Improving sleep habits | Learn Danish in English

About This Lesson

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

Dialogue

Min søvnkvalitet har været dårlig, selv når jeg går tidligt i seng.

min SUHN-kvah-lee-TEHT hah VEH-uhd DAW-lee, selv nawr yai gohr TEE-lee i seng. My sleep quality has been poor even when I go to bed early.

Hvordan ser din aftenrutine ud?

VOH-dan sair deen AF-tun-roo-TEE-nuh ood? What does your evening routine look like?

Jeg drikker kaffe efter aftensmaden og tjekker min telefon i sengen.

yai DRIK-uh KAF-uh EF-tuh AF-tuns-MAH-then oh CHEK-uh min teh-foh-LOHN i seng-en. I drink coffee after dinner and check my phone in bed.

Både koffein og skærmtid kan gøre det sværere at falde til ro.

BOH-thuh koh-feh-EEN oh SKAIR-mteed kan GUH-uh deth SVAIR-uh-uh at FAL-uh til ROH. Both caffeine and screen time can make it harder to wind down.

Jeg kan ikke ændre alt på én gang.

yai kan IK-uh EN-druh aldt poh ain gang. I cannot change everything at once.

Begynd med én realistisk ændring, for eksempel at lade være med at drikke kaffe efter aftensmaden.

beh-GUHN meh ain ray-ah-LIS-disg EN-dring, foh eks-EM-bul at LA-thuh VAIR meh at DRIK-uh KAF-uh EF-tuh AF-tuns-MAH-then. Start with one realistic change, like skipping coffee after dinner.

Så kan jeg erstatte tiden på telefonen med at læse, før jeg går i seng.

soh kan yai air-STAT-uh TEE-then poh teh-foh-LOHN meh at LAY-suh, fuhr yai gohr i seng. Then I can replace phone time with reading before bed.

En rutine, du kan holde fast i, betyder mere end en perfekt rutine.

en roo-TEE-nuh, doo kan HOL-uh fast i, beh-TUE-uh MAIR-uh end en pair-FEKT roo-TEE-nuh. A routine you can keep matters more than a perfect one.

Jeg kan prøve det i en kort periode, før jeg vurderer resultatet.

yai kan PROH-vuh deth i en kohrt peh-ree-OH-thuh, fuhr yai VUHR-thuh-uh reh-sul-TAH-thuh. I can test that for a short period before judging the result.

Det giver din krop tid nok til at tilpasse sig.

deh GEE-vuh deen krop teed nohg til-PAS-uh sai. That gives your body enough time to adjust.

Word by Word

Min “Min” means “my” here and shows that the sleep quality belongs to the speaker. It is placed before the noun it describes, as in “Min søvnkvalitet”.

søvnkvalitet “søvnkvalitet” means “sleep quality,” the quality of someone’s sleep. It is a compound noun combining sleep and quality, and it follows the possessive “Min” here.

har “har” helps form “har været,” meaning “has been” in this sentence. It is used together with the following form to describe the speaker’s sleep quality.

været “været” is the form used after “har” in “har været,” describing the sleep quality as having been poor. It contributes the idea of “been” to this expression.

dårlig “dårlig” means “poor” here and describes the sleep quality. It follows “været” in the expression “har været dårlig”.

selv “selv” means “even” here and introduces an unexpected condition: the sleep is poor despite going to bed early. It is useful before a clause that limits or contrasts with the main statement.

når “når” means “when” and introduces the time or condition in “selv når jeg går tidligt i seng.” It commonly begins a clause describing when something happens.

jeg “jeg” means “I” and refers to the person speaking. It is the subject of “går” in the clause about going to bed.

går “går” means “go” here, as part of the expression “går tidligt i seng,” meaning “go to bed early.” It is used with a destination or fixed phrase to describe going somewhere.

tidligt “tidligt” means “early” and tells when the speaker goes to bed. It is placed with the verb phrase “går ... i seng” to describe the timing.

i “i” means “to” in “i seng,” the fixed expression used for going to bed. It can also mean “in,” as in “i sengen” later in the dialogue, so the following noun or expression determines the meaning.

seng “seng” means “bed” in the expression “i seng.” The form appears without an article because “i seng” is the usual phrase for going to bed.

