Discussing an unfamiliar bank charge | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Jeg har bemærket en postering på mit kontoudtog, som jeg ikke kan genkende.

   I noticed a charge on my statement that I don't recognize.

   Jeg har

   I have

   bemærket

   noticed

   postering

   charge; account entry

   mit

   my

   kontoudtog

   statement

   som

   that; which

   ikke

   not

   kan

   can

   genkende

   recognize

   More detail

   Jeg har is a reusable first-person construction: jeg means “I,” and har is the present form of have. Here har is an auxiliary, not a statement of possession. Together with the following past participle, it forms the Danish perfect: jeg har bemærket = “I have noticed” / “I noticed.” bemærket is the past participle of bemærke, “to notice.” The participle is used after har; the subject is already expressed by jeg. For example, Jeg har set det means “I have seen it.” postering means an account entry or charge. Its base form is postering; the plural is posteringer. In this sentence, en postering presents an unspecified entry, while its singular form agrees with the noun phrase’s grammar; the indefinite article does not by itself assert a numerical count. mit means “my” before a singular neuter noun. It agrees with kontoudtog, whose form here is neuter: et kontoudtog, “a statement.” Possessive forms contrast as min with common-gender singular nouns, mit with neuter singular nouns, and mine with plural nouns. For example, mit kort means “my card.” kontoudtog means “account statement” or “statement.” It is a compound noun: konto refers to an account and udtog to an extract or statement, but the complete word is the normal reusable term for a statement. The phrase på mit kontoudtog means “on my statement”; på marks the location or record where the entry appears. som introduces the relative clause describing en postering. In this sentence it is naturally translated as “that”: the entry is the one the speaker cannot recognize. Danish som can introduce a relative clause referring to a person or thing; its form does not change here for gender or number. ikke is the ordinary negator “not.” It negates the following modal clause: ikke kan genkende means “cannot recognize,” rather than merely “recognize” with no qualification. kan is the present form of kunne, “can” or “be able to.” It is followed by the infinitive genkende without an infinitive marker. Danish modal verbs such as kan combine with a following infinitive: Jeg kan se det means “I can see it.” genkende means “recognize,” especially identify something as familiar or previously known. It is the infinitive after kan; the form does not show a separate subject ending here. Jeg kan genkende stemmen means “I can recognize the voice.” The meaningful structure is Jeg har bemærket en postering (“I noticed an entry”), followed by på mit kontoudtog (“on my statement”). The relative clause som jeg ikke kan genkende describes that entry: som links it to jeg, and ikke kan genkende says that the speaker cannot identify it. Together, the utterance means: “I noticed a charge on my statement that I don’t recognize.”

2. Vi kan oprette en indsigelse, efter at vi har tjekket forhandlerens beskrivelse.

   We can open a dispute after we check the merchant description.

   Vi kan

   we can

   oprette

   open; file

   indsigelse

   dispute; objection

   efter at

   after

   tjekket

   checked

   forhandlerens

   the merchant’s

   beskrivelse

   description

   More detail

   Vi kan means “we can.” Vi is the first-person plural pronoun “we,” and kan is the present-tense form of kunne (“can/be able to”). Danish modal verbs such as kan are followed by an infinitive: Vi kan oprette = “we can file/open.” oprette is the infinitive “to create, set up, or file.” Here it means opening or filing a dispute, rather than physically opening something. After a modal such as kan, Danish uses the infinitive without at. Example: Jeg kan hjælpe. — “I can help.” indsigelse means “dispute” or “objection” here. It is a common-gender noun: en indsigelse; its definite form is indsigelsen, and its plural is indsigelser. The article en in en indsigelse marks an indefinite noun phrase; it does not by itself assert a numerical count. efter at introduces a subordinate clause meaning “after.” It connects the action in the main clause with an action that must be completed first. A reusable pattern is efter at + subject + verb phrase: Efter at vi har spist, går vi. — “After we have eaten, we leave.” tjekket is the past participle of tjekke (“check”). In har tjekket, it combines with har to form the perfect: “have checked.” The clause has vi as its subject, so vi har tjekket means “we have checked.” Example: Vi har tjekket oplysningerne. — “We have checked the information.” forhandlerens means “the merchant’s.” The noun forhandler means “merchant/dealer,” and the ending -s marks possession: forhandlerens beskrivelse = “the merchant’s description.” This possessive form does not change for the gender or number of the possessed noun. beskrivelse means “description.” It is a common-gender noun: en beskrivelse; its definite form is beskrivelsen, and its plural is beskrivelser. In this sentence it is the description belonging to the merchant. Together, Vi kan oprette en indsigelse says “We can open/file a dispute.” efter at vi har tjekket forhandlerens beskrivelse adds the condition that this happens after the merchant’s description has been checked. The complete meaning is: “We can open a dispute after we check the merchant description.”

