Learn Hardcore Danish: En hyggelig stemning opstår, når vi sidder sammen og taler om dagen. - A cozy atmosphere arises when we sit together and talk about the day.

In Danish, nouns are divided into two grammatical genders: common gender (en) and neuter gender (et). Since stemning is a common-gender noun, it always takes en, so it becomes en hyggelig stemning.

What does opstår mean, and why is it used here?

Opstår is the present tense form of the verb opstå, meaning to arise or to come into being. It is used to indicate that the hyggelig stemning (cozy atmosphere) naturally emerges or develops in this situation (when we sit together and talk about the day).

Why do we say når and not da?

In Danish, når is used for actions or situations that happen repeatedly or in the present/future tense. Da is used for situations in the past that happened once. Since we are talking about a repeated or habitual action (we sit together and talk about the day), når is correct here.

What is the function of og before taler om dagen?

Og simply means and. It connects the two actions: sidder sammen (sit together) and taler om dagen (talk about the day). It shows that these things happen at the same time or as part of the same situation.

Does om dagen here indicate time or topic?

In this sentence, om dagen means about the day, referring to the events that took place during the day. It functions as the topic of the conversation rather than a direct time reference. If you wanted to talk about doing something during the day in a purely time-related sense, you might use i løbet af dagen instead.