Improving sleep habits | Learn Danish in English

Danish lesson set in a contemporary Copenhagen everyday setting: At home, two adults talk about poor sleep and choosing a calmer evening routine before bed..

EN → DA / Level: A2

About This Lesson

Use Improving sleep habits to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Jeg har ikke sovet godt på det sidste.

yai hah EG-uh SOH-wuhd gohD poh deh SIS-duh. I have not been sleeping well recently.
B

Måske skal du ændre din aftenrutine.

MAW-sguh sgel doo EN-druh den AF-dn-roo-TEE-nuh. Maybe your evening routine needs changing.
A

Jeg bruger min telefon lige før sengetid.

yai BROO-uh men teh-leh-FOHN LEE-uh fuh SENG-uh-TEED. I use my phone right before bed.
B

Mindre skærmtid kan hjælpe dig med at slappe af.

MEN-druh SCARE-m-teed kan YEL-buh dai meh tuh SLAH-buh AH. Less screen time may help you relax.
A

Skal jeg læse en bog i stedet?

Sgel yai LEH-suh en BOH ee STAYTH? Should I read a book instead?
B

Vælg noget roligt og nemt.

VEL NOH-th ROH-lihd uh NEMD. Choose something calm and easy.
B

Så dine tanker kan falde til ro.

soh DEE-nuh TANG-uh kan FAL-uh tel ROH. So your mind can slow down.
A

Jeg vil prøve det i nogle aftener.

yai vel PROH-vuh deh ee NOH-luh AF-tuh-nuh. I will try that for a few nights.
B

En fast rutine kan forbedre din søvn.

en FEST roo-TEE-nuh kan fuh-BEH-thruh den SUH-vn. A steady routine can improve sleep.

Word by Word

Jeg “Jeg” means “I” here: the speaker refers to themself. It is used as the subject before the verb, as in “Jeg har ikke sovet godt på det sidste.”
har “har” means “have” here and helps form the past construction with “sovet”. In this dialogue, it comes after “Jeg” and before “ikke sovet”.
ikke “ikke” means “not” and makes the statement negative: the speaker has not slept well. In “Jeg har ikke sovet godt”, it comes before the remaining verb phrase.
sovet “sovet” means “slept” here and is used with “har” in “har ikke sovet”. Use “sovet” after “har” when describing having slept.
godt “godt” means “well” here and describes the quality of sleeping. It comes after “sovet” in “har ikke sovet godt”.
på det sidste “på det sidste” means “recently” or “lately” as a complete time expression. “på” introduces the time expression, while “det” and “sidste” together refer to the recent period. Use “på det sidste” at the end of a sentence to say that something has happened lately.
Måske “Måske” means “maybe” and signals that the following idea is a possibility rather than a certainty. It can come at the beginning of a suggestion, as in “Måske skal du ændre din aftenrutine.”
skal “skal” expresses that someone needs to or should do something here. It is followed by the subject and an infinitive in “skal du ændre” and “Skal jeg læse”; the second use asks what the speaker should do.
du “du” means “you” and refers to the person being advised. It is the subject of “skal du ændre” in the suggestion about the evening routine.
ændre “ændre” means “change” here. It follows “skal” in “skal du ændre”, so it names the action that the person is advised to take.
din “din” means “your” and shows that the evening routine belongs to or is associated with the person being addressed. It comes directly before “aftenrutine” in “din aftenrutine”.
aftenrutine “aftenrutine” means “evening routine” here, the set of habits before bed. It is the object of “ændre” in “ændre din aftenrutine”; use it for a routine connected with the evening.
bruger “bruger” means “use” here, referring to using a phone. It comes after “Jeg” in “Jeg bruger min telefon” and takes “min telefon” as its object.
min “min” means “my” and identifies the phone as belonging to the speaker. It comes before “telefon” in “min telefon”.
telefon “telefon” means “phone” here. In “Jeg bruger min telefon”, it is the thing being used; the same noun can be used after a possessive such as “min”.
lige “lige” means “right” or “just” here and emphasizes that the action happens immediately before bedtime. It is used with “før” in “lige før sengetid”.
før “før” means “before” and places one event earlier than another. In “lige før sengetid”, it introduces the time that comes before bedtime.
sengetid “sengetid” means “bedtime”, the time for going to bed. It follows “før” in “før sengetid”; use it when referring to the time before sleeping.
Mindre “Mindre” means “less” here and refers to a smaller amount of screen time. It comes before “skærmtid” in “Mindre skærmtid”.
skærmtid “skærmtid” means “screen time”, the time spent using screens. In “Mindre skærmtid kan hjælpe dig”, it is the subject of the suggestion.
kan “kan” means “can” or “may” here and expresses a possible helpful effect. It comes before “hjælpe” in “kan hjælpe dig med at slappe af”.
hjælpe “hjælpe” means “help” here. In “kan hjælpe dig med at slappe af”, it is followed by the person helped, “dig”, and the activity introduced by “med at”.
dig “dig” means “you” as the person affected by the help. It follows “hjælpe” in “hjælpe dig med at slappe af”.
med “med” means “with” here and introduces the activity that someone is helped to do. The reusable pattern is “hjælpe dig med at” followed by an activity.
at “at” marks the infinitive in “at slappe af”. Here it follows “med” in the construction “med at slappe af”, which names the activity.
slappe af “slappe af” means “relax” as a complete expression. “slappe” provides the action of relaxing, while “af” completes the expression; use “slappe af” after “at” in “med at slappe af”.
læse “læse” means “read” here. It follows “Skal jeg” in the question “Skal jeg læse en bog i stedet?” and names the suggested activity.
en “en” means “a” here and introduces one unspecified book. It comes directly before “bog” in “en bog”.
bog “bog” means “book” here. In “læse en bog”, it is the object of “læse”; use it after “en” when referring to a book that has not been specified.
i stedet “i stedet” means “instead” as a complete expression, showing that one option replaces another. “i” and “stedet” form this fixed expression; use “i stedet” after the alternative action, as in “læse en bog i stedet”.
Vælg “Vælg” means “choose” here and gives a direct suggestion or instruction. It is used at the beginning of “Vælg noget roligt og nemt” before the thing being chosen.
noget “noget” means “something” here and refers to an unspecified thing to choose. It is followed by descriptions in “noget roligt og nemt”.
roligt “roligt” means “calm” here and describes the unspecified thing in “noget roligt”. It is placed after “noget” and coordinated with “nemt”.
og “og” means “and” and joins two descriptions in “roligt og nemt”. It connects “roligt” with “nemt” without changing their roles in the phrase.
nemt “nemt” means “easy” here and describes the thing to choose. It is coordinated with “roligt” in “noget roligt og nemt”.
Så “Så” means “so” here and introduces the intended result of choosing something calm and easy. It begins “Så dine tanker kan falde til ro”.
dine “dine” means “your” and identifies the thoughts as belonging to the person being addressed. It comes before “tanker” in “dine tanker”.
tanker “tanker” means “thoughts” here and refers to the mental activity that can settle down. In “dine tanker kan falde til ro”, it is the subject of the expression “falde til ro”.
falde til ro “falde til ro” means “settle down” or “become calm” as a complete expression. “falde” describes moving into a state, “til” marks that result, and “ro” is the calm state. Use it for thoughts or a person becoming calmer.
vil “vil” expresses “will” or an intention here. It comes before “prøve” in “Jeg vil prøve det” to say that the speaker intends to try something.
prøve “prøve” means “try” here. It follows “vil” in “vil prøve” and takes “det” as the thing being tried.
det “det” means “that” or “it” here and refers to the suggested calm evening approach. In “Jeg vil prøve det”, it is the object of “prøve”.
nogle “nogle” means “some” or “a few” here and gives an indefinite quantity. It comes before the plural noun “aftener” in “nogle aftener”.
aftener “aftener” means “evenings” here and refers to several evenings. It is used after “nogle” in “i nogle aftener” to describe the period during which the speaker will try the routine.
fast “fast” means “steady” or “consistent” here and describes a routine that stays regular. It comes before “rutine” in “En fast rutine”.
rutine “rutine” means “routine” here, a repeated way of doing things. In “En fast rutine kan forbedre din søvn”, it is the subject of the statement.
forbedre “forbedre” means “improve” here. It follows “kan” in “kan forbedre” and takes “din søvn” as the thing that can become better.
søvn “søvn” means “sleep” here. It follows “din” in “din søvn” and is the object of “forbedre” in the statement about a steady routine.

