Labeling Food in a Shared Fridge | Learn Danish in English

Danish lesson set in a contemporary Copenhagen everyday setting: In a shared kitchen, two adults discuss labeling food, choosing the right fridge shelf, and taking items home soon..

EN → DA / Level: A2

About This Lesson

Use Labeling Food in a Shared Fridge to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Må jeg sætte denne suppe i fælleskøleskabet?

moh yigh SET-uh DEN-uh SOH-buh ee FELL-uhs-KUR-luh-skab-uh? Can I put this soup in the shared fridge?
B

Sæt et mærke på beholderen, før du lader den stå der.

SET uh MAYR-kuh poh beh-HOL-uh-ren, fur doo LAIR-uh den stoh dair. Label the container before you leave it there.
A

Skal jeg også skrive datoen på den?

SKAL yigh OH-soh SKREE-vuh DAY-toh-en poh den? Should I write the date on it too?
B

Så ved folk, hvor længe den har stået derinde.

soh vay folk, vor LENG-uh den har STOHT dair-IN-uh. That helps people know how long it has been inside.
A

Hvilken hylde er til ens egen mad?

VIL-ken HIL-uh air til ens AY-en math? Which shelf is for personal food?
B

Brug den øverste hylde, væk fra de fælles madvarer.

broo den UR-vuh-stuh HIL-uh, vek fra dee FELL-uhs math-VAIR-uh. Use the top shelf, away from the shared items.
A

Jeg lader den stå der og tager den snart med hjem.

yigh LAIR-uh den stoh dair oh TAY-uh den snart meh yem. I'll keep it there and take it home soon.
B

På den måde bliver køleskabet ikke fyldt med gammel mad.

poh den MOH-uh BLEE-er KUR-luh-SKAB-uh IK-uh FILLT meh GAM-uhl math. That way the fridge does not fill up with old food.

Word by Word

Må Må means “may” or “can” here and asks for permission in “Må jeg sætte denne suppe i fælleskøleskabet?”. Use Må jeg + an infinitive when asking whether you are allowed to do something.
jeg jeg means “I” and is the person asking permission in “Må jeg sætte denne suppe i fælleskøleskabet?”. Use it as the subject for an action you will do.
sætte sætte means “put” or “place” in “Må jeg sætte denne suppe i fælleskøleskabet?”. The related form “Sæt” is used as a direct instruction in “Sæt et mærke på beholderen”. Use sætte with the item being placed and its destination.
denne denne means “this” and points to the specific soup in “denne suppe”. Use denne before a noun when identifying one particular nearby or known thing.
suppe suppe means “soup” and is the food being put in the fridge. Use it as the noun for a soup when naming food or a dish.
i i means “in” and marks the fridge as the destination in “i fælleskøleskabet”. Use i with a place when saying that something is put or kept inside it.
fælleskøleskabet fælleskøleskabet means “the shared fridge” and names the specific refrigerator used by everyone. Use this form when referring to that shared storage place in the kitchen.
et et introduces one non-specific label or mark in “et mærke”. Use et before this noun when mentioning one item for the first time.
mærke mærke means “label” or “mark” in “Sæt et mærke på beholderen”. Use it as the item that is placed on a container to identify it.
på på means “on” in “på beholderen” and “på den”, showing the surface where a label or date is written. Use på + an object when writing or placing something on its surface.
beholderen beholderen means “the container” and refers to the specific container holding the soup. Use this definite form when the listener knows which container is meant.
før før means “before” and introduces the action that must happen first in “før du lader den stå der”. Use før before an event or clause to show its earlier position in time.
du du means “you” and refers to the person who should leave the container there. Use it as the subject when speaking directly to one person.
lader lader means “lets” or “leaves” in “lader den stå der”, where something is allowed to remain in place. Use lader + an object + an infinitive when saying that someone lets something stay or do something.
den den means “it” and refers back to the food or container already being discussed. Use den as a pronoun when the specific referent is clear from the conversation.
stå stå means “stand” or “remain” in “stå der”, describing the item remaining in that place. With lader, use stå to say that something is left where it is.
der der means “there” and points to the place where the item is left in “stå der”. Use it to refer to a location already known from the situation.
Skal Skal means “should” in the question “Skal jeg også skrive datoen på den?”. Use Skal jeg + an infinitive when asking whether you are expected or advised to do something.
også også means “also” or “too” and adds writing the date to the earlier suggestion about labeling. Use it when adding another action, person, or item.
skrive skrive means “write” in “skrive datoen på den”. Use it with the information being written and, when relevant, på + the surface receiving it.
datoen datoen means “the date” and refers to the specific date written on the item. Use this definite form when the relevant date is understood from the situation.
Så Så means “so” or “then” in “Så ved folk...”, connecting the earlier labeling action with its result. Use it at the start of a statement to introduce a consequence or conclusion.
ved ved means “know” in “ved folk”, describing people having information about the food. Use ved with information or a clause to say what someone knows.
folk folk means “people” and is the general group who can identify how long the food has been there. Use it when referring to people in general rather than one named person.
hvor hvor means “how” in the question phrase “hvor længe”, which asks about duration. Use hvor + a descriptive word such as længe when asking about degree or duration.
længe længe means “long” in “hvor længe”, asking how much time has passed. Use it with hvor to ask about the duration of an action or state.
har har means “has” in “har stået derinde” and helps express that the item has remained inside. Use har before a past participle when describing an earlier action or state connected to the present.
stået stået means “stood” or “been left” in “har stået derinde”, describing the item remaining in the fridge. Use it after har when saying that something has stayed in a place.
derinde derinde means “inside” or “in there” and identifies the interior place where the item has remained. Use it when the inside location is already clear from the context.
Hvilken Hvilken means “which” and asks the listener to choose a shelf in “Hvilken hylde”. Use Hvilken before a noun when selecting one option from several.
hylde hylde means “shelf” and identifies the part of the fridge being discussed. Use it when naming a horizontal storage surface such as a fridge shelf.
er er means “is” and links the shelf with its intended use in “er til ens egen mad”. Use er to describe or identify what something is for.
til til means “for” in “til ens egen mad”, marking the food that the shelf is intended to hold. Use til + a noun to express purpose or intended use.
ens ens means “one’s” or “one’s own” in “ens egen mad”, referring generally to each person’s personal food. Use it before a noun when expressing general ownership rather than naming a particular owner.
egen egen means “own” and emphasizes personal ownership in “ens egen mad”. Use egen with a possessive expression when stressing that something belongs personally to someone.
mad mad means “food” and refers broadly to the food kept on the shelf. Use it as a general word for food rather than for one specific food item.
Brug Brug means “use” as a direct instruction in “Brug den øverste hylde”. Use Brug at the beginning of a command telling someone to use an object or place.
øverste øverste means “top” or “uppermost” in “den øverste hylde”, identifying the highest shelf. Use it with a noun when selecting the highest position in an arrangement.
væk væk means “away” in “væk fra de fælles madvarer”, describing separation from the shared food items. Use the pattern væk fra + an object to say that something is away from it.
fra fra means “from” in “væk fra de fælles madvarer”, marking the point or things from which something is separated. Use it after væk to specify what something is away from.
de de means “the” in “de fælles madvarer” and introduces the specific shared food items. Use de before a plural noun or description when referring to known items.
fælles fælles means “shared” or “common” and describes the food items available to everyone. Use it before a noun when something belongs to or is used by several people.
madvarer madvarer means “food items” or “food products” and refers to the shared items in the fridge. Use it when talking about individual kinds or stored items of food.
og og means “and” and joins the two actions in “tager den snart med hjem”. Use it to connect actions, people, or things of equal importance.
tager tager means “take” or “bring” in “tager den snart med hjem”, describing moving the item to the speaker’s home. Use tager + an object + med hjem when saying that something is taken home.
snart snart means “soon” and says that the item will be taken home in the near future. Use it with an action to give that action an upcoming time.
med med contributes the sense of taking something along in “tager den snart med hjem”. Use med with a movement expression when an object or person accompanies the movement.
hjem hjem means “home” and marks the destination in “med hjem”. Use it with a verb of movement to say that someone or something is going home.
måde måde means “way” in the expression “På den måde”, meaning “that way”. Use På den måde to connect an action with the result it produces.
bliver bliver means “becomes” or “gets” in “bliver køleskabet ... fyldt”, describing a change into a filled state. Use it before fyldt when explaining that something becomes filled.
køleskabet køleskabet means “the fridge” and refers to the specific refrigerator that should not become full of old food. Use this definite form for that known appliance.
ikke ikke means “not” and negates the statement that the fridge becomes filled with old food. Use it to mark that an action or state does not happen.
fyldt fyldt means “filled” in “fyldt med gammel mad”, describing the contents of the fridge. Use the pattern fyldt med + contents to say what something is filled with.
gammel gammel means “old” and describes the food that has been left in the fridge for too long. Use it before a noun when describing food or another thing as no longer fresh or new.

Grammar Points

lade + infinitiv

Lad suppen stå.

LAT SOO-buh stoh.

Let the soup stand.

After lade, the following verb stays in the infinitive: lade suppen stå means allowing the soup to remain.

blive + perfektum participium

Fælleskøleskabet bliver fyldt med mad.

FELL-uhs-KUR-luh-SKAB-uh BLEE-er FILLT meh math.

The shared fridge becomes filled with food.

Blive plus a past participle describes a change or result: bliver fyldt means becomes filled.

Danish Vocabulary

beholder noun
beh-HOL-uh container beholderen
Gender
common
dato noun
DAY-toh date datoen
Gender
common
fælleskøleskab noun
FELL-uhs-KUR-luh-skab shared fridge fælleskøleskabet
Gender
neuter
før conj
fur before
lade verb
LAIR-uh to let; to leave lader
mærke noun
MAYR-kuh label; mark
Gender
neuter
skrive verb
SKREE-vuh to write
stå verb
stoh to stand; to remain
suppe noun
SOH-buh soup
Gender
common
sætte verb
SET-uh to put; to place
sætte et mærke på phrase
SET uh MAYR-kuh poh to label; to put a label on Sæt et mærke på
vide verb
VEE-uh to know ved

Quiz

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

label; mark

Show Answermærke

to put; to place

Show Answersætte

to let; to leave

Show Answerlader

container

Show Answerbeholderen