Jeg kigger på hunden, og den kigger på mig.

I look at the dog, and it looks at me.

Breakdown of Jeg kigger på hunden, og den kigger på mig.

• jeg: I
• hunden: the dog
• og: and
• kigge på: to look at
• den: it
• mig: me

Questions & Answers about Jeg kigger på hunden, og den kigger på mig.

Why do we use hunden instead of hund?

In Danish, the definite form is created by adding an ending to the noun, so hund becomes hunden (meaning the dog). Saying hund alone would mean dog in an indefinite sense.

Why do we say den instead of han or hun?

Danish uses den or det to refer to animals or objects, rather than the personal pronouns han (he) or hun (she). Even though dogs can be male or female, grammatically, the language defaults to den for most animals unless personalizing.

What does kigger på mean, and is it always used together?

Kigger means look and på means at or on. They’re often used together as kigger på to express the idea of looking at something. In English, you might just say look at, but in Danish you usually use both words together.

How does word order work here?

Danish typically places the verb right after the subject in a main clause: Jeg kigger (I look). The object or the prepositional phrase follows next: på hunden (at the dog). When you add another clause with og (and), you repeat the same structure for the second clause: den kigger (it looks) followed by på mig (at me).

Why do we say på mig and not something else?

In Danish, to express at me you use på mig. The preposition på often translates to on, at, or onto in English. Here, it's the common way to talk about looking at a person, so kigger på mig is the standard phrase.