Hvordan “Hvordan” means “how” and asks about the form or character of the evening routine. It begins the question “Hvordan ser din aftenrutine ud?”.

ser “ser” means “looks” in the construction “ser ... ud,” which asks what something is like. It is used with “ud” to describe the appearance or nature of the routine.

din “din” means “your” and identifies the evening routine as belonging to the person being addressed. It comes before the noun “aftenrutine”.

aftenrutine “aftenrutine” means “evening routine,” the activities someone usually follows in the evening. It is a compound noun and is the subject of the question about how it looks.

ud “ud” completes “ser ... ud,” which means “looks” or “appears” in the question about the routine. Its meaning here comes from the whole construction with “ser,” not from “ud” alone.

drikker “drikker” means “drink” here and describes the speaker’s regular action of drinking coffee. It is followed by the thing being consumed, “kaffe”.

kaffe “kaffe” means “coffee,” the drink mentioned in the evening routine. It follows “drikker” as the thing that the speaker drinks.

efter “efter” means “after” and places the coffee-drinking after dinner. It introduces the time reference “aftensmaden”.

aftensmaden “aftensmaden” means “the evening meal” or “dinner.” The ending makes it the specific meal referred to after “efter,” and it can be used after a time preposition to locate an activity.

og “og” means “and” and links the two evening activities: drinking coffee and checking the phone. It joins words, phrases, or clauses of equal importance.

tjekker “tjekker” means “check” here and describes looking at the phone. It is followed by the object “min telefon”.

telefon “telefon” means “phone” in “min telefon.” It names the object that the speaker checks in bed and follows the possessive “min”.

sengen “sengen” means “the bed,” referring to the specific bed where the speaker checks the phone. The ending marks the definite form after “i” in “i sengen”.

Både “Både” means “both” and introduces the two causes named in the sentence: caffeine and screen time. It is paired with “og” to link the two items.

koffein “koffein” means “caffeine,” one of the things that can make it harder to wind down. It is coordinated with “skærmtid” by “Både ... og”.

skærmtid “skærmtid” means “screen time,” the second factor discussed as affecting relaxation before sleep. It is a compound noun combining screen and time.

kan “kan” means “can” and expresses possibility in “kan gøre det sværere.” It is followed by the infinitive “gøre” without an infinitive marker.

gøre “gøre” means “make” in “kan gøre det sværere,” describing an effect on the difficulty of winding down. After “kan,” it appears in the infinitive form.

det “det” refers to the situation of winding down and appears in the construction “gøre det sværere at falde til ro.” The meaning “make it harder” comes from the whole construction, not from “det” alone.

sværere “sværere” means “harder” and compares the difficulty of winding down when caffeine or screen time is involved. It follows “gøre det” in “gøre det sværere at falde til ro”.

at “at” marks the infinitive in “at falde til ro.” It connects “sværere” with the action whose difficulty is being described.

falde til ro “falde til ro” means “settle down” or “calm down” as a whole. “falde” contributes the movement into a state, “til” introduces that state, and “ro” names the calm state; the expression is used here about becoming relaxed before sleep.

ikke “ikke” means “not” and negates the statement “Jeg kan ... ændre alt.” It is placed after “kan” and before the main verb “ændre” here.

ændre “ændre” means “change” and refers to changing the speaker’s habits. After “kan ikke,” it appears in the infinitive form and takes “alt” as its object.

alt “alt” means “everything” and refers to all the habits the speaker might change. It is the object of “ændre” in “ændre alt”.

på én gang “på én gang” means “all at once” and says that everything would be changed simultaneously. “på” introduces the manner or time frame, “én” means one, and “gang” means an occasion or time; together they form the fixed expression.

Begynd “Begynd” means “start” or “begin” and gives a direct suggestion to start with one change. It is used at the beginning of the sentence as an instruction to the other speaker.

med “med” means “with” in “Begynd med én realistisk ændring.” It introduces the thing that someone should start with.

realistisk “realistisk” means “realistic” and describes the change as practical and achievable. It is placed before the noun “ændring”.

ændring “ændring” means “change,” referring to one possible adjustment to the evening routine. It follows the adjective “realistisk” and is introduced by “med”.

for “for” contributes to the expression “for eksempel,” meaning “for example.” Together with the following word, it introduces a specific illustration of the suggested change.

eksempel “eksempel” means “example” in “for eksempel.” The expression is used to introduce one possible choice, here avoiding coffee after dinner.

lade være med “lade være med” means “refrain from” or “not do” as a whole. “lade” contributes the idea of letting, “være” the idea of being, and “med” connects the expression to the action that is avoided; here it introduces not drinking coffee.

drikke “drikke” means “drink” and names the action that the speaker may refrain from doing. It follows “at” in “at lade være med at drikke kaffe”.

