Vi bor i samme hus.

We live in the same house.

Breakdown of Vi bor i samme hus.

• bo: to live
• i: in
• huset: the house
• vi: we
• samme: same

Questions & Answers about Vi bor i samme hus.

Why is it bor and not lever for “live”?

In Danish, bo means “to reside/live (somewhere),” while leve means “to live (to be alive/to lead a life).”

• Correct: Vi bor i samme hus. (We reside in the same house.)
• Different meaning: Vi lever et godt liv. (We live a good life.)
• Don’t say: Vi lever i samme hus if you mean residence.

How do I say “We are living (currently) in the same house”? Is there a progressive form?

Danish present tense covers both simple and progressive meanings, so Vi bor i (det) samme hus works for both “We live” and “We are living.” If you want to stress temporariness, add an adverbial:

• Vi bor for tiden i det samme hus. (at the moment)
• Avoid English-like progressives; er ved at bo is not used.

Why is the preposition i used here and not på?

Use i for being inside an enclosed space/building: i et hus, i en lejlighed, i skoven, i byen. Use på for surfaces, islands, certain institutions/contexts, and many place names: på gaden, på en ø, på arbejde, på hotel. So with a house, it’s naturally i (det) samme hus.

Why is there no article before hus? Why not et?

Samme functions as a determiner, so it replaces the indefinite article:

• Indefinite: i et hus (in a house)
• With “same”: i samme hus (in the same house) If you add a demonstrative, it’s i det samme hus.

Do I need the det in i det samme hus, or is i samme hus enough?

Both are correct. I det samme hus is more explicit/contrastive (often “the very same one we talked about”), while i samme hus is also common and natural in neutral statements. You’ll hear both.

Does samme change form with gender or number?

Samme itself is invariable. What can change is the demonstrative:

• Singular common: den samme by
• Singular neuter: det samme hus
• Plural: de samme huse Without a demonstrative: samme by, samme hus, samme huse.

What’s the difference between samme and ens?

• Samme = “the same (one)”—the exact same item/place.
  • Vi bor i det samme hus. (the very same building)
• Ens = “identical/alike,” used when comparing two or more different items.
  • Vores huse er ens. (Our houses are identical.) You can’t use ens to mean “the same one”: not Vi bor i et ens hus.

Does Vi bor i samme hus mean we share a household?

Not necessarily. It means you live in the same building. If you want to say you live together as one household, say Vi bor sammen. So:

• Vi bor i samme hus = same building (possibly different apartments).
• Vi bor sammen = same household/home.

How do I pronounce the sentence?

Approximate guidance:

• Vi: “vee”
• bor: roughly “bohr” (with a soft, almost vowel-like Danish r)
• i: “ee”
• samme: “SAH-muh” (final e is a weak schwa)
• hus: “hoos” In normal speech, bor i runs together smoothly.

How do I say it in the past or present perfect?

• Simple past: Vi boede i samme hus.
• Present perfect: Vi har boet i det samme hus i fem år. Principal forms: at bo – bor – boede – har boet.

How do I make the question and the negative?

• Question: Bor vi i det samme hus?
• Negative: Vi bor ikke i det samme hus. Word order: the finite verb (bor) comes before the subject in yes/no questions.

Can I front the prepositional phrase?

Yes. Danish uses inversion after a fronted element:

• I samme hus bor vi. Here, because something other than the subject starts the sentence, the verb (bor) comes before the subject (vi).

When do I use hos with living somewhere?

Use hos for living/staying at someone’s place:

• Vi bor hos mine forældre. (We live at my parents’ place.) For buildings/addresses, use i/på: i huset, på samme adresse.

What are the noun forms of hus, and do they affect this sentence?

• Indefinite: et hus
• Definite: huset
• Plural: huse
• Definite plural: husene With samme or det samme, the noun stays in its base form: (det) samme hus (not “huset”). Example: Vi bor i det samme hus.

Can I say “the very same house”?

Yes: det selvsamme hus is emphatic/literary for “the very same house.”

• Vi bor i det selvsamme hus. (More emphatic than everyday speech.)