Sne falder smukt fra himlen.

Snow falls beautifully from the sky.

Breakdown of Sne falder smukt fra himlen.

• himlen: the sky
• sneen: the snow
• falde: to fall
• fra: from

Questions & Answers about Sne falder smukt fra himlen.

Why doesn’t the sentence use an article before “Sne”?

In Danish, sne (snow) is an uncountable noun often used without an article when referring to it in a general sense. This is similar to how you might say Water is important in English rather than The water is important, when you mean water in general.

What is the difference between “falder” and “falde”?

Falde is the infinitive form of the verb, meaning “to fall.” Falder is the present-tense form used with a subject like sne, so it translates to “falls” (or “is falling”) in English.

Why is “smukt” used instead of “smuk” or “smukke”?

In Danish, smukt can be the adverbial form of smuk (beautiful). It modifies the verb falder, describing how the snow falls (beautifully). When describing a noun directly, you might use smuk or smukke depending on gender and number, but here it functions adverbially, hence smukt.

What does “fra himlen” literally mean, and is it always used to say “from the sky”?

Fra himlen literally means from the sky. Fra indicates “from,” and himlen is the definite form of himmel (sky). Yes, fra himlen is the typical way to say something comes down from the sky in Danish, though you might see variations for stylistic reasons.

Is the word order in “Sne falder smukt fra himlen” normal for Danish?

Yes. Danish usually follows a Subject–Verb–Adverb–Object/Complement pattern. In this case:
• Sne (Subject)
• falder (Verb)
• smukt (Adverb)
• fra himlen (Prepositional phrase)

This order is quite natural in Danish, keeping the manner (smukt) before the location (fra himlen).