Vinduet lukker kulden ude.

The window keeps the cold out.

Breakdown of Vinduet lukker kulden ude.

• vinduet: the window
• lukke ude: to keep out
• kulden: the cold

Questions & Answers about Vinduet lukker kulden ude.

Why does the sentence use the definite form for both vinduet and kulden?

In Danish, nouns typically appear in their definite form when we’re talking about something specific. Here, vinduet refers to “the window,” and kulden refers to “the cold.” Both are definite because they’re referring to specific things (the particular window that keeps the specific cold out).

Why is the verb lukker followed by kulden and then ude?

Danish often keeps a relatively fixed word order. lukker (the verb) is placed second after the subject, kulden (the object) follows, and ude (the adverb) comes at the end. The sentence literally reads “The window closes the cold out,” which is a natural Danish structure.

How do I know that vinduet is neuter in Danish?

In Danish, you learn the gender of nouns through practice and vocabulary lists. The word vindue (window) is a neuter noun, and its definite form is vinduet. Unfortunately, there’s no simple rule that will always tell you the gender of a noun—you have to memorize it.

Could I say Vinduet lukker ude kulden instead?

No, that would sound unnatural in Danish. The verb phrase lukker kulden ude is a fixed expression: subject + verb + object + adverb. Switching the positions of kulden and ude would break the normal Danish word order.

What does lukker kulden ude literally translate to in English word order?

It roughly translates to “closes the cold out.” In English, you might say “keeps the cold out,” but literally, the structure is “close the cold out.”