” and says that the imagined return would happen at a later time in “kom tilbage senere”. Use it when referring to a time after the present or after another event.

Så “Så” means “then” or “so” and marks the consequence or decision in “Så skal du tage en ny billet efter frokost” and “Så venter jeg indtil videre”. It is useful at the start of a response when drawing a conclusion from what was just said.

skal “skal” expresses a requirement in “Så skal du tage en ny billet efter frokost”, meaning that the person must take a new ticket. It is followed by the infinitive “tage” in this construction.

tage “tage” means “take” and describes the required action in “tage en ny billet”. It follows “skal” and is followed by the object “en ny billet”.

ny “ny” means “new” and describes the ticket in “en ny billet”. It shows that the person needs a different ticket after returning.

billet “billet” means “ticket” and is the object of “tage” in “tage en ny billet”. In this waiting-area context, it refers to the ticket needed to receive a new place.

venter “venter” expresses waiting in “Så venter jeg indtil videre”. It is used with “jeg” to state the speaker’s decision to wait for now.

indtil videre “indtil videre” means “for now” or “for the time being” and describes a temporary decision in “venter jeg indtil videre”. “indtil” contributes the idea of a limit up to a point, while “videre” contributes continuation onward; together they form the fixed expression for something temporary.

fordi “fordi” means “because” and introduces the reason in “fordi jeg allerede er her”. Use it to connect an action or decision with its explanation.

allerede “allerede” means “already” and says that being here is true before the decision to continue waiting in “jeg allerede er her”. It is used when something has happened or is true by a relevant time.

her “her” means “here” and identifies the speaker’s current location in “jeg allerede er her”. Use it to refer to the place where the speaker is now.

Hold øje med “Hold øje med” means “keep an eye on” or “watch”. In this expression, “Hold” tells the listener to do something, “øje” means “eye”, and “med” links the watching to “skærmen”; the reusable pattern is “Hold øje med” followed by the thing to monitor.

tak “tak” means “please” here and softens the request “Hold øje med skærmen, tak”. At the end of a request, it is a polite way to ask someone to do something.

Grammar Points

Bestemt ental: substantiv + -en

ventetiden

VEN-tuh-teed-n

the waiting time

Dansk markerer ofte bestemt form med et suffiks på substantivet: ventetid bliver ventetiden.

Flertal: minut → minutter

minutter

mih-NOO-duh

minutes

Substantivet minut får endelsen -ter i flertal: ét minut, flere minutter.

Danish Vocabulary

aftale noun

AF-tay-luh appointment

bagefter adv

BAIR-uhf-tuh afterwards; after that

beholde verb

buh-HOH-luh keep; retain

cirka adv

SEER-guh about; approximately

for sent phrase

foh SENT too late

forventet adj

foh-VEN-uhd expected forventede

frokost noun

FROH-kost lunch

komme tilbage phrase

KOH-muh tuh-LAIR come back; return

lidt længere phrase

leth LENG-uh a little longer

minut noun

mih-NOOD minute minutter

undskyld intj

oon-SGEWL excuse me; sorry

ventetid noun

VEN-tuh-teed waiting time ventetiden

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

About ten minutes, maybe a little longer.

Show Answer

Cirka ti minutter, måske lidt længere.

I have another appointment after this.

Show Answer

Jeg har en anden aftale bagefter.

Please keep an eye on the screen.

Show Answer

Hold øje med skærmen, tak.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

expected

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forventede

excuse me; sorry

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undskyld

appointment

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aftale

minute

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minutter