Wh-questions ask for specific information — who, what, where, when, why, how, which, whose. In Danish, the question words almost all begin with hv-, which is why they are collectively called hv-spørgsmål ("hv-questions"). The good news for English speakers is twofold: the words form a tidy family, and the sentence pattern is always the same — the hv-word goes first and the verb inverts. No do-support, ever.
A note on pronunciation before we start: in every hv-word, the h is silent. Hvad is pronounced roughly "va," hvem like "vem," hvor like "vor." Spell the h, but don't say it.
The pattern: hv-word first, then invert
Every wh-question follows one template. The question word fills the first slot (the fundament), and the finite verb comes immediately after it — before the subject. This is the same V2 ("verb-second") rule that governs all Danish main clauses: the verb is the second element, and here the hv-word is the first.
Hvor bor du?
Where do you live?
The order is: hvor (1st), bor (verb, 2nd), du (subject, 3rd). English would say "Where do you live?" — but Danish has no do; the verb bor does the job itself.
The question words
| Danish | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| hvem | who / whom | person; same form for subject and object |
| hvad | what | thing |
| hvor | where; also 'how' before an adjective/adverb | see special section below |
| hvornår | when | time |
| hvorfor | why | reason |
| hvordan | how (in what manner) | manner |
| hvilken / hvilket / hvilke | which | agrees with gender/number |
| hvis | whose | possession |
Here is one question for each of the main words:
Hvem ringede?
Who called?
Hvad laver du?
What are you doing?
Hvornår begynder filmen?
When does the film start?
Hvorfor græder hun?
Why is she crying?
Hvordan kommer vi til stationen?
How do we get to the station?
Hvis bil er det?
Whose car is that?
Notice Hvem ringede? In English, "Who called?" the question word is the subject, so there's nothing to invert — and the same is true in Danish. When the hv-word is itself the subject, the verb simply follows it (Hvem + ringede). For all the other words, the subject comes after the verb.
hvilken / hvilket / hvilke — "which" agrees
Hvilken ("which") is the one question word that changes form to agree with the noun, exactly like Danish determiners do. Use hvilken with common-gender (en-) nouns, hvilket with neuter (et-) nouns, and hvilke with plurals.
Hvilken farve kan du bedst lide?
Which colour do you like best? (farve is common gender)
Hvilket hus er dit?
Which house is yours? (hus is neuter)
Hvilke sko skal jeg tage på?
Which shoes should I put on? (sko, plural)
English "which" never changes; Danish hvilken/hvilket/hvilke must match the noun. Get the gender of the noun right and the ending follows automatically.
hvor doubles as "how" before adjectives — the key insight
Here is the single most useful pattern on this page. Hvor by itself means "where." But put an adjective or adverb directly after it, and hvor means "how" — as in "how big," "how old," "how many." English uses a scattered mix of how and what for these; Danish uses one systematic formula: hvor + adjective/adverb.
| Danish | Literal | English |
|---|---|---|
| hvor gammel | how old | how old |
| hvor stor | how big | how big |
| hvor mange | how many | how many |
| hvor meget | how much | how much |
| hvor længe | how long (time) | how long |
| hvor langt | how far | how far |
Hvor gammel er du?
How old are you?
Hvor mange søskende har du?
How many siblings do you have?
Hvor længe bliver I i Danmark?
How long are you (plural) staying in Denmark?
Hvor meget koster det?
How much does it cost?
Once you internalise hvor + adjective = how + adjective, a whole family of questions opens up for free: hvor tung (how heavy), hvor varmt (how warm), hvor tit (how often). Where English forces you to remember "how old" but "what colour" and "how many," Danish gives you one reliable building block.
Common Mistakes
❌ Hvor gør du bor?
Incorrect — invented do-support; 'gøre' (to do) cannot be inserted into a question.
✅ Hvor bor du?
Where do you live?
❌ Hvad gør hun laver?
Incorrect — same do-support error; the verb 'laver' already does the work.
✅ Hvad laver hun?
What is she doing?
❌ Hvordan gammel er du?
Incorrect — 'how old' is hvor gammel, not hvordan; hvordan means 'how' only in the sense of 'in what manner'.
✅ Hvor gammel er du?
How old are you?
❌ Hvilken hus er dit?
Incorrect — 'hus' is neuter, so 'which' must be hvilket, not hvilken.
✅ Hvilket hus er dit?
Which house is yours?
❌ Hvor mange koster det?
Incorrect — for price use 'how much' (hvor meget), not 'how many' (hvor mange).
✅ Hvor meget koster det?
How much does it cost?
Two errors dominate here. First, the perennial do-support: English speakers want to insert gør ("do") after the question word — never do this. Second, confusing hvordan with hvor + adjective: hvordan is "how" only in the manner sense ("how did you do it?"); for "how old/big/many" you need hvor plus the adjective.
Key Takeaways
- Danish question words form one family, almost all beginning hv-; the h is silent.
- The template is always hv-word + verb + subject — no do-support.
- When the hv-word is the subject (Hvem ringede?), there is nothing to invert.
- hvilken / hvilket / hvilke ("which") agrees with the noun's gender and number.
- hvor + adjective/adverb = "how _": hvor gammel (how old), hvor mange (how many), hvor længe (how long). This pattern is more regular than English and worth memorising as a formula.
Now practice Danish
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Start learning Danish→Related Topics
- Asking Questions: An OverviewA1 — How Danish builds yes/no and wh-questions by inverting the verb — and why there is no 'do' like in English.
- Yes/No QuestionsA1 — Form yes/no questions by fronting the finite verb, and answer them with ja, nej — or the special jo that contradicts a negative.
- Hvor + Adjective and Compound Question WordsA2 — The full hvor-family — hvor (where), hvor + adjective for 'how X' (hvor gammel, hvor mange, hvor længe), the directional hvorhen and hvorfra, plus hvornår, hvorfor and hvordan.
- The Fundament: What Goes FirstB1 — The Danish front field (fundament) holds exactly one constituent — subject, object, adverbial, predicate, or even a whole clause — and fronting anything other than the subject triggers V2 inversion.
- Inversion After a Fronted ElementA1 — Whenever a non-subject opens a Danish main clause — an adverb, object, prepositional phrase, or subordinate clause — the verb stays second and the subject moves behind it.
- Demonstratives: Denne, Dette, Disse and Den DerA2 — Danish 'this/these' and 'that/those' — the bookish denne/dette/disse and the everyday spoken den her / den der.