Det er lige meget, om vi griller bøffen eller grillpølsen først.

In this sentence, lige meget means it doesn’t matter or it makes no difference.

Literally, lige often means equal / same, and meget usually means much / a lot, but together lige meget is a fixed expression meaning:

• it’s all the same
• it doesn’t matter

So:

• Det er lige meget = It doesn’t matter

This is a very common everyday expression in Danish.

Det er is the normal way to say it is in Danish.

So:

• Det = it
• er = is

Danish often uses det in impersonal expressions, just like English does:

• Det er vigtigt = It is important
• Det er svært = It is difficult
• Det er lige meget = It doesn’t matter / It is all the same

So the sentence begins with an impersonal structure: Det er lige meget ...

Here, om means whether.

So:

• om vi griller bøffen eller grillpølsen først
  = whether we grill the steak or the grilled sausage first

This is a very common use of om after expressions like:

• jeg ved ikke, om ... = I don’t know whether ...
• det er lige meget, om ... = it doesn’t matter whether ...

Be careful: om can mean other things in other contexts, such as about or in/after (time), but here it clearly means whether.

Because vi is the subject of a full clause, so the verb has to be conjugated.

• vi griller = we grill / we are grilling
• at grille = to grill

After om, you usually get a normal subordinate clause, not an infinitive:

• om vi griller ... = whether we grill ...

So griller is correct because it is the present tense finite verb matching vi.

The endings -en make the nouns definite:

• bøf = a steak
• bøffen = the steak
• grillpølse = a grilling sausage / grilled sausage
• grillpølsen = the grilling sausage / the grilled sausage

Danish usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like the.

So:

• bøffen = the steak
• grillpølsen = the sausage

In this sentence, the speaker is probably talking about specific food items that are already known in the situation.

No. Here eller connects two objects, not two full clauses.

The structure is basically:

• vi griller [bøffen] eller [grillpølsen] først

This means the verb griller applies to both nouns:

• we grill the steak first
• or
• we grill the sausage first

Danish does not repeat griller because it is understood.

If it were two full clauses, it would look more like:

• om vi griller bøffen først, eller om vi griller grillpølsen først

That version is grammatical, but much heavier and less natural here.

Først means first, and it naturally comes at the end here because it modifies the choice between the two things being grilled.

So the meaning is:

• whether we grill the steak first
• or the sausage first

Placing først at the end makes it apply to the whole choice.

This is very natural in Danish. English often does the same:

• It doesn’t matter whether we grill the steak or the sausage first.

Sometimes yes, but the meaning or emphasis may change.

The given version:

• Det er lige meget, om vi griller bøffen eller grillpølsen først.

is the most natural way to say:

• It doesn’t matter whether we grill the steak or the sausage first.

If you move først, it can sound less natural or put odd emphasis on one part of the sentence.

For example:

• ... om vi først griller bøffen eller grillpølsen

This can sound as if først belongs more to the verb phrase griller, rather than clearly to the ordering contrast. It is not the best choice here.

So for this sentence, final først is the most idiomatic placement.

The clause is:

• om vi griller bøffen eller grillpølsen først

The basic order is:

• om
  • subject
    • verb
      • rest

So:

• om = whether
• vi = subject
• griller = verb

This is normal Danish subordinate-clause word order.

An important thing to know is that sentence adverbs such as ikke often come before the finite verb in subordinate clauses:

• om vi ikke griller bøffen først = whether we are not grilling the steak first

But in your sentence there is no such adverb, so the order is simply:

• om vi griller ...

Griller is present tense.

The verb is:

• at grille = to grill

Present tense in Danish is usually formed with -r:

• jeg griller = I grill / I am grilling
• vi griller = we grill / we are grilling

In Danish, the present tense often covers both the English simple present and present continuous, depending on context.

So vi griller can mean:

• we grill
• we are grilling

Here, English would most naturally say we grill.

Grillpølse is a compound noun:

• grill = grill
• pølse = sausage

So grillpølse means a sausage intended for grilling, often something like a bratwurst or hot-dog-style sausage depending on context.

Danish uses compound nouns very freely, so learners will often see words like this written as one word.

Examples:

• grillmad = grill food / barbecue food
• pølsebrød = hot dog bun
• grillpølse = grilling sausage

Because Danish usually uses the definite form when talking about a specific item already understood from the situation.

Compare:

• Vi griller en bøf. = We’re grilling a steak.
  This introduces a steak as a new, indefinite item.

• Vi griller bøffen. = We’re grilling the steak.
  This refers to a specific steak.

In your sentence, the speaker seems to mean a particular steak and a particular sausage that are already there.

Yes. Det er ligegyldigt also means it doesn’t matter.

So these are very close:

• Det er lige meget, om ...
• Det er ligegyldigt, om ...

In everyday speech, lige meget is extremely common and often sounds a bit more conversational. Ligegyldigt is also common, but can sound slightly more formal or neutral depending on context.

Yes. Danish allows the om clause to come first:

• Om vi griller bøffen eller grillpølsen først, er det lige meget.

This is grammatical, but less natural in ordinary conversation than:

• Det er lige meget, om vi griller bøffen eller grillpølsen først.

The version with Det er lige meget first is smoother and more common in speech.

Ø is a vowel that English does not really have in the same way, so many learners find it tricky.

• bøf has a vowel somewhat like the vowel in French bleu or German schön, if you know those.
• bøffen is roughly BUF-fen only very approximately, but that is not an exact English match.

A few helpful points:

• ø is a rounded front vowel
• your tongue is fairly forward in the mouth
• your lips are rounded

And:

• bøf = one syllable
• bøffen = two syllables

Even if your ø is not perfect, Danes will usually understand you from context.