Learn Danish: En rejsende står og kigger på køreplanen. - A traveler is standing and looking at the timetable.

Rejsende is the present participle of the verb at rejse (to travel). In Danish, you can use present participles directly as nouns to describe a person doing that action. So, en rejsende literally means a traveling person, or simply a traveler.

How would I say "the traveler" or "the travelers" using this word?

Present participles used as nouns are invariant, meaning the word rejsende itself does not change its ending for plural or definite forms. You simply change the article around it. "The traveler" is den rejsende, "travelers" is rejsende, and "the travelers" is de rejsende.

Why does the Danish sentence use står og kigger instead of just a single verb for "is looking"?

Danish does not have a direct equivalent to the English "-ing" form for continuous actions. Instead, to show that an action is currently ongoing, Danish often pairs a posture verb (like at stå, at sidde, or at ligge) with og and the main verb. Here, står og kigger emphasizes that the traveler is currently in the middle of looking at the timetable while standing.

What is the literal breakdown of the word køreplanen?

It is a compound noun made up of køre (to drive or ride) and planen (the plan). A driving plan is the standard Danish word for a timetable or schedule for public transport.