Choosing a nearby restaurant for lunch | Learn Danish in English

Danish lesson set in a contemporary Copenhagen everyday setting: During a lunch break, two adults compare nearby places and choose the closer restaurant to have more time to eat..

EN → DA / Level: A2

About This Lesson

Use Choosing a nearby restaurant for lunch to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Hvilket sted skal vi vælge til frokost?

VIL-guh stayth skal vee VEL-uh till FROH-kost? Which place should we choose for lunch?
B

Lad os vælge et sted, der er tæt på og nemt at komme til.

lah ohss VEL-uh et stayth, dair air TATE paw oh nemt uh KOM-uh till. Let's pick somewhere close and convenient.
A

Stedet på denne gade har en enkel frokostmenu.

STAY-thuhd paw DEN-uh GAY-thuh har en ENG-gul FROH-kost-muh-NOO. The place on this street has a simple lunch menu.
B

Caféen nær parken er måske mere stille.

KAH-FAY-un nair PAR-kun air MOS-kuh MAY-uh STEL-uh. The cafe near the park might be quieter.
B

Men den ligger længere væk.

men den LEG-uh LANG-uh vayk. But it is farther away.
A

Skal vi reservere bord på stedet i nærheden?

skal vee ray-ser-VAIR-uh bohr paw STAY-thuhd ee NAIR-hay-un? Do we need a reservation for the nearby place?
B

Det tror jeg ikke. På dette tidspunkt kan vi som regel finde et bord.

deh TROHR yai EG-uh. Paw DEN-uh TID-spongt kan vee som RAY-gul FEN-uh et bohr. Probably not. Around this time, we can usually find a table.
A

Så lad os vælge stedet på denne gade.

soh lah ohss VEL-uh STAY-thuhd paw DEN-uh GAY-thuh. Then let's choose the place on this street.
B

Så har vi mere tid til at spise.

soh har vee MAY-uh teed till uh SPEE-suh. That leaves us more time to eat.

