Lad os male et maleri til festen.

Let's paint a painting for the party.

Breakdown of Lad os male et maleri til festen.

• et: a
• til: for
• festen: the party
• lad os: let's
• maleriet: the painting
• male: to paint

Questions & Answers about Lad os male et maleri til festen.

What does Lad os literally mean, and what is its function in the sentence?

Lad os literally means “let us”.

• Lad is the imperative (command form) of the verb at lade (“to let / to allow”).
• os means “us”.

Together, Lad os is a fixed expression used to make inclusive suggestions, like English “let’s”:

• Lad os male et maleri til festen. = “Let’s paint a painting for the party.”

Grammatically, Lad os is followed directly by the infinitive of the verb (male), without at:

• ✅ Lad os male…
• ❌ Lad os at male… (wrong)

Why is it male and not maler after Lad os?

After Lad os, Danish uses the infinitive form of the verb, without at.

• male = infinitive (“to paint”)
• maler = present tense (“paint(s) / am painting”)

Compare:

• Suggestion: Lad os male et maleri. – “Let’s paint a painting.”
• Statement: Vi maler et maleri. – “We are painting / we paint a painting.”

So Lad os + infinitive is the pattern, just like let’s + verb in English.

What is the difference between male, maleri, and maling?

They are related but not the same:

• male – verb: “to paint”

  • Jeg vil male i weekenden. – “I want to paint this weekend.”

• maleri – noun: “a painting” (the finished picture, like artwork)

  • Et maleri – “a painting”
  • MaleriER – “paintings”

• maling – noun: “paint” (the substance / liquid)

  • Jeg skal købe maling. – “I need to buy paint.”

In the sentence Lad os male et maleri til festen, you’re saying:

• “Let’s paint (male) a painting (et maleri) for the party.”

Why is it et maleri and not en maleri?

Danish nouns have two grammatical genders:

• common gender (most nouns) → indefinite article en
• neuter gender → indefinite article et

Maleri is a neuter noun, so it takes et:

• et maleri – a painting
• maleriet – the painting

You simply have to memorize the gender of each noun. There is no general rule that would make maleri obviously et or en.

Isn’t male et maleri a bit redundant, like “paint a painting”? Is this actually natural in Danish?

It can sound slightly repetitive in English, but in Danish it is completely normal and idiomatic.

Male et maleri emphasizes that you are creating a work of art / picture, not just painting a surface:

• male et maleri – paint a painting (art)
• male væggen – paint the wall
• male huset – paint the house

You could shorten it, depending on context:

• If it’s obvious you mean a painting, you might just say:
  
  • Lad os male til festen. – “Let’s paint for the party.”
    But on its own, this is less clear, so male et maleri is a good, clear phrase for learners.

Why do we use til in til festen? What does til mean here?

In this sentence, til is used like English “for” or “for the occasion of”.

Common meanings of til include to, for, until, at, depending on context. Here, it indicates purpose / destination:

• et maleri til festen – a painting for the party (intended for that party)

Other similar uses:

• en gave til dig – a present for you
• en kage til mødet – a cake for the meeting

You wouldn’t normally say for festen in this sense; til festen is the natural choice.

Why is it festen and not just fest? What’s the difference?

Danish usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun:

• fest – “party”
• festen – “the party”

So:

• til en fest – “for a party” (some party, not specified)
• til festen – “for the party” (a specific party both speakers know about)

In Lad os male et maleri til festen, you are talking about a particular, known party – maybe one you’ve been planning or already mentioned.

Can I change the word order, like Lad os male til festen et maleri?

In practice, you should keep the word order:

Lad os + [verb] + [direct object] + [other information]

So the natural order is:

• Lad os male et maleri til festen.

Switching the order to Lad os male til festen et maleri is technically not impossible, but it sounds odd and unnatural in normal Danish. Learners should stick to:

1. Lad os male (verb phrase)
2. et maleri (direct object)
3. til festen (prepositional phrase giving purpose/recipient)

How would I say this if only I am going to paint, not “we”?

If you want to talk about yourself only, you wouldn’t use Lad os (“let us”). Some options:

• Lad mig male et maleri til festen.
  
  • Literally: “Let me paint a painting for the party.” (sounds a bit formal / dramatic as a suggestion)

More natural everyday alternatives:

• Jeg vil male et maleri til festen. – “I want to paint a painting for the party.”
• Jeg kan male et maleri til festen. – “I can paint a painting for the party.”
• Jeg tænkte, at jeg kunne male et maleri til festen. – “I was thinking I could paint a painting for the party.”

What’s the difference between Lad os male et maleri til festen and Skal vi male et maleri til festen?

Both are ways to make a suggestion, but the nuance is slightly different:

• Lad os male et maleri til festen.

  • More like a proposal / initiative: “Let’s do this.”
  • The speaker sounds a bit more decisive.

• Skal vi male et maleri til festen?

  • Literally: “Shall we paint a painting for the party?”
  • Feels more like an open question / checking if the other person wants to do it.

Both are very common and natural in spoken Danish.

How do you pronounce Lad os male et maleri til festen?

Approximate pronunciation (Standard Danish):

• Lad – roughly like “la” (the d is very soft, often almost inaudible)
• os – like “oss”
• male – MAH-leh
• et – like “it” but very short
• maleri – ma-leh-REE
• til – like “til” (short, clear t, l)
• festen – FES-ten (second e reduced)

Syllable breakdown:

Lad os | ma-le | et | ma-le-RI | til | FES-ten

In natural speech, words link together, so you’ll hear something like:
“La os MAH-le et ma-le-RI til FES-ten.”

Could I say billede instead of maleri here?

Yes, in many everyday contexts you could use billede (“picture / image”):

• Lad os male et billede til festen.

Differences in feel:

• maleri – more clearly an art painting, a work of art on canvas, etc.
• billede – more general: picture, image, photo, drawing, etc.

If you specifically mean a painting as artwork, maleri is the most precise word, which is why it fits well in the example sentence.