Fingerhullerne i bowlingkuglen er for små.

Because Danish, like English, often makes compound nouns, but Danish does this even more consistently by writing them as a single word.

So:

• finger = finger
• hul = hole
• fingerhul = finger hole
• fingerhullerne = the finger holes

English sometimes writes similar things as two words, but Danish usually joins them into one noun.

The ending -erne is the definite plural ending here. It means the ...-s.

So the pattern is:

• et fingerhul = a finger hole
• fingerhuller = finger holes
• fingerhullerne = the finger holes

This is one of the most useful things to notice in Danish nouns: the definite article is often attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word like English the.

Because the sentence refers to the bowling ball, not just a bowling ball.

Compare:

• en bowlingkugle = a bowling ball
• bowlingkuglen = the bowling ball

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

• -en often marks the for common-gender nouns
• -et often marks the for neuter nouns

So bowlingkuglen is the bowling ball.

Here i means in.

So fingerhullerne i bowlingkuglen is literally the finger holes in the bowling ball.

This is a very natural way in Danish to connect the holes to the bowling ball. English might also say the finger holes of the bowling ball, but Danish often prefers a structure like X i Y when something is physically located inside something else.

Yes, that is also possible. Bowlingkuglens fingerhuller means the bowling ball’s finger holes.

But there is a slight stylistic difference:

• fingerhullerne i bowlingkuglen = the finger holes in the bowling ball
• bowlingkuglens fingerhuller = the bowling ball’s finger holes

The version with i sounds very natural when talking about actual holes physically located in the ball.

Er is the present tense of at være = to be.

So:

• jeg er = I am
• du er = you are
• den er = it is
• de er = they are

In this sentence, the subject is plural (fingerhullerne), so in English we say are. In Danish, the form is still er, because Danish verbs do not change for person or number the way English verbs do.

Because the subject is plural: fingerhullerne = the finger holes.

The adjective small changes form:

• lille = small (common singular, often indefinite)
• lille/små can both appear in different constructions, but
• småt = small (neuter singular)
• små = small (plural)

Here the thing being described is plural, so Danish uses små.

That is why the sentence ends with er for små.

Here for means too, not the usual English for.

So:

• små = small
• for små = too small

This is a very common Danish pattern:

• for stor = too big
• for dyr = too expensive
• for tung = too heavy

So for + adjective often means too + adjective.

Because Danish usually adds definiteness to the end of the noun instead.

So instead of:

• the finger holes
• the bowling ball

Danish often uses:

• fingerhullerne
• bowlingkuglen

This is one of the biggest structural differences from English. The the idea is often built into the noun itself.

No, this is the normal word order for a simple statement:

Subject + verb + complement

• Fingerhullerne i bowlingkuglen = subject
• er = verb
• for små = complement

So the sentence structure is very straightforward and similar to English: The finger holes in the bowling ball are too small.

Because Danish often keeps international loanwords, especially for sports and modern objects. Bowling is commonly used in Danish, and bowlingkugle is the normal word for bowling ball.

This is very common in Danish vocabulary: a borrowed word can become part of a normal Danish compound noun.

No, not normally. Unlike German, Danish does not capitalize all nouns.

So in the middle of a sentence you would write:

• fingerhullerne
• bowlingkuglen

In your example, Fingerhullerne is capitalized only because it is the first word of the sentence.

You would remove the definite ending.

Compare:

• fingerhuller = finger holes
• fingerhullerne = the finger holes

And similarly:

• en bowlingkugle = a bowling ball
• bowlingkuglen = the bowling ball

So Danish uses endings very actively to show whether something is general/indefinite or specific/definite.