Learn Hardcore Danish: Jeg vil hente min ven på stationen. - I will pick up my friend at the station.

Mostly “want to”/“be willing to.” In everyday Danish, vil expresses volition or willingness. So Jeg vil hente min ven på stationen most naturally means “I want to pick up my friend at the station” or “I’m willing to pick up my friend at the station.”

For a planned or scheduled future, Danes typically use the simple present: Jeg henter min ven i morgen.
For arrangements/obligations, use skal: Jeg skal hente min ven i morgen.
Vil can also sound like a spontaneous decision (“I’ll do it”), but that’s about willingness rather than a neutral future tense.

Why is there no at (“to”) before hente?

Because vil is a modal verb, and Danish modals take a bare infinitive (no at):

Correct: Jeg vil hente...
Incorrect: Jeg vil at hente... Other common modals that work the same way: kan, skal, må, bør, turde.

Is hente the right verb for “pick up (someone)”? What about afhente or samle op?

hente = the normal, everyday verb for “pick up/fetch” a person or thing: Jeg henter dig klokken fem.
afhente = more formal/administrative (“collect”), often for parcels: Du kan afhente pakken.
samle op = “pick up from the ground/collect along the way,” not used for picking someone up in a car as your main verb. So in this sentence, hente is exactly right.

Why is it min and not mit or mine?

Danish possessives agree with the noun’s gender and number:

min
- common gender (en-words) singular: min ven (“friend,” common gender)
mit
- neuter (et-words) singular: mit hus
mine
- all plurals: mine venner (“my friends”) Here, ven is an en-word, so min is correct.

Why not “min vennen”?

Possessives in Danish don’t combine with the definite suffix. You say:

min ven (my friend)
vennen (the friend) But not “min vennen.” It’s either possessive or definite suffix—not both.

How do I say “my female friend”?

Use min veninde for a female friend. Some Danes may use ven generically, but veninde explicitly marks a female friend. For plural “friends,” use mine venner (mixed or all-male) and sometimes veninder for a group of female friends: mine veninder.

Why is it på stationen and not i/ved/til stationen?

på stationen = “at the station” (the default way to say you’re at that kind of place/institution)
i stationen = physically “inside the station” (used if you stress the interior), though på is still very common
ved stationen = “by/near the station” (in the vicinity, not necessarily on the premises)
til stationen = “to the station” (movement toward)
fra stationen = “from the station” (movement away) In this sentence, på is the idiomatic choice.

Why is stationen in the definite form (-en)? Could I say station instead?

Danish commonly uses the definite form for specific, known places, and English “the station” maps to stationen. If you mean any station (non-specific), you’d say på en station. With a proper name, you’d drop the -en: på Nørreport Station.

Could this mean “my friend who is at the station”?

As written, på stationen most naturally attaches to the verb (where you’ll pick the friend up). If you want to describe the friend (“my friend who is at the station”), make it explicit:

Jeg vil hente min ven, som er på stationen. Without the relative clause, Danish readers will usually understand it as the pickup location.

Is the word order correct? Could it be “Jeg vil min ven hente …”?

The given order is correct. Danish main clauses are V2 (the finite verb is in second position), and modals come before the main verb:

Jeg vil hente min ven på stationen. Object (min ven) normally precedes the place adverbial (på stationen). If you front the place for emphasis, you invert subject and verb:
På stationen vil jeg hente min ven.

Where does the negation ikke go?

After the finite modal and before the main verb:

Jeg vil ikke hente min ven på stationen. In a subordinate clause, ikke comes after the subject:
… fordi jeg ikke vil hente min ven på stationen.

How do I add a time like “tomorrow”? Where does it go?

Both are fine in speech:

Jeg vil hente min ven i morgen på stationen.
Jeg vil hente min ven på stationen i morgen. Danish is flexible with adverbial order; pick the version that sounds most natural in your context.

How do I make it more polite, like “I’d like to pick up …”?

Use vil gerne:

Jeg vil gerne hente min ven på stationen. This softens it to “I’d like to … / I’d be happy to …”

If I mean the train station specifically, is stationen enough?

Often yes, context makes it clear. If you want to be explicit:

banegården = the train station (very common)
togstationen = the train station (also clear) Examples: på banegården, på togstationen, or with a name: på Aarhus Hovedbanegård.

Quick pronunciation tips?

Very rough guide (not strict IPA):

Jeg ≈ “yai”
vil ≈ “vil” (short i; the l is pronounced)
hente ≈ “HEN-te”
min ≈ “meen”
ven ≈ “ven” (like English “then” but with v)
på ≈ “po” with a rounded short “oh”
stationen ≈ “sta-SHOO-nen” (the “ti/si” gives a soft “sh”-like sound; final -en is a light “uhn”)

Are common nouns capitalized in Danish? Why is stationen lowercase?

No. Danish capitalizes proper nouns only. Common nouns like stationen are lowercase unless they’re part of a proper name (e.g., Nørreport Station).

How would I ask “Will you pick up your friend at the station?” and how does the nuance change?

Vil du hente din ven på stationen? = “Would you/Will you pick up your friend …?” (willingness)
Skal du hente din ven på stationen? = “Are you going to/Do you have to pick up your friend …?” (plan/obligation) Use din because ven is an en-word (your friend).