Tantes maleri hænger på væggen bag sofaen.

Tantes is the genitive (possessive) form of tante (aunt).

• tante = aunt
• tantes = aunt’s

In Danish, you normally form the possessive of a noun by adding -s directly to the noun, without an extra apostrophe:

• tante → tantes maleri = the aunt’s painting

So tantes maleri literally means “aunt’s painting” (usually understood as my/the aunt’s painting from context).

The noun maleri (“painting”) is already determined by the possessive tantes. In Danish, when a noun has a possessive in front of it (like tantes, min, vores, etc.), you normally:

• do not use an article (en/et)
• do not use the definite ending (-en / -et / -ene) on the noun

So you say:

• tantes maleri (aunt’s painting)
• min bog (my book)

and not:

• tantes et maleri
• min bogen

Maleri is a neuter noun (et-ord). Its basic forms are:

• Indefinite singular: et maleri (a painting)
• Definite singular: maleriet (the painting)
• Indefinite plural: malerier (paintings)
• Definite plural: malerierne (the paintings)

In the sentence, maleri is indefinite and possessed: tantes maleri (aunt’s painting).

Hænger is the present tense of at hænge and here means “is hanging / hangs”. Danish uses different verbs for different kinds of positions:

• hænger – when something is hanging (on a wall, on a hook, from the ceiling)
• står – when something is standing upright (a vase on the table, a bottle on the floor)
• ligger – when something is lying (a book on the table, a person on the sofa)

So a painting on a wall hænger på væggen; it doesn’t stand or lie there.

På means on (on a surface), while i means in / inside something. A painting is on the surface of the wall, so Danish uses på:

• på væggen = on the wall
• i væggen would suggest something is inside the wall (e.g. ledningerne i væggen – the cables in the wall)

So hænger på væggen is the normal expression for something hanging on a wall.

Danish usually marks definiteness by adding an ending to the noun, instead of putting “the” in front:

• en væg = a wall
• væggen = the wall

You only use den væg when you want to point out or contrast something (more like “that wall / this wall”):

• Den væg er blå. = That wall is blue.

In a neutral description like this sentence, på væggen (“on the wall”) is the natural choice.

Bag is a preposition meaning behind (in a spatial sense). The structure is:

• bag + definite noun → bag sofaen = behind the sofa

So:

• foran sofaen = in front of the sofa
• bag sofaen = behind the sofa

You may also hear bagved sofaen; bag and bagved are both used, with bag being a bit more neutral and simple.

Sofa is a common gender noun (en-ord), not neuter:

• en sofa = a sofa
• sofaen = the sofa

-et is the definite ending for neuter nouns (et-ord), like:

• et hus → huset (a house → the house)

Since sofa is an en-word, the definite form is sofaen, not sofaet.

The basic order here is Subject – Verb – Adverbial:

• Subject: Tantes maleri
• Verb: hænger
• Adverbial (place): på væggen bag sofaen

You can move the place phrase to the front for emphasis, but Danish keeps the finite verb in second position in a main clause:

• På væggen bag sofaen hænger tantes maleri.

Both versions are correct; the difference is mainly what you want to emphasize (the location vs. the painting).

For my aunt’s painting, you say:

• min tantes maleri = my aunt’s painting

For the painting of my aunt, Danish would typically say:

• et maleri af min tante = a painting of my aunt (a painting that shows her)
• maleriet af min tante = the painting of my aunt

Note the nuance:

• min tantes maleri usually means she owns the painting.
• et/maleriet af min tante usually means the painting depicts her.

Very roughly, in English-like spelling:

• hænger ≈ HENG-er

  • æ like the a in “cat”, but a bit more open
  • ng like in “sing”
  • Final -er is a weak -uh sound

• væggen ≈ VEH-gen (with a small “catch” in the voice on the vowel)

  • væ similar to English “ve” in “very” but with æ as in “cat”
  • The gg is soft; you don’t fully pronounce a hard g-g
  • -en is a weak -en / -n syllable

• bag ≈ BAU (like “bow” in English)

  • The g is usually very soft or almost silent in modern Danish.

These are only rough guides; listening to native audio will help fix the exact Danish sounds.