Spatial adverbs (herinde, derude)

Building Spatial Adverbs

In Danish, you can combine the base words her (here) and der (there) with positional endings to pinpoint exactly where something is. This is incredibly useful for navigating rooms or locating misplaced items.

Here are the most common combinations:

PositionWith "Her" (Here)With "Der" (There)
Inside (-inde)herinde (in here)derinde (in there)
Outside (-ude)herude (out here)derude (out there)
Up (-oppe)heroppe (up here)deroppe (up there)
Down (-nede)hernede (down here)dernede (down there)
Over (-ovre)herovre (over here)(not in this lesson)

Inside and Outside

Use herinde and derinde for interior spaces (like rooms), and herude and derude for exterior spaces (like the street or yard).

I would like to sit in here.
Jeg vil gerne sidde herinde.
The teacher's bag is in there.
Lærerens taske er derinde.
Why are you standing out here on the street?
Hvorfor står I herude på gaden?
It is raining a lot out there.
Det regner meget derude.

Up and Down

When navigating floors of a building or relative elevations, use heroppe and deroppe for higher places (like an attic or upstairs). Use hernede and dernede for lower places (like a basement or downstairs).

My sister works up here.
Min søster arbejder heroppe.
Why is your brother down here and not up there?
Hvorfor er din bror hernede og ikke deroppe?
It is very cold down there, so we are staying up here.
Det er meget koldt dernede, så vi bliver heroppe.

Over Here and Everywhere

If you want to point to a general location nearby, use herovre (over here). If you are searching in all possible locations, use the word overalt (everywhere).

The phone is lying over here on the table.
Telefonen ligger herovre på bordet.
I am looking for the dog everywhere, but it is not in there.
Jeg leder efter hunden overalt, men den er ikke derinde.
The glasses are over here, not in here.
Brillerne er herovre, ikke herinde.
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