Grammar Points

rolig → roligt som adverb

slappe roligt af

SLAH-buh ROH-lihd AH

to relax calmly

Adjectives can take -t when used as adverbs: rolig becomes roligt.

mindre + noun

mindre skærmtid

MEN-druh SCARE-m-teed

less screen time

Use mindre before an uncountable noun to express a smaller amount.

Danish Vocabulary

aftenrutine noun
AF-dn-roo-TEE-nuh evening routine
Gender
common

Måske skal du ændre din aftenrutine.

bruge verb
BROO-uh to use bruger

Jeg bruger min telefon lige før sengetid.

godt adv
gohd well

Jeg har ikke sovet godt på det sidste.

lige før phrase
LEE-uh fuh right before

Jeg bruger min telefon lige før sengetid.

mindre adj
MEN-druh less

Mindre skærmtid kan hjælpe dig med at slappe af.

måske adv
MAW-sguh maybe

Måske skal du ændre din aftenrutine.

på det sidste phrase
poh deh SIS-duh recently

Jeg har ikke sovet godt på det sidste.

sengetid noun
SENG-uh-TEED bedtime
Gender
common

Jeg bruger min telefon lige før sengetid.

skærmtid noun
SCARE-m-teed screen time
Gender
common

Mindre skærmtid kan hjælpe dig med at slappe af.

sove verb
SOH-wuh to sleep sovet

Jeg har ikke sovet godt på det sidste.

telefon noun
teh-leh-FOHN phone
Gender
common

Jeg bruger min telefon lige før sengetid.

ændre verb
EN-druh to change

Måske skal du ændre din aftenrutine.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Maybe your evening routine needs changing.

Show AnswerMåske skal du ændre din aftenrutine.

Choose something calm and easy.

Show AnswerVælg noget roligt og nemt.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

phone

Show Answertelefon

maybe

Show Answermåske

evening routine

Show Answeraftenrutine

to use

Show Answerbruger