Definite Forms
Danish usually puts “the” on the end of the noun as an ending, not as a separate word in front. In the singular, the ending depends on the noun’s gender.
English says the car; Danish says bilen. The same goes for the plural: the cars is bilerne.
The pattern
- en-words → add -enen bil → bilen (the car)
- et-words → add -etet hus → huset (the house)
| Indefinite | Definite | English |
|---|---|---|
| en bil | bilen | the car |
| et hus | huset | the house |
| en avis | avisen | the newspaper |
| et æble | æblet | the apple |
| en kat | katten | the cat |
| et tog | toget | the train |
| en pige | pigen | the girl |
| et billede | billedet | the picture |
| en ven | vennen | the friend |
| en cykel | cyklen | the bike |
Spelling changes
The ending is always -en or -et, but a few spelling rules change how it attaches.
| When the noun … | Then | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| already ends in -e | add only -n or -t | pigen · æblet |
| has a short vowel + one consonant | usually double the consonant (not -r: døren) | katten · vennen |
| ends in an unstressed -el | drop that e | en cykel · cyklen |
The plural: -ne or -ene
For “the” in the plural, start from the plural form and add -ne. When the plural has no ending of its own, like børn or ting, add -ene, doubling a final consonant after a short vowel: glas → glassene. Plurals in -ere drop their last -e first: lærere → lærerne. Gender doesn’t matter here. Plurals
| Plural | The (plural) | English |
|---|---|---|
| biler | bilerne | the cars |
| huse | husene | the houses |
| bøger | bøgerne | the books |
| æbler | æblerne | the apples |
| lærere | lærerne | the teachers |
| børn | børnene | the children |
| ting | tingene | the things |
When to use it
| Danish | English | Why definite |
|---|---|---|
| Jeg så en bil. Bilen var rød. | I saw a car. The car was red. | mentioned before |
| Bilen er rød. | The car is red. | you both know which car |
| Kan du tænde lyset? | Can you turn on the light? | clear from the situation |
| Solen skinner. | The sun is shining. | there’s only one |
When there’s no ending
With an adjective in front, “the” becomes a separate word again: den, det or de, and the noun loses its ending. After min, din and other possessives, the noun has no ending either.
| Right | Not | English |
|---|---|---|
| den røde bil | den røde bilen | the red car |
| det sorte bord | det sorte bordet | the black table |
| min taske | min tasken | my bag |
| dit værelse | dit værelset | your room |
Common mistakes
Wrong:
husenRight:huset
Hus is an et-word, so “the” is the ending -et.
Wrong:
biletRight:bilen
Bil is an en-word, so “the” is the ending -en.
Wrong:
lærereneRight:lærerne
Lærere ends in -ere, so it drops its last -e before -ne: lærerne.
Wrong:
Jeg så en bil. En bil var rød.Right:Jeg så en bil. Bilen var rød.
Once the car is known, use the definite form.
Check yourself
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