Så “Så” means “then” and shows the result or next step after skipping coffee. It introduces the speaker’s proposed replacement action.

erstatte “erstatte” means “replace” and describes exchanging phone time for reading. It is followed by what is replaced and then by the replacement introduced with “med”.

tiden “tiden” means “the time,” specifically the time spent on the phone in this sentence. The definite ending identifies the particular time being replaced.

telefonen “telefonen” means “the phone” and forms the phrase “tiden på telefonen,” referring to time spent using the phone. The definite ending identifies the specific phone involved.

læse “læse” means “read” and names the activity used to replace phone time. It appears after “at” in “med at læse”.

før “før” means “before” and introduces the point before the speaker goes to bed. It is followed by the clause “jeg går i seng”.

En “En” means “a” here and introduces one routine as a general example. It comes before the noun “rutine”.

rutine “rutine” means “routine,” referring to a repeated pattern of behavior. It is the subject of the statement and is described by the following relative clause.

du “du” means “you” and refers to the person who can keep the routine. It is the subject of “kan holde fast i” inside the relative clause.

holde fast i “holde fast i” means “stick to” or “keep up” as a whole. “holde” contributes keeping or holding, “fast” adds the idea of firmness, and “i” connects the expression to the routine being maintained.

betyder “betyder” means “matters” here, saying that a sustainable routine has greater importance. It is followed by “mere end” to make the comparison.

mere “mere” means “more” and expresses the greater importance of a routine that can be maintained. It is followed by “end” in the comparison “betyder mere end”.

end “end” means “than” and introduces the second side of the comparison. It links “mere” with “en perfekt rutine”.

perfekt “perfekt” means “perfect” and describes the routine that may be ideal but less sustainable. It comes before the noun “rutine”.

prøve “prøve” means “try” or “test” and refers to testing the suggested routine for a while. It takes “det” as its object in “prøve det”.

kort “kort” means “short” and describes the length of the period used for testing the routine. It comes before “periode”.

periode “periode” means “period,” referring to a limited span of time for trying the change. It follows the adjective “kort” in “en kort periode”.

vurderer “vurderer” means “judge” or “assess” and refers to evaluating the result after the trial period. It appears after “før” in the clause about when the result will be assessed.

resultatet “resultatet” means “the result,” referring to the outcome of testing the new routine. The definite ending identifies the particular result being evaluated.

giver “giver” means “gives” and describes what the trial period provides for the body. It takes “din krop” as the receiver and “tid nok” as what is provided.

krop “krop” means “body” and refers to the listener’s body in “din krop.” It follows the possessive “din” and is the receiver of what “giver” provides.

tid “tid” means “time” in “tid nok,” referring to enough time for the body to adapt. It is followed by “nok” to express sufficiency.

nok “nok” means “enough” and says that the amount of time is sufficient for the body to adjust. It follows “tid” in “tid nok”.

tilpasse “tilpasse” means “adjust” in “tilpasse sig,” referring to the body adapting to the change. It appears after “at” and is completed by the reflexive pronoun “sig”.

sig “sig” is the reflexive form meaning “itself” here and refers back to “din krop” in “tilpasse sig.” Together with “tilpasse,” it expresses the body adjusting itself or adapting.

Grammar Points

lade være med at + infinitiv

Lad være med at drikke kaffe efter aftensmaden.

LA-thuh VAIR meh at DRIK-uh KAF-uh EF-tuh AF-tuns-MAH-then.

Refrain from drinking coffee after dinner.

This fixed expression means “refrain from” and is followed by med at plus the infinitive.

Når + sætning, verballed + subjekt

Når du går i seng, drikker du ikke kaffe.

Nawr doo gohr i seng, DRIK-uh doo IK-uh KAF-uh.

When you go to bed, you do not drink coffee.

After a fronted når-clause, Danish uses V2 word order: the verb comes before the subject.

Danish Vocabulary

aftenrutine noun

AF-tun-roo-TEE-nuh evening routine

Gender: common

aftensmad noun

AF-tuns-mahd dinner; evening meal aftensmaden

Gender: common

drikke verb

DRIK-uh drink drikker

dårlig adj

DAW-lee poor; bad

efter prep

EF-tuh after

gå verb

gohr go går

hvordan adv

VOH-dan how

kaffe noun

KAF-uh coffee

når conj

nawr when

selv adv

selv even

seng noun

seng bed sengen

Gender: common

søvnkvalitet noun

SUHN-kvah-lee-TEHT sleep quality

Gender: common

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

What does your evening routine look like?

Show Answer

Hvordan ser din aftenrutine ud?

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

even

Show Answer

selv

poor; bad

Show Answer

dårlig

how

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hvordan

drink

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drikker