Hunden er vild.

Because hunden means the dog, while hund means dog in a more general or indefinite sense.

Danish usually puts the definite article on the end of the noun:

• en hund = a dog
• hunden = the dog

So the -en is doing the job that the does in English.

Here, -en is the definite suffix for a common-gender noun.

Danish nouns often show definiteness by adding an ending:

• common gender: -en
• neuter: -et

Examples:

• en hund → hunden = the dog
• et hus → huset = the house

So in Hunden er vild, the noun is definite: the dog.

Because hund is a common-gender noun in Danish, so its indefinite form is en hund.

In Danish, every noun has a grammatical gender:

• en-word (common gender)
• et-word (neuter)

You generally have to learn the gender along with the noun. So it is best to memorize nouns like this:

• en hund
• et hus
• en bil

That makes it easier to form the definite form later:

• hunden
• huset
• bilen

Er is the present tense of at være, which means to be.

So:

• at være = to be
• er = is / am / are depending on context

In this sentence, Hunden er vild, er means is.

Danish does not change the present tense form for different persons the way English does. So the same form er is used with different subjects:

• jeg er = I am
• du er = you are
• hunden er = the dog is

Because vild is a predicative adjective here: it comes after er and describes the subject.

In Danish, adjectives behave differently depending on where they appear.

1. Attributive adjective: directly before a noun

• den vilde hund = the wild dog

2. Predicative adjective: after a verb like er

• hunden er vild = the dog is wild

Even though hunden is definite, the adjective stays in its basic form here because it is predicative, not placed directly before the noun.

Yes. Predicative adjectives in Danish usually agree with gender and number.

With common singular, you usually use the base form:

• Hunden er vild.

With neuter singular, you often add -t:

• Huset er vildt.

With plural, you usually add -e:

• Hundene er vilde.

So vild changes depending on what it describes.

That is the normal statement word order: subject + verb + adjective.

If you want to make it a yes/no question, you usually move the verb before the subject:

• Er hunden vild? = Is the dog wild?

So:

• statement: Hunden er vild.
• question: Er hunden vild?

You would say:

• Hunden er ikke vild.

The word ikke means not.

In a simple sentence like this, ikke usually comes after the verb:

• Hunden er ikke vild.

Not always. Vild often does mean wild, but it can also have wider uses depending on context.

It can mean things like:

• wild / untamed
• crazy
• intense
• very enthusiastic about something

For example:

• en vild hund = a wild dog
• Det er vildt! = That’s crazy! / That’s wild!
• Jeg er vild med dansk. = I’m crazy about Danish.

So the exact sense depends on the situation.

A rough learner-friendly guide is:

• Hunden ≈ HUN-en
• er ≈ a short unstressed air/er
• vild ≈ vil with a very soft final d

A few important pronunciation notes:

• The d in words like hunden and vild is not usually pronounced like a strong English d.
• Danish r in er is also quite different from English.
• The sentence will often sound smoother and softer than the spelling suggests.

If you are learning pronunciation, it is a good idea to listen to native audio, because Danish spelling often hides sounds that are reduced or softened.

Yes, but it means something slightly different in emphasis.

• Hunden er vild = The dog is wild
• Den hund er vild = That dog is wild or that particular dog is wild

So hunden is the normal definite form, while den hund points more directly to a specific dog, often with extra emphasis.