Learn Hardcore Danish: Filmen begynder klokken otte. - The movie begins at eight o'clock.

So -en is the definite ending for many common gender nouns (called fælleskøn).
Because Danish doesn’t use a separate word like the, you show definiteness by adding -en (or sometimes -et, depending on the noun).

Why is Filmen capitalized? Are all nouns capitalized in Danish like in German?

No. Danish does not capitalize all nouns.

Here, Filmen is capitalized only because it is the first word of the sentence.
If it appeared in the middle of a sentence, it would be filmen:

Jeg har set filmen. – I have seen the film.

So: sentence-initial word ⇒ capitalized; nouns in general ⇒ not capitalized.

Why is the verb begynder in the present tense if it’s talking about the future?

Danish often uses the present tense to talk about scheduled future events, especially things like films, trains, plans, programs, etc. This is similar to English when we say:

The film *starts at eight.*

You can use a future form in Danish (for example with vil), but in this context it’s more natural and idiomatic to use the simple present:

Filmen begynder klokken otte. – neutral, normal
Filmen vil begynde klokken otte. – grammatically possible but sounds more formal/odd in this simple context.

What is the difference between begynder and starter? Could I say Filmen starter klokken otte?

Both begynder and starter can be used about a film:

Filmen begynder klokken otte.
Filmen starter klokken otte.

In everyday speech, both are common here and mean the same. Some nuances:

begynde is a bit more general and very common in many contexts (courses, meetings, seasons, etc.).
starte can sound slightly more technical or mechanical in some contexts (start a machine, start a car), but it’s also widely used with events.

For talking about when a movie or show starts, both are fine.

What does klokken mean here? Is it literally “the clock”?

Literally, klokken is “the clock” (klokke = clock, klokken = the clock).

In time expressions, klokken is used like English “o’clock” or “at”:

klokken otte ≈ at eight (o’clock)

So in practice:

klokken + number = at [that] o’clock
- klokken tre – at three
- klokken ti – at ten

Why is there no word for “at” before the time, like in English “at eight o’clock”?

Danish doesn’t use a preposition like “at” in this basic time construction. Instead, the structure is:

klokken + time

So:

Filmen begynder klokken otte.
literally: The film begins the-clock eight.

The idea of “at” is built into this expression — you don’t say *ved klokken otte or *på klokken otte in this context.

Can I leave out klokken and just say Filmen begynder otte?

No, not in standard Danish. You normally need klokken with a clock time:

✅ Filmen begynder klokken otte.
❌ Filmen begynder otte.

Without klokken, otte would just be “eight” (the number), not clearly a clock time.
There are some colloquial shortcuts with other time expressions, but with exact hours you normally keep klokken.

What’s the difference between otte and åtte? I’ve seen both spellings.

Modern standard Danish only uses otte for the numeral 8.

otte = 8

The spelling åtte is Norwegian (Bokmål), not Danish. So in Danish, always write otte.

Is the word order fixed, or can I say Klokken otte begynder filmen?

Both are correct; the difference is emphasis:

Filmen begynder klokken otte. – neutral statement; normal Subject–Verb–Time order.
Klokken otte begynder filmen. – time is emphasized; typical when you want to highlight when.

Danish main clauses follow a V2 rule: the verb must be the second element. In the second version:

Klokken otte = first element (a time phrase)
begynder = second element (the verb)
filmen = follows the verb

Both respect the V2 rule.

How do you pronounce begynder and klokken otte? The spelling looks tricky.

Approximate pronunciation (in simple English-friendly terms):

begynder: roughly be-GYN-ner
- be- like beh
- -gy- similar to the vowel in English “sit”, but the g is soft (almost like a y to English ears)
- -nder with a soft d (almost like the th in “this”, but weaker)
klokken otte: roughly KLOK-en O-te
- klok- like English “clock”, but shorter
- -ken like “ken”, but the e is very short
- otte like “OH-teh”, with a short o and very light -te

Exact Danish pronunciation has sounds that don’t exist in English, but these approximations will make you understandable.