3. Beskrivelsen er vag, så jeg kan ikke afgøre, hvor den stammer fra.

   The description is vague, so I can't tell where it came from.

   Beskrivelsen

   the description

   er

   is

   vag

   vague

   så

   so

   jeg kan

   I can

   ikke

   not

   afgøre

   determine; tell

   hvor

   where

   den

   it

   stammer fra

   comes from

   More detail

   Beskrivelsen means “the description.” The noun is beskrivelse; the ending -en marks definite singular for this common-gender noun. The previous sentence also uses beskrivelse in an indefinite form, while Beskrivelsen here refers to the specific description under discussion. er is the present form of være, “to be.” It links the description with a quality: Beskrivelsen er ... = “The description is ...”. vag means “vague” or “unclear.” It is an adjective describing Beskrivelsen; in this sentence it has no visible ending. Example: En vag forklaring — “A vague explanation.” så means “so,” introducing the consequence of the description being vague. jeg kan is a reusable subject-plus-modal pattern: “I can.” kan is the present form of kunne, “can; be able to.” In Danish, a modal is followed by an infinitive: jeg kan afgøre = “I can determine.” ikke means “not.” With jeg kan ikke ..., it negates the ability or possibility expressed by kan ..., giving “I cannot ...” or, naturally here, “I can’t ...”. afgøre means “determine” or “settle.” It is the infinitive after kan. The form is useful in patterns such as at afgøre noget (“to determine something”) and kan ikke afgøre ... (“cannot determine ...”). Here it introduces the question of the description’s source, rather than meaning that the speaker settles a dispute. hvor means “where.” It introduces the embedded question hvor den stammer fra, “where it comes from.” In a direct question, Hvor stammer den fra? means “Where does it come from?” den is a third-person singular pronoun used here for the description. Its common-gender form agrees with the noun beskrivelse; the pronoun itself does not identify a different participant. stammer fra is the present-tense construction “comes from” or “originates from.” stammer is the third-person singular present form of stamme, “to originate; stem,” and fra means “from.” The same expression can describe an origin or source: Hvor stammer navnet fra? — “Where does the name come from?” Together, Beskrivelsen er vag states that the description is vague. så jeg kan ikke afgøre gives the consequence, “so I can’t determine,” and hvor den stammer fra specifies what cannot be determined: the source or origin of the description. The complete meaning is: “The description is vague, so I can’t tell where it came from.”

4. Nogle betalingsformidlere bruger et navn, der ser anderledes ud end det butiksnavn, kunderne ser.

   Some processors use a name that looks different from the shop customers see.

   Nogle

   some

   betalingsformidlere

   processors

   bruger

   use

   navn

   name

   anderledes

   different

   ser

   see

   butiksnavn

   shop name

   kunderne

   the customers

   More detail

   Nogle means “some” here and is used with the plural noun betalingsformidlere. It signals an unspecified part of that plural group, not a precise number. betalingsformidlere is the plural of betalingsformidler; in this sentence it means payment processors. The ending -e marks the plural form. The singular is en betalingsformidler, while the definite plural is betalingsformidlerne. bruger is the present-tense form of bruge, “to use”. In the sentence, Nogle betalingsformidlere bruger ... means “Some processors use ...”. For example: Jeg bruger denne app. — “I use this app.” navn means “name”. Here it is singular and indefinite because it follows the indefinite article et: et navn, “a name”. The noun itself is not marked for gender in this form; the article et belongs to the noun phrase. anderledes means “different” in the expression ser anderledes ud, literally “looks different”. Danish commonly uses se ... ud for appearance: Hun ser træt ud. — “She looks tired.” The form anderledes describes how something appears; it is not the noun navn that carries this meaning. ser is the present-tense form of se, “to see” or, with ud, “to look”. In kunderne ser, it means “the customers see”. Danish present-tense verbs do not change according to the subject’s number: jeg ser and de ser both use ser. butiksnavn is a compound noun made from butik (“shop”) and navn (“name”); it means “shop name”. Danish compounds are written as one word. In this sentence, it is the name that the customers see. kunderne means “the customers”. It is the definite plural of kunde (“customer”): kunder is “customers”, and kunderne is “the customers”. The ending -ne marks definite plural here. Together, et navn, der ser anderledes ud end det butiksnavn, kunderne ser means “a name that looks different from the shop name the customers see”. der introduces a relative clause describing et navn; ser anderledes ud says that the name has a different appearance, and end introduces the thing it is compared with. The final clause kunderne ser has an understood object: the shop name is what the customers see. Thus the whole utterance means: “Some processors use a name that looks different from the shop customers see.”

5. Jeg vil tjekke mine seneste kvitteringer, før jeg indgiver en formel indsigelse.

   I'll check my recent receipts before filing a formal dispute.

   Jeg vil

   I will / I intend to

   tjekke

   check

   mine

   my

   seneste

   most recent

   kvitteringer

   receipts

   før

   before

   indgiver

   files / submits

   formel

   formal

   indsigelse

   objection / dispute

   More detail

   Jeg vil combines the subject Jeg (“I”) with vil, the present form of ville. Here vil expresses a future intention, and it is followed by an infinitive. This is a reusable pattern: Jeg vil + infinitive = “I will / I intend to …”. tjekke is the infinitive meaning “to check”. After vil, Danish uses the infinitive without at: Jeg vil tjekke kvitteringer = “I will check receipts.” mine means “my” before a plural noun. Danish distinguishes min before a common-gender singular noun, mit before a neuter singular noun, and mine before plural nouns. In this sentence, mine agrees with the plural form kvitteringer. seneste means “most recent” or “latest” here. It is the attributive form of the superlative senest, related to sen (“late”): sen → senere (“later”) → senest (“latest”). Example: den seneste rapport = “the latest report.” kvitteringer means “receipts”. Its singular base form is kvittering; kvitteringer is the plural form. Example: Jeg gemmer kvitteringer = “I save receipts.” før introduces the event that must happen later than the checking: “before”. In this sentence it introduces the following clause, før jeg indgiver en formel indsigelse. indgiver means “files” or “submits” in this context. It is the present form of the infinitive indgive. The form is used with a third-person singular subject or with the formal De; with the explicitly stated subject jeg, Danish normally uses indgiver as well, so the form itself does not show a separate first-person ending here. Example: Jeg indgiver en klage = “I file a complaint.” formel means “formal”. It describes indsigelse and uses the common-gender singular form. The adjective is not derived from the noun; its base form is formel. indsigelse means “objection” or, in this context, “dispute”. It is a singular common-gender noun, shown by the indefinite article en: en formel indsigelse. The article marks an indefinite noun phrase; it does not by itself assert a numeric count. Together, Jeg vil tjekke mine seneste kvitteringer means “I will check my most recent receipts”. The clause før jeg indgiver en formel indsigelse means “before filing a formal dispute”; literally, its subject is still jeg, who is the person filing it. The complete utterance therefore means: “I’ll check my recent receipts before filing a formal dispute.”

6. Det kan forhindre forsinkelser, hvis du kan genkende posteringen.

   That can prevent delays if you recognize the charge.

   Det kan

   that can

   forhindre

   prevent

   forsinkelser

   delays

   hvis du kan

   if you can

   genkende

   recognize

   posteringen

   the charge

   More detail

   Det kan means “that can” here. Det is a third-person singular pronoun; the translation identifies it as “that,” referring to the relevant action or situation rather than naming a new participant. Kan is the present-tense form of kunne (“can, be able to”); it is followed by an infinitive. Example: Det kan hjælpe. — “That can help.” forhindre means “prevent.” It is the infinitive after the modal kan, so the modal carries the tense while forhindre stays in the infinitive. The useful pattern is kan + infinitive: Det kan forhindre problemer. — “That can prevent problems.” forsinkelser means “delays.” Its base form is the singular indefinite noun forsinkelse; forsinkelser is its plural indefinite form. The noun names delays as the thing being prevented. Example: Vi vil undgå forsinkelser. — “We want to avoid delays.” hvis du kan introduces the condition “if you can.” Hvis means “if,” and du is the second-person singular pronoun “you.” The second kan is again the present form of kunne; here it is followed by the infinitive genkende, so the phrase literally sets up the ability to recognize something. Example: Hvis du kan, så ring. — “If you can, then call.” genkende means “recognize.” It is the infinitive after kan. The verb is written as one word; it is not a form of kende in this sentence. Example: Jeg kan genkende stemmen. — “I can recognize the voice.” posteringen means “the charge” here. Its base noun is postering; the ending -en marks the singular definite form, “the charge/entry.” The fixed translation selects the financial sense intended here. Example: Jeg kan se posteringen. — “I can see the charge.” Together, Det kan forhindre forsinkelser says “That can prevent delays.” The conditional clause hvis du kan genkende posteringen adds the condition “if you can recognize the charge.” The complete utterance therefore means: “That can prevent delays if you recognize the charge.”

7. Hvis det stadig ikke er klart, vil jeg have transaktionen undersøgt.

   If it still isn't clear, I want the transaction investigated.

   Hvis

   if

   det

   it

   stadig

   still

   ikke

   not

   klart

   clear

   vil jeg have

   I want

   transaktionen

   the transaction

   undersøgt

   investigated

   More detail

   Hvis introduces a condition: “if …”. It is reusable at the start of a conditional clause, as in Hvis du har tid, ... (“If you have time, ...”). The comma separates that initial condition from the main clause here. det is the Danish pronoun used here for “it”. In this sentence it functions as the subject of er klart; the fixed translation supports the impersonal meaning “it” without identifying a separate concrete referent. Danish det can also refer to a specific neuter noun in other contexts, but that is not established here. stadig means “still”: the situation remains the case at the relevant time. It can be placed with the clause it modifies, as in Det er stadig uklart (“It is still unclear”). ikke is the ordinary negation word “not”. With klart, ikke klart means “not clear”; negation changes the polarity of that description rather than replacing the adjective. klart is the neuter singular form of the adjective klar (“clear”). It agrees with the neuter singular det in this predicate: klar can be used with common-gender singular nouns, while klart is used with neuter singular nouns. The form does not mean “clearly” here; it describes the state of what det represents. vil jeg have expresses “I want to have” in this sentence. vil is the present form of ville, and jeg is “I”; because the conditional clause comes first, the finite verb vil precedes the subject jeg in the main clause. The infinitive have follows vil. In other contexts, ville can express other meanings, but the fixed translation supports desire here. transaktionen means “the transaction”. Its base noun is transaktion; the ending -en marks the definite singular form, corresponding here to “the transaction”. A related indefinite form is en transaktion (“a transaction”), but an indefinite article does not by itself assert a numerical count. undersøgt is the past participle of undersøge (“investigate/examine”). In have transaktionen undersøgt, it describes the action arranged or wanted for the transaction: “have the transaction investigated”. This pattern can be reused with another object, for example Jeg vil have sagen undersøgt — “I want the matter investigated.” The form undersøgt is not the finite verb carrying the tense here; vil carries the clause’s finite present form. Together, Hvis det stadig ikke er klart means “If it still isn’t clear”. The main clause vil jeg have transaktionen undersøgt means “I want the transaction investigated”: jeg is the person expressing the desire, transaktionen is the object to be investigated, and undersøgt states the requested investigation. The complete utterance is therefore: “If it still isn’t clear, I want the transaction investigated.”

8. Vi dokumenterer din bekymring og går i gang med gennemgangen.

   We'll document your concern and start the review.

   dokumenterer

   document

   bekymring

   concern

   går i gang med

   get started on

   gennemgangen

   the review

   More detail

   dokumenterer is the present-tense form of dokumentere, “to document.” Danish present-tense verbs generally keep the same form across persons and numbers, so vi dokumenterer means “we document.” In this sentence, the present form is translated with future meaning because the intended action is what they will do: “we’ll document.” Example: Vi dokumenterer problemet. — “We document the problem.” bekymring means “concern” or “worry.” Here it is a singular common-gender noun after the possessive din (“your”): din bekymring, “your concern.” The definite form is bekymringen, “the concern.” Danish possessives distinguish din for a singular common-gender noun, dit for a singular neuter-gender noun, and dine for plural nouns; the choice here is supported by the gender of bekymring, not by the number alone. går i gang med is a reusable construction meaning “starts” or “gets started on.” Its literal verb form contains går, the present form of gå (“go”), but the complete expression—not går by itself—has the starting meaning here. med introduces what is being started. Example: Vi går i gang med arbejdet. — “We get started on the work.” Before an activity, Danish commonly uses med at plus an infinitive, as in Vi går i gang med at undersøge sagen. — “We start investigating the matter.” gennemgangen means “the review.” Its base noun is gennemgang; the ending -en marks the singular definite form, “the review.” The noun can refer to a review or a systematic examination, depending on what is being reviewed. Example: Gennemgangen begynder nu. — “The review begins now.” The subject Vi means “we,” and din means “your,” linking the concern to the person addressed. The utterance combines Vi dokumenterer din bekymring (“We’ll document your concern”) with og går i gang med gennemgangen (“and get started on the review”). Together, it means: “We’ll document your concern and start the review.”