Word
Har du en pille mod smerten?
Meaning
Do you have a pill for the pain?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Questions & Answers about Har du en pille mod smerten?
Why does the sentence use mod instead of a direct translation of "for"?
In Danish, the preposition mod literally means "against." When you take medicine to stop a symptom, you take it against that symptom. So you say en pille mod smerten (a pill against the pain), because using for or til would sound like you want to benefit the pain!
Why is there an -n at the end of smerten?
That is the definite article. The base noun is en smerte (a pain). By adding -n to the end of this common-gender word, it becomes smerten (the pain). It shows you are asking about the specific pain the person is currently feeling.
Does smerte apply to all types of pain?
Yes, en smerte is the general word for physical and emotional pain. However, for specific everyday aches, Danes often use the ending -pine, such as in hovedpine (headache) or tandpine (toothache). You can take a pill mod both!
Is there a single word for "painkiller" I could use instead of this phrase?
Yes, a very common B1-level word is smertestillende, which literally means "pain-calming" or "pain-quieting." Instead of asking for a pill, you will often hear Danes ask: Har du noget smertestillende? (Do you have any painkillers?).