Learn Hardcore Danish: Bibliotekaren hjælper studenten med at finde en løsning i ordbogen. - The librarian helps the student find a solution in the dictionary.

Instead of putting a separate word like the before the noun, Danish usually attaches the article to the end of the noun: -en (for common gender) or -et (for neuter nouns).

Why is it en løsning (indefinite) but ordbogen (definite)? Why not løsningen?

en løsning is indefinite (a solution), while ordbogen is definite (the dictionary).

en løsning suggests some solution, not a specific one that is already known.
→ The student and librarian don’t yet know what the solution will be; they are looking for one.
ordbogen is definite because it refers to a particular dictionary they are using (for example, the one on the desk or the usual one in the library).

If you said løsningen, it would sound like they already have a specific, known solution in mind and just need to locate or confirm that exact solution in the dictionary.

Who is actually doing the finding – the librarian or the student?

In the structure hjælper X med at finde Y, X is the one who does the finding, with help.

So in:

Bibliotekaren hjælper studenten med at finde en løsning i ordbogen.

it means:

The student is the one finding the solution.
The librarian supports, guides, or helps the student to do that.

If the librarian were the one mainly doing the finding, you would normally rephrase, for example:

Bibliotekaren finder en løsning i ordbogen til studenten.
→ The librarian finds a solution in the dictionary for the student.

Why is it hjælper ... med at finde and not just hjælper ... finde?

After hjælpe (to help) you normally use the pattern:

hjælpe nogen med at + infinitive

So:

hjælper studenten med at finde = helps the student to find

Both med and at are needed here in standard Danish:

✗ hjælper studenten finde → incorrect
✓ hjælper studenten med at finde → correct

Think of med as “with” and at as the equivalent of English to before a verb (to find).

Can you ever leave out med after hjælpe? For example, say hjælper studenten at finde?

You cannot say hjælper studenten at finde – that is wrong in standard Danish.

You have two common patterns:

With a noun:
- hjælpe nogen med noget
  → Bibliotekaren hjælper studenten med opgaven.
  (The librarian helps the student with the assignment.)
With a verb:
- hjælpe nogen med at gøre noget
  → hjælper studenten med at finde en løsning

You will also see hjælpe nogen til at gøre noget, but that is a bit more formal or means “help someone manage to / succeed in doing something.”

So here you should stick with med at.

What exactly is the at doing in at finde?

at is the usual marker for the infinitive (the basic verb form) in Danish, similar to to in English to find.

at finde = to find
at læse = to read
at hjælpe = to help

You normally keep at before infinitives, unless the verb is a modal verb (like kan, vil, skal, må, bør) or certain special verbs where at is dropped:

Jeg kan finde en løsning. (no at)
Bibliotekaren hjælper studenten med at finde en løsning. (at needed)

So here at must be present.

Why is the word order Bibliotekaren hjælper studenten ... and not Bibliotekaren studenten hjælper ...?

Danish main clauses follow the V2 rule (verb-second):

First position: usually the subject (here: Bibliotekaren)
Second position: the finite verb (here: hjælper)
Then other elements: object, adverbials, etc.

So the correct order is:

Bibliotekaren (subject) hjælper (verb) studenten (object) med at finde ...

Putting studenten right after Bibliotekaren would incorrectly push the verb out of the second position:

✗ Bibliotekaren studenten hjælper ... → ungrammatical in Danish
✓ Bibliotekaren hjælper studenten ... → correct

Why is the preposition i used in i ordbogen, and not something like med?

i literally means in, and here it is spatial: they are looking in the dictionary.

i ordbogen = inside the dictionary / within its contents

Other prepositions would change the meaning:

med ordbogen = with the dictionary (having it with you, using it as a tool)
fra ordbogen = from the dictionary (information coming from it)

In the context of searching for information in a reference work, i (in) is the normal and natural choice: you look i ordbogen, i bogen, i teksten, etc.

How is hjælper formed from at hjælpe, and does it change with I/you/they?

The infinitive is at hjælpe. The present tense is formed by adding -r:

at hjælpe → hjælper (present)

Danish verbs in the present tense do not change with person or number:

jeg hjælper (I help)
du hjælper (you help)
han/hun hjælper (he/she helps)
vi hjælper (we help)
de hjælper (they help)

So hjælper is the same for all subjects.

Is studenten the usual word for “the student” in Danish, or is studerende more common?

Both exist, but they are used a bit differently:

en student / studenten
Traditionally, a student is someone who has passed the Danish upper secondary school exam (studentereksamen). It can sound slightly old‑fashioned or specific.
en studerende / den studerende
This is the more common, neutral word for someone who is currently studying, especially at a university.

In real life, many Danes might more naturally say:

Bibliotekaren hjælper den studerende med at finde en løsning i ordbogen.

The sentence with studenten is still grammatically correct; it just carries that more specific or traditional nuance.

Could the sentence also be “…en løsning i en ordbog” instead of “…i ordbogen”? What would change?

Yes, you can say:

… en løsning i en ordbog. = a solution in a dictionary
… en løsning i ordbogen. = a solution in the dictionary

The difference:

i en ordbog suggests any dictionary; it’s not important which one.
i ordbogen suggests a particular dictionary that is known in the situation (for example, the library’s main dictionary, or the one they are both looking at).

Both are grammatically fine; context decides which sounds more natural.

Can i ordbogen be placed somewhere else in the sentence, and does that change the meaning?

The most natural place is at the end:

Bibliotekaren hjælper studenten med at finde en løsning i ordbogen.

You can move i ordbogen to the front to focus on where:

I ordbogen hjælper bibliotekaren studenten med at finde en løsning.

This is grammatically correct but has a special emphasis, often used in writing or formal speech.

Other placements like:

✗ Bibliotekaren hjælper i ordbogen studenten med at finde en løsning.

are not natural. So practically, for normal neutral Danish, keep i ordbogen at the end.

How do you pronounce hjælper and ordbogen? Are some letters silent?

Yes, some letters are not pronounced as in English.

hjælper
- h is silent.
- Pronounced roughly like YEL-per (short e as in get).
ordbogen
- The d in ord is silent.
- The g in bog is a soft Danish g, not a hard English g.
- Roughly: OHR-bo-en (with bo a bit like “bo” in boat, but shorter).

These are only approximations, but they show that h in hj- is silent and d in ord is not heard.