Filmen i aften er rigtig sjov.

Tonight’s movie is really funny.

Breakdown of Filmen i aften er rigtig sjov.

• være: to be
• i aften: tonight
• filmen: the movie
• sjov: funny
• rigtig: real

Questions & Answers about Filmen i aften er rigtig sjov.

What does Filmen mean, and why does it end in -en?

Filmen means the film / the movie.

In Danish, the definite article (English the) is usually attached to the end of the noun:

• film = film / movie
• en film = a film (en is the common-gender indefinite article)
• filmen = the film (-en is the definite ending for common gender)

So instead of saying the film, Danish packs the into a suffix: filmen.

Why is there no separate word for the, like in English?

Danish normally uses suffixes to mark definiteness, not a separate word:

• bog = book → bogen = the book
• bil = car → bilen = the car
• film = film → filmen = the film

You only use a separate demonstrative (like English this/that) when you want to point out something specific:

• den film = that/this film (often with extra emphasis)
• den film, vi så i går = the film that we saw yesterday

In your sentence, filmen already means the film, so no extra word for the is needed.

What exactly does i aften mean, and how is it different from i nat or i morgen?

i aften literally means in the evening, and in this fixed expression it means this evening / tonight (the evening that is coming or that we’re in now).

Compare:

• i aften = this evening / tonight (evening time, e.g. 18:00–23:00)
• i nat = tonight / last night (night time, when you sleep; roughly after midnight)
• i morgen = tomorrow
• i går = yesterday

English often just says tonight for both i aften and i nat, but Danish separates the evening part (aften) from the deep night part (nat).

Could i aften go in another place in the sentence, like in English?

Yes, but the meaning or emphasis changes slightly.

Your original:

• Filmen i aften er rigtