Vi skal tjekke ind ved check-in-skranken.

Skal is the modal verb meaning must / have to / are supposed to / will (because it is planned), depending on context.

In Vi skal tjekke ind ved check-in-skranken, it usually means something like:

• We have to check in at the check-in desk
• or We’re going to check in at the check-in desk

So skal often expresses necessity, instruction, or a planned action.

A few comparisons:

• Vi skal tjekke ind = we have to / are supposed to check in
• Vi vil tjekke ind = we want to check in
• Vi kan tjekke ind = we can check in

Also note that after a modal verb like skal, Danish normally uses the infinitive without at.

Because tjekke ind is a verb + particle expression, similar to English check in.

• tjekke = to check
• ind = in

Together, tjekke ind means to check in.

This is very common in Danish: a verb combines with a small word such as ind, ud, op, ned, af, etc.

Examples:

• at gå ind = to go in
• at stige på = to get on
• at stå af = to get off
• at tjekke ind = to check in

With modal verbs, Danish keeps the verb in the infinitive:

• Vi skal tjekke ind
• not Vi skal tjekker ind

Because after a modal verb like skal, kan, vil, må, or bør, Danish normally uses the infinitive without at.

So:

• Vi skal tjekke ind = correct
• Vi skal at tjekke ind = incorrect

Compare:

• Jeg vil spise = I want to eat
• Hun kan komme = She can come
• De må vente = They must wait

But when the infinitive stands on its own, you do use at:

• at tjekke ind = to check in

So the rule is:

• after a modal verb → no at
• dictionary/basic infinitive form → use at

Here ved means at / by in the sense of next to or at that location.

So ved check-in-skranken means:

• at the check-in desk
• literally something like by the check-in counter

This is a natural Danish choice when talking about being at a counter, desk, machine, door, entrance, etc.

Examples:

• Jeg står ved døren = I am standing by the door
• Vi mødes ved indgangen = We’ll meet at the entrance
• Hun er ved skranken = She is at the counter

English often says at, while Danish very often uses ved in these situations.

Check-in-skranken is a compound noun.

It is built from:

• check-in
• skranke = counter / desk

So:

• check-in-skranke = check-in counter / check-in desk
• check-in-skranken = the check-in counter / the check-in desk

The hyphen is used because the first part, check-in, is a borrowed expression and is easier to read with a hyphen before the Danish noun.

Danish forms compounds very freely, and hyphens are especially common when:

• a foreign word is involved
• an abbreviation is involved
• the compound would be hard to read otherwise

Because Danish usually marks definiteness by adding it to the noun itself.

• en skranke = a counter
• skranken = the counter

So:

• en check-in-skranke = a check-in counter
• check-in-skranken = the check-in counter

This is one of the biggest differences from English. Danish often uses a definite ending instead of a separate word like the.

You do sometimes get both a separate word and a definite form, but that happens in special cases, especially with adjectives:

• den store skranke = the big counter

Without an adjective, skranken by itself is the normal definite form.

Yes. Tjekke is a normal Danish verb, borrowed from English but adapted to Danish spelling and grammar.

So Danish commonly uses:

• at tjekke = to check

You will also see English-looking words in Danish travel language, especially in airports, hotels, and technology. Danish often mixes native words and borrowed international terms.

In this sentence, both of these are common:

• tjekke ind
• check-in-skranken

So the sentence is very natural modern Danish, especially in an airport context.

The basic structure is:

• Vi = subject
• skal = finite verb
• tjekke ind = infinitive + particle
• ved check-in-skranken = prepositional phrase

So the pattern is:

Subject + finite verb + infinitive phrase + place

That is very normal Danish main-clause word order.

Danish main clauses usually put the finite verb in the second position:

• Vi skal tjekke ind ved check-in-skranken.

If something else comes first, the verb still stays in second position:

• I dag skal vi tjekke ind ved check-in-skranken.
• På hotellet skal vi tjekke ind ved receptionen.

So Danish is a V2 language, meaning the finite verb tends to come second in main clauses.

Normally, ved check-in-skranken is the best choice here.

Why not the others?

• ved = at/by the counter → natural for location
• på often means on or, in some contexts, at, but it would sound less natural here
• i means in, which does not fit a desk/counter very well unless you literally mean inside something

So if you are talking about where the check-in happens physically, ved is the most idiomatic preposition.

A rough English-friendly guide would be:

Vi ≈ vee
skal ≈ sgal or skal
tjekke ≈ CHEK-uh
ind ≈ in (short, light d)
ved ≈ vel / veth depending on accent, but very soft
check-in-skranken ≈ check-in-skrahn-gen

A few useful notes:

• tj in tjekke sounds like English ch
• skranke has the Danish a sound, which is broader than English a
• final consonants in Danish are often softer than an English speaker expects
• spoken Danish may sound more reduced than the spelling suggests

If you want to sound natural, the rhythm matters a lot:

Vi skal TJEK-ke IND ved check-in-SKRAN-ken.

It is most naturally understood as airport language, because of check-in-skranken.

However, tjekke ind itself is used in several travel-related contexts, for example:

• at a hotel
• at an airport
• sometimes at events or receptions

But check-in-skranken strongly suggests an airport or another travel setting with a formal check-in counter.

At a hotel, people would more often say something like:

• Vi skal tjekke ind i receptionen = We need to check in at the reception desk

So the full sentence feels especially natural in an airport context.