Word by Word

Hvilket “Hvilket” means “which” in the question “Hvilket sted skal vi vælge til frokost?” It is used before the specific choice being asked about, here “sted”.
sted “sted” means “place” in “Hvilket sted”. It names a location that can be chosen, and it also appears in “et sted” for a place that is not yet specified.
skal “skal” expresses what we should choose in “Skal vi vælge...?” Here it forms a question about a suggested decision with “vi” and the infinitive “vælge”.
vi “vi” means “we” and refers to the two people deciding together. It is used as the subject before “skal” in “Skal vi vælge...?”.
vælge “vælge” means “choose” in “skal vi vælge”. It is the action being considered after “skal”; the reusable pattern is “vælge” followed by the thing selected.
til In “til frokost”, “til” means “for” and introduces the purpose or occasion of lunch. The same form appears in “komme til”, where it is part of the expression for getting to a place.
frokost “frokost” means “lunch” in “til frokost”. It names the meal that gives the choice its purpose.
Lad “Lad” begins “Lad os vælge...”, meaning “let” in the suggestion “let us choose”. This construction is used to propose a shared action with “os” followed by an action such as “vælge”.
os “os” means “us” in “Lad os vælge...”. Together with “Lad”, it identifies the people who should carry out the suggested action.
et “et” introduces “et sted”, meaning “a place” that is not yet specified. It is the indefinite article used directly before “sted” in this expression.
der “der” links the description “der er tæt på og nemt at komme til” to “et sted”. In this dialogue it introduces information about the place being suggested.
er “er” means “is” in “der er tæt på” and “er måske mere stille”. It connects the subject or place with a description such as being near or quiet.
tæt “tæt” means “close” or “near” in “tæt på”. The reusable pattern is “tæt på” followed by the location or person that something is near.
In “tæt på”, “på” is part of the expression meaning “near”. It also appears in “på denne gade” for a place on this street and “På dette tidspunkt” for a point in time.
og “og” means “and” and joins the two descriptions “tæt på” and “nemt at komme til”. It is used here to present both reasons for choosing the place.
nemt “nemt” means “easy” or “convenient” in “nemt at komme til”. It describes how easy it is to get to the place, and it is followed here by “at” and “komme”.
at “at” marks the infinitive in “at komme til” and “at spise”. It connects the preceding word or expression with the action that follows.
komme “komme” means “come” or “get” in “komme til”, referring here to getting to the place. The reusable pattern is “komme til” followed by a destination or place.
Stedet “Stedet” means “the place” in “Stedet på denne gade”. It is the definite form related to “sted” and refers to a particular place already being considered.
denne “denne” means “this” in “denne gade”. It points to the street where the place is located and comes directly before “gade”.
gade “gade” means “street” in “på denne gade”. It identifies the location of the place being considered.
har “har” means “has” in “Stedet ... har en enkel frokostmenu”. It introduces something the place offers or contains, here “en enkel frokostmenu”.
enkel “enkel” means “simple” in “en enkel frokostmenu”. It describes the lunch menu, so the adjective comes before “frokostmenu”.
frokostmenu “frokostmenu” means “lunch menu”. It is the menu associated with lunch at the place on the street.
Caféen “Caféen” means “the cafe” in “Caféen nær parken”. It is the definite form related to “café” and refers to a particular cafe near the park.
nær “nær” means “near” in “nær parken”. It directly introduces the location used to identify the cafe.
parken “parken” means “the park” in “nær parken”. It is the definite form related to “park” and names the landmark near the cafe.
måske “måske” means “maybe” in “er måske mere stille”. It signals that the speaker is making a possibility rather than stating that the cafe is definitely quieter.
mere “mere” means “more” in “mere stille” and makes the description comparative, meaning “quieter”. It is placed before the adjective “stille” here.
stille “stille” means “quiet” in “mere stille”. With “mere”, the phrase describes the cafe as possibly quieter than the other place.
Men “Men” means “but” and introduces a consideration against choosing the cafe: “Men den ligger længere væk.” It is used to connect contrasting information.
den “den” means “it” in “den ligger længere væk” and refers back to “Caféen”. It is the subject of the statement about the cafe’s distance.
ligger “ligger” means “is located” in “den ligger længere væk”. It is commonly used to describe where a place is situated, followed here by information about distance.
længere “længere” means “farther” in “længere væk”. It compares the cafe’s distance with the distance of the other place.
væk “væk” means “away” in “længere væk”. Together, “længere væk” describes something as being farther away.
reservere “reservere” means “reserve” in “Skal vi reservere bord...?” It is used with “bord” to ask about reserving a table.
bord “bord” means “table” in “reservere bord” and “finde et bord”. It is the object that can be reserved or found at the restaurant.
i In “i nærheden”, “i” is part of the expression meaning “nearby” or “in the vicinity”. The expression identifies the place close to the speakers.
nærheden “nærheden” means “the vicinity” in “i nærheden”, which means “nearby”. This expression is used to refer to a place close to the speakers without naming an exact distance.
Det In “Det tror jeg ikke”, “Det” refers to the idea just mentioned, namely that a reservation is needed. This short pattern can be used to respond negatively to a statement or question.
tror “tror” means “think” or “believe” in “Det tror jeg ikke”. The pattern places the opinion with “jeg” and uses “ikke” to make it negative.
jeg “jeg” means “I” in “Det tror jeg ikke”. It identifies the speaker as the person giving the opinion.
ikke “ikke” means “not” in “Det tror jeg ikke”. It negates the speaker’s belief that a reservation is needed.
dette “dette” means “this” in “På dette tidspunkt”. It points to the particular time around which the speakers expect to find a table.
tidspunkt “tidspunkt” means “point in time” in “På dette tidspunkt”. With “på”, it identifies the time at which the situation is being considered.
kan “kan” means “can” in “kan vi som regel finde et bord”. It expresses the possibility or ability to find a table and is followed by “finde”.
som regel “som regel” means “usually” or “as a rule” in “kan vi som regel finde et bord”. “som” contributes the idea of “as”, while “regel” means “rule”; together they describe what normally happens.
finde “finde” means “find” in “finde et bord”. It follows “kan” and takes “et bord” as the thing being found.
“Så” means “then” in “Så lad os vælge stedet...”. It marks the decision that follows from the earlier information about the nearby place and the reservation.
tid “tid” means “time” in “mere tid til at spise”. It refers to the amount of time available for eating.
spise “spise” means “eat” in “tid til at spise”. It is the infinitive after “til at” and names the activity for which the extra time is available.

Grammar Points

lad os + infinitiv

Lad os vælge en enkel frokostmenu.

lah ohss VEL-uh en ENG-gul FROH-kost-muh-NOO.

Let's choose a simple lunch menu.

Use “lad os” followed by the infinitive to suggest an action together.

Danish Vocabulary

enkel adj
ENG-gul simple
Gender
common
frokost noun
FROH-kost lunch
Gender
common
frokostmenu noun
FROH-kost-muh-NOO lunch menu
Gender
common
gade noun
GAY-thuh street
Gender
common
have verb
HAY-vuh have har
hvilket det
VIL-guh which Hvilket
Gender
neuter
komme til phrase
KOM-uh till get to; reach
lad os phrase
lah ohss let's
nem adj
NEM easy; convenient nemt
Gender
neuter
sted noun
stayth place
Gender
neuter
tæt på phrase
TATE paw close by
vælge verb
VEL-uh choose

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

But it is farther away.

Show AnswerMen den ligger længere væk.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

street

Show Answergade

which

Show AnswerHvilket

lunch

Show Answerfrokost

easy; convenient

Show Answernemt