Breakdown of Hvad der forvirrer mig, er synsbedraget.
være
to be
hvad
what
mig
me
der
who, which (relative, subject)
Questions & Answers about Hvad der forvirrer mig, er synsbedraget.
Why do we use hvad der here instead of just hvad?
In this sentence, the 'what' is the subject of the verb forvirrer (it is doing the confusing). When 'what' acts as the subject of a free relative clause, Danish requires hvad der rather than just hvad. If 'what' were the object, like in 'What I saw', you would just use hvad (hvad jeg så).
Could I use det, som instead of hvad der in this sentence?
Yes, you could say Det, som forvirrer mig, er... with exactly the same meaning. Hvad der is just a slightly more concise way to express 'the thing that' or 'what'.
Why does the main verb er come immediately after the comma?
Because of the V2 (verb-second) rule. The entire clause Hvad der forvirrer mig acts as a single block occupying the first position in the main sentence. Therefore, the main verb er must take the second position right after it.
How does the noun synsbedraget break down?
It is a compound of syn (sight or vision) and bedrag (deception or fraud), joined by a connecting s. The -et at the end is the neuter definite suffix, making it 'the optical illusion'.