Everyday adjectives
| Danish | English |
|---|---|
| almindelig | ordinary, common |
| daglig | daily |
| nyttig | useful |
| behagelig | comfortable, pleasant |
They take the usual adjective endings: -t with et-words and when the adjective stands alone after det er (Det er almindeligt, but Det er en almindelig dag), -e in the plural and after den, det, de or min, mit:
| Is it common in Denmark? | Er det almindeligt i Danmark? |
| My daily work is not exciting. | Mit daglige arbejde er ikke spændende. |
Daily and comfortable
The -t form is also the adverb, so dagligt means "every day":
| She works out daily. | Hun træner dagligt. |
Behagelig is mostly "comfortable" for things you sit, sleep or walk in, and "pleasant" for times and places:
| It was a pleasant evening. | Det var en behagelig aften. |
It's a pity
det er synd means "it's a pity". What is a pity comes after at or med; in the past it is det var synd. Synd for a person means you feel sorry for them: Det er synd for børnene, the poor children. On its own, synd means "sin", but in this phrase it is only regret. Det var en skam says much the same thing.
| It's a pity that you can't come. | Det er synd at du ikke kan komme. |
| It was a shame about the party. | Det var synd med festen. |
It doesn't matter
lige meget is literally "equally much": whatever you choose comes to the same. Det er lige meget means "it doesn't matter". Put mig, ham or hende in to say who does not care:
| It's all the same to me. | Det er mig lige meget. |
| It doesn't matter what you say. | Det er lige meget hvad du siger. |
