Breakdown of Hører du fuglene?
du
you
høre
to hear / to listen to (music, radio, a podcast)
fuglen
the bird
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Questions & Answers about Hører du fuglene?
How is the word fuglene (the birds) built?
It starts with the singular noun en fugl (a bird). First, we make it plural by adding -e to get fugle (birds). Then, to say the birds (definite plural), we add the suffix -ne to the plural form, giving us fuglene. This -ne ending is the standard way to make plural nouns definite in Danish!
Why is there no word for "do" in this question?
Danish doesn't use "do" to ask questions. Instead, it simply swaps the order of the subject (du) and the verb (hører). So, while "You hear" is Du hører, to ask "Do you hear?", you just say Hører du (literally: "Hear you?").
Is the 'g' in fuglene pronounced?
No, the 'g' is silent here! The root word fugl (bird) is pronounced almost like the English word "fool". So fuglene sounds roughly like "FOO-luh-nuh".
Could Hører du fuglene? also mean "Are you hearing the birds?"
Yes! Danish doesn't have a separate "-ing" verb form like English does. The present tense hører translates to both "hear" and "are hearing" depending on the context.