Danish has two parallel ways to say "this" and "that," and choosing the right one is mostly a matter of register. There is a tidy, written set — denne, dette, disse ("this/these") — and an everyday spoken set built from den / det / de plus a little location word: den her ("this") and den der ("that"). Textbooks and apps love to drill denne/dette/disse and then leave learners sounding stiff, because in actual conversation Danes overwhelmingly say den her and den der. This page teaches both, tells you which to use when, and nails down the one form rule that catches everyone: no suffix on the noun after a demonstrative.
The bookish set: denne / dette / disse
These three forms mean "this / these" and are the standard demonstratives of written and formal Danish. They agree with the noun in gender and number:
| Form | Used for | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| denne | common gender singular (en-words) | denne bil | this car |
| dette | neuter singular (et-words) | dette hus | this house |
| disse | all plurals | disse biler | these cars |
Denne sag kræver yderligere undersøgelse.
This matter requires further investigation. (formal/written)
Dette dokument skal underskrives i dag.
This document must be signed today. (formal/written)
Disse resultater er bekymrende.
These results are concerning. (formal/written)
Notice that there is no separate, common word for "that" in this set in everyday use. The historical distal forms (hin, "yon") are (archaic) and survive only in fixed or literary phrases. To say "that" in formal Danish you typically lean on den / det / de with stress, or — far more naturally — switch to the spoken den der set below.
The everyday spoken set: den her / den der
This is the workhorse of spoken Danish. You take the article den / det / de and add a location adverb: her ("here") for things near you — "this" — and der ("there") for things farther off — "that."
| Proximal — "this" (her) | Distal — "that" (der) | |
|---|---|---|
| Common (en) | den her bil | den der bil |
| Neuter (et) | det her hus | det der hus |
| Plural | de her biler | de der biler |
Kan du lige række mig den her bog?
Can you hand me this book? (everyday)
Det der hus er til salg.
That house is for sale. (everyday)
Jeg kan ikke lide de der sko.
I don't like those shoes. (everyday)
The pattern is fully regular: den/det/de agrees with the noun, then her or der fixes the distance. This is the system you should default to in speech.
The near/far minimal pair
The only thing that flips "this" to "that" is her versus der:
Den her kaffe er kold, men den der kaffe er stadig varm.
This coffee is cold, but that coffee is still hot.
Same noun, same article — only her/der changes, and with it the whole meaning shifts from near to far. This is far easier to control than memorising a separate distal paradigm.
The form rule: no suffix after a demonstrative
This is the single most important form point on the page. After any demonstrative — denne, dette, disse, or den her, den der — the noun stays in its bare, indefinite form. No definite suffix.
denne bil — NOT denne bilen
this car (bare noun, no suffix)
det der hus — NOT det der huset
that house (bare noun, no suffix)
The logic is the same as the free article: the demonstrative at the front already carries the definiteness, so the noun does not need a suffix too. You will recognise this as the same principle behind den røde bil (free article + bare noun). A demonstrative is just another front determiner that leaves the noun bare.
Disse huse blev bygget for hundrede år siden.
These houses were built a hundred years ago. (huse, not husene)
Adding an adjective
If you slip an adjective in, the demonstrative pattern is unchanged: front determiner + adjective in -e + bare noun.
Denne gamle bil starter ikke om vinteren.
This old car won't start in winter.
Den her lille butik har de bedste wienerbrød.
This little shop has the best pastries.
The adjective takes the definite -e ending (gammel → gamle, lille → lille), exactly as it does after the free article den / det / de.
Register at a glance
| Meaning | Spoken (default) | Written / formal |
|---|---|---|
| this car | den her bil | denne bil |
| this house | det her hus | dette hus |
| these cars | de her biler | disse biler |
| that car / those cars | den der bil / de der biler | (stressed den / de, or rephrase) |
Common Mistakes
❌ denne bilen
Incorrect — a demonstrative leaves the noun bare; drop the suffix.
✅ denne bil
this car
The classic error: keeping the definite suffix bilen and adding the demonstrative on top. The demonstrative already makes the phrase definite, so the noun is bare — bil.
❌ det der huset
Incorrect — no suffix after the spoken demonstrative either.
✅ det der hus
that house
The rule is identical for the spoken set. Det der + hus, never huset.
❌ Kan du række mig dette bog? (in casual chat)
Stilted/wrong gender — bog is common gender, and the bookish form sounds stiff here.
✅ Kan du række mig den her bog?
Can you hand me this book?
Two problems at once: bog is an en-word, so the bookish form would be denne (not neuter dette) — and even denne bog sounds bookish in casual speech. In conversation, den her bog is what a Dane would actually say.
❌ disse husene
Incorrect — plural demonstrative still takes a bare plural noun.
✅ disse huse
these houses
In the plural too, no suffix: disse huse, de her huse — never husene.
❌ denne gammel bil
Incorrect — the adjective needs its definite -e ending after a demonstrative.
✅ denne gamle bil
this old car
A demonstrative triggers the -e adjective ending just like the free article does.
Key Takeaways
- Spoken default: den her / det her / de her ("this") and den der / det der / de der ("that"). Use these in conversation.
- Written/formal: denne (common), dette (neuter), disse (plural) for "this/these"; there is no everyday one-word "that" in this set.
- After any demonstrative the noun is bare — no definite suffix: denne bil, det der hus, disse huse.
- An adjective after a demonstrative takes the -e ending: denne gamle bil.
- Her = near (this), der = far (that) — flipping that one word is all it takes.
Related Topics
- The Free Definite Article Den, Det, DeA2 — Den, det, and de as front-of-phrase definite articles — used only when an adjective precedes the noun, and unstressed unlike the 'that' demonstratives.
- Double Definiteness: With an AdjectiveA2 — When a definite noun has an adjective, Danish drops the suffix and uses a free article instead — bilen but den røde bil.
- The Definite Article as a SuffixA1 — In Danish, 'the' is not a separate word — it is a suffix glued onto the noun: en bil → bilen, et hus → huset. Covers the singular forms and their spelling adjustments.
- Den vs Det: Saying 'It'A1 — Danish has two words for 'it' — den for common-gender nouns, det for neuter — plus a fixed expletive det for weather, time, and impersonal sentences that never agrees with anything.
- Definite Adjective Agreement: The -e FormA2 — After any definite trigger — the free article den/det/de, a demonstrative, a possessive, or a genitive — a Danish attributive adjective always takes -e, regardless of gender or number.