Coffee during a break | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Vil du have kaffe?

   Do you want coffee?

   Vil du

   do you want to

   have

   have

   kaffe

   coffee

   More detail

   Vil du begins a yes/no question. vil is the present form of ville (“want” in this use), and du is the singular informal “you.” Danish places the verb before the subject in this question pattern: Vil du ...? = “Do you want ...?” The form vil does not change for person or number here. Example: Vil du te? — “Do you want tea?” have is the infinitive of at have, “to have.” After vil, Danish uses the infinitive without at: vil have, not vil at have. In this utterance, have kaffe expresses wanting to have or drink coffee, which is why the natural English translation is “want coffee.” Compare Jeg vil have te. — “I want tea.” kaffe is the noun “coffee.” It is used without an article here because it refers to coffee as a drink or an unspecified amount, rather than to one specified serving. Example: Jeg har kaffe. — “I have coffee.” Here har is the present form of at have; it states possession, whereas vil have expresses a wish. Together, Vil du + have + kaffe forms a yes/no question: “Do you want coffee?” The question asks whether the addressee wants coffee, without specifying an amount; a quantity can be added separately, such as en lille kop (“a small cup”).

2. Ja tak. Bare en lille kop.

   Yes, please. Just a small cup.

   Ja tak

   Yes, please

   Bare

   just; only

   lille

   small

   kop

   cup

   More detail

   Ja tak is a fixed, polite way to accept an offer or request something: “yes, please.” Ja means “yes,” and tak means “thanks/please” in this kind of offer-and-response expression. Example: Vil du have te? — Ja tak. — “Would you like tea? — Yes, please.” Bare means “just” or “only” here. It limits the request, making it modest in amount or scope. Example: Bare lidt vand. — “Just a little water.” lille means “small” here and describes kop. Its base form is lille; Danish uses små with plural nouns, as in små kopper — “small cups.” The form lille is the singular form used in this noun phrase. kop means “cup.” It is a common-gender noun: en kop — “a cup,” koppen — “the cup,” and kopper — “cups.” In en kop, en marks an indefinite singular common-gender noun; it does not by itself assert a numerical count as a separate piece of information. Together, Bare en lille kop means “Just a small cup.” The phrase Ja tak accepts the offer, while bare limits the request and en lille kop names what is wanted. The complete utterance therefore means: “Yes, please. Just a small cup.”

3. Værsgo.

   Here you are.

   Værsgo.

   Here you are.

   More detail

   Værsgo. is a fixed Danish formula used when handing something to someone or inviting them to begin. In this context, after the request for a small cup, it means “Here you are,” referring to the item being handed over. It is also used in situations such as opening a door or inviting someone to take a seat, where English may use “go ahead” or “please.” The form is conventionally written as one word, værsgo, although it is historically related to the older expression vær så god. For a beginner, it is best learned as a set phrase rather than freely replacing it with the separate words. It is not a statement that the item has a particular size or quantity; those details come from the surrounding utterance. Example: Værsgo, sæt dig. — “Here you are; go ahead and sit down.” This example uses the same invitation formula with a different action. Together, Værsgo. supplies the handover or invitation, while the preceding context identifies the requested small cup as the likely item being offered. The complete utterance is therefore naturally understood as “Here you are.”

4. Det dufter godt.

   It smells nice.

   dufter

   smells

   godt

   nicely

   More detail

   dufter is the present-tense form of dufte, “to smell” or “to give off a smell.” In this sentence it describes the smell being perceived, rather than someone actively smelling something. Danish present-tense verbs generally do not change for the subject’s person or number, so dufter can be used with different subjects: Jeg dufter means “I smell,” while Det dufter means “It smells.” godt means “nicely” here and describes how the thing smells. It is related to the adjective god, “good”: god is used in forms such as en god idé, while godt is the neuter form and is also commonly used adverbially, as in this expression. The fixed sentence uses godt, not the adjective form god, because this is the established way to describe the quality of a smell. Together, Det dufter godt. means “It smells nice.” Det is a neuter singular pronoun referring to the thing whose smell is being perceived; the supplied sentence does not identify that thing more specifically. The pattern Det dufter godt is reusable for saying that something has a pleasant smell.

5. Har du brug for sukker?

   Do you need sugar?

   Har du … brug for

   do you need

   sukker

   sugar

   More detail

   Har du begins a yes/no question in Danish. In this pattern, the finite verb har (the present form of have) comes before the subject du (“you”): Har du ...? means “Do you have ...?” or, in the fixed expression here, “Do you need ...?” brug for is part of the reusable expression have brug for (“need”). The observed form brug is the noun meaning “use” or “need” in this expression, while for is the preposition that completes it. Keep the whole pattern together when reusing it: Jeg har brug for ... = “I need ...”; Har du brug for ...? = “Do you need ...?” sukker means “sugar.” It is a noun, and this form does not show a plural ending here; Danish commonly uses the same form for the uncountable substance “sugar.” Example: Jeg køber sukker. — “I am buying sugar.” Together, Har du brug for sukker? asks whether the listener needs sugar. The question has the pattern Har du brug for + noun?, with sukker naming what may be needed.

6. Nej, bare mælk, tak.

   No, just milk, please.

   Nej

   No

   bare

   just; only

   mælk

   milk

   tak

   please; thanks

   More detail

   Nej means “no” and directly rejects or corrects what was just proposed. It is also useful as a standalone answer: Nej. = “No.” bare means “just” or “only” here. It limits what is being requested: the speaker wants milk and nothing else. A reusable pattern is bare + noun, as in bare vand = “just water.” mælk is the noun “milk.” Danish commonly uses this noun without an article when referring to milk as an uncountable substance in a request. The same form is used whether the amount is small or unspecified; en mælk is not simply the general equivalent of “milk” in this sentence. tak literally means “thanks,” but at the end of this request it functions as a polite “please.” Its meaning depends on its position and use: Tak. after receiving something means “Thanks,” while mælk, tak means “milk, please.” Together, Nej, bare mælk, tak. means “No, just milk, please.” Nej rejects the suggested addition, bare mælk narrows the request to milk alone, and tak makes the request polite.

7. Undskyld, der er ingen mælk.

   Sorry, there is no milk.

   Undskyld

   Sorry

   der er

   there is

   ingen

   no

   mælk

   milk

   More detail

   Undskyld is a fixed form used to apologize or get attention; here it means “Sorry.” It is also used as “Excuse me” in suitable situations. der er is the Danish existential pattern meaning “there is” or “there are.” er is the present form of være (“to be”); der functions here as an existential placeholder, not as a specific location. For example: Der er kaffe. — “There is coffee.” ingen means “no” or “none” before a noun. It is used here with mælk, a mass noun, to say that no milk is present. With a neuter singular noun, Danish uses intet, and with plural nouns, ingen: ingen bøger — “no books.” These forms express absence, not a numeric count. mælk means “milk.” It is normally used as a mass noun, so this sentence does not use an indefinite article before it. A countable amount can be specified separately, for example en liter mælk — “a litre of milk.” Together, der er introduces what is present, while ingen mælk identifies the absent substance: “there is no milk.” With the opening apology, the complete utterance is: “Sorry, there is no milk.”

8. Det er okay.

   That is okay.

   Det er

   that is

   okay

   okay

   More detail

   Det er is the Danish pattern for “that is” here. Det is a neuter singular pronoun, and er is the present-tense form of være (“to be”). In this utterance, the fixed translation identifies Det as “that”; it does not specify a more precise referent. The same pattern can be reused with a different description, for example: Det er vigtigt. — “That is important.” okay means “okay” or “acceptable” here. It is used as the description after er; the form shown is not changed for this sentence. Together, Det er okay. means “That is okay.” The pattern Det er + description lets you evaluate or describe something without adding a more specific noun or referent.