Learn Hardcore Danish: Livet er roligt i aften.

In Livet er roligt i aften, you are talking about life in general in a more abstract way (similar to English Life is calm tonight), and Danish normally uses the definite form for that idea: livet.
Using bare liv here would sound wrong to a native speaker.

What gender is liv, and how does that affect the form livet?

Liv is neuter (also called t‑word in Danish). That has two important consequences:

The indefinite singular is:
- et liv (not en liv)
The definite singular ends in -et:
- livet = the life

For common gender (n‑words), the definite ending is -en (e.g. en aften → aftenen), but for neuter nouns like liv, it is -et (et liv → livet).

Why is it roligt and not rolig?

The adjective rolig (calm/quiet) has to agree with the gender and number of the noun it describes when it comes after er (or other linking verbs like bliver).

Basic pattern:

Common gender (en‑word), singular: rolig
- Dagen er rolig. – The day is calm.
Neuter gender (et‑word), singular: roligt
- Livet er roligt. – Life is calm.
Plural (both genders): rolige
- Dagene er rolige. – The days are calm.

Since liv is neuter (et liv, livet), the correct form after er is roligt.
Livet er rolig would be ungrammatical.

Is roligt an adjective or an adverb here?

Here, roligt is an adjective agreeing with the neuter noun liv.

Structure: [Subject] livet
- [verb] er
  - [predicative adjective] roligt

Danish uses the -t form of the adjective both:

for neuter singular adjectives (as here), and
as an adverb (e.g. han taler roligt – he speaks calmly).

So roligt can be adverbial, but in this sentence, it is clearly describing livet (life), so it functions as an adjective.

What is the difference between rolig and roligt and rolige in general?

They are forms of the same adjective rolig (calm/quiet), and they change depending on gender and number:

rolig
- common gender, singular
- en rolig dag – a calm day
- Dagen er rolig.
roligt
- neuter, singular
- et roligt liv – a calm life
- Livet er roligt.
- also used as an adverb: han går roligt – he walks calmly
rolige
- plural for both genders
- rolige dage – calm days
- Dagene er rolige.

So Livet er roligt i aften uses roligt because liv is a neuter noun.

Could I say Livet er stille i aften instead of roligt? What is the difference?

Yes, you can say Livet er stille i aften, but there is a nuance:

roligt – calm, peaceful, not much going on; atmosphere, pace, mood
stille – quiet, little or no noise; more about sound or movement

So:

Livet er roligt i aften.
→ Things are calm/peaceful tonight; not much happening.
Livet er stille i aften.
→ It is very quiet tonight; not much noise or activity.

Both are possible; it depends whether you want to emphasize peacefulness (roligt) or silence/quietness (stille).

Why is it i aften and not something like på aften?

In Danish, times of day used in a concrete, specific sense usually take i, not på:

i dag – today
i morgen – tomorrow
i går – yesterday
i formiddag – this morning (before noon)
i eftermiddag – this afternoon
i aften – tonight / this evening
i nat – tonight (during the night)

So i aften is a fixed, very common time expression meaning this evening / tonight.
På aften is not used in this meaning.

What exactly does i aften mean? Is it this evening, tonight, or something else?

I aften means this evening / tonight (the coming or current evening of today). It typically covers the time from late afternoon/early evening until you go to bed.

Compare with related expressions:

i aften – this evening / tonight (later today)
i aftes – last night / yesterday evening
i nat – tonight (during the night) or last night, depending on context
om aftenen – in the evenings (habitually, in general)

So Livet er roligt i aften talks about this evening, not in general evenings.

Can I move i aften to the beginning of the sentence? How does the word order change?

Yes, you can say:

I aften er livet roligt.

Danish is a verb‑second (V2) language: the finite verb (er) must be in second position in main clauses.

Two main versions:

Livet er roligt i aften.
- 1st element: Livet (subject)
- 2nd element: er (verb)
I aften er livet roligt.
- 1st element: I aften (adverbial of time)
- 2nd element: er (verb)
- Subject now comes after the verb: livet

Both are correct. The second version puts extra emphasis on i aften (this evening).

Could I say Det er roligt i aften instead of Livet er roligt i aften?

Yes, and Det er roligt i aften is actually more common in everyday speech.

Det er roligt i aften.
→ It’s quiet tonight / Things are quiet tonight.

Here det is a dummy subject (like it in It’s raining). You’re commenting on the general situation.

Livet er roligt i aften.
→ Life is calm tonight.

This sounds a bit more poetic, personal, or reflective, focusing specifically on life rather than just the situation.

How would I make this sentence negative or turn it into a question?

Negation (not calm):

Place ikke after the verb er:

Livet er ikke roligt i aften.
→ Life is not calm tonight.

Yes/no question (Is life calm tonight?):

In spoken Danish, you normally keep the same word order and use rising intonation:

Livet er roligt i aften? (rising intonation)

In writing (or more explicit speech), you can also front the verb:

Er livet roligt i aften?
→ Is life calm tonight?

Both patterns exist, but Er livet roligt i aften? is the clearest standard question form.

How would I say Life was calm last night in Danish?

You need the past tense of er (at være) and the correct time expression:

var = was (past of er)
i aftes = last night / yesterday evening

So:

Livet var roligt i aftes.
→ Life was calm last night / yesterday evening.

Using var with i aften (Livet var roligt i aften) is normally wrong, because i aften refers to this evening (now or in the future), not the past.

How are the words in Livet er roligt i aften pronounced?

Approximate pronunciation (in IPA and rough English hints):

Livet → [ˈliːvæð] or [ˈliːvəð]
- li‑ like lee
- v as in very
- final -et is reduced, often sounding like a soft schwa + soft ð (like the th in the but weaker), or almost like -e
er → [ɐ]
- very short, like a reduced uh/er; the r is not strongly pronounced
roligt → [ˈʁoːli]
- r is a throaty sound (uvular)
- oo like in road but longer
- the final t is silent
i → [i]
- like English ee in see
aften → [ˈɑfdn̩]
- a like the a in father
- ft pronounced together; the e is very weak or disappears
- n may be syllabic (you kind of end on an n sound)

Spoken normally, the sentence will sound roughly like:

[ˈliːvəð ɐ ˈʁoːli i ˈɑfdn̩]
with quite a bit of reduction in er and -et.