Present Participle Compounds
Danish is highly productive with compound words. You can create rich, descriptive adjectives by combining a noun, adverb, or adjective with a participle.
When you combine a word with a present participle (ending in -ende), the resulting adjective describes what something does (an active effect).
For example, fugt (moisture) + givende (giving) becomes fugtgivende (moisturizing):
| You should use a moisturizing cream in the morning. | Du skal bruge en fugtgivende creme om morgenen. |
Similarly, vel (well) + duftende (smelling) becomes velduftende (fragrant), and dybde (depth) + rensende (cleansing) becomes dybderensende (deep-cleansing).
| Is your new serum really that fragrant? | Er dit nye serum virkelig så velduftende? |
| Do they sell a deep-cleansing face mask for wrinkles? | Sælger de en dybderensende ansigtsmaske mod rynker? |
Adjectives ending in -ende are invariable. They never add an -e or a -t, regardless of the gender, number, or definiteness of the noun they describe:
| This serum is neither moisturizing nor quick-drying. | Dette serum er hverken fugtgivende eller hurtigtørrende. |
Past Participle Compounds
You can also create compound adjectives using a past participle (usually ending in -et). These describe what has been done to the subject (a passive state).
For instance, kold (cold) + presset (pressed) becomes koldpresset (cold-pressed):
| She is applying cold-pressed oil to her skin. | Hun sidder og smører koldpresset olie på sin hud. |
Another common example is hjemme (home) + lavet (made) to form hjemmelavet (homemade):
| My brother often makes a homemade face mask. | Min bror laver ofte en hjemmelavet ansigtsmaske. |
Unlike -ende adjectives, past participle compounds inflect to match the noun. In the plural or definite form, a word like hjemmelavet drops its final -t and adds an -e (becoming hjemmelavede):
| Is that homemade face mask good for wrinkles? | Er den der hjemmelavede ansigtsmaske god mod rynker? |