Danish Adjectives
Danish adjectives change to match the noun: stor, stort, store. To compare, they add -ere and -est, with a few everyday irregulars like bedre.
Ask two questions about the noun. Is it an en-word or an et-word? And is it plural, or does it have den (the) or min (my) in front? The answers give you the ending. To compare things you add -ere and -est, with a few common exceptions to learn by heart.
Same adjective, new noun
Pick what comes before it
jakke is an en-word and en means “a”, so varm keeps its base form. The three forms
tæppe is an et-word, so varm adds -t. The -t form
In the plural varm adds -e. Gender stops mattering. The -e form
After den, varm adds -e, and the noun loses its ending: jakken becomes jakke. bilen or den store bil?
After min and the other possessives, varm adds -e too. Possessives
Try itTest yourself on adjective endings
Which form when?
| When | Adjective | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| An en-word, with en (a/an) | no ending | en dyr taske | an expensive bag |
| An et-word, with et | -t | et dyrt ur | an expensive watch |
| Plural | -e | dyre sko | expensive shoes |
| After den, det, de or min, din … | -e | den dyre taske | the expensive bag |
| Described after er | matches the noun | Køleskabet er tomt. | The fridge is empty. |
| Compared with something else | -ere + end | hurtigere end bussen | faster than the bus |
| The most of all | den … -(e)ste | den længste dag | the longest day |
All adjective lessons
In the order we’d learn them
- 01Adjective EndingsExercisesThree forms, stor, stort, store: which one depends on the noun and the word in front of it.en stor bil · et stort hus · store biler
- 02Comparatives & SuperlativesQuick checkCompare with -ere and -est, and learn the everyday irregulars like bedre and ældre.billigere end toget · den største by
The ending depends on the noun’s gender: Noun gender
Adjective cheat sheet
| en-word | et-word | Plural / the | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stor | stort | store | større | størst |
| ny | nyt | nye | nyere | nyest |
| god | godt | gode | bedre | bedst |
| gammel | gammelt | gamle | ældre | ældst |
| billig | billigt | billige | billigere | billigst |
| lille | lille | små / lille | mindre | mindst |
| dansk | dansk | danske | mere dansk | mest dansk |
lille is små in the plural (små børn) but stays lille with “the” (den lille pige). After den, the superlative adds -e: den største.
Which adjective form trips you up?
Question 1 of 6
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