Learn Danish: Maden er anrettet på tallerkenerne. - The food is arranged on the plates.

er anrettet uses the stative passive (tilstandspassiv). This means the action is already finished, and we are describing the resulting state: the food is currently sitting there, already arranged on the plates. If you used the dynamic passive forms anrettes or bliver anrettet, it would mean the action is happening right now, translating to 'The food is being arranged on the plates.'

Why does the past participle anrettet end in -t?

In the stative passive, the past participle functions like an adjective and must agree with the subject. Because maden (the food) is a singular common gender noun (an en-word), the participle takes the standard -t ending for this verb class. If the subject were plural, such as retterne (the dishes), you would add an -e to match the plural subject: retterne er anrettede.

What is the difference between at anrette and a simpler verb like at lægge (to put/lay)?

at anrette is a specific culinary term that means to arrange, dress, or present food in a visually appealing way. It implies care and presentation for a meal, whereas at lægge just means to physically place or lay something down.

The word tallerkenerne looks unusually long. How is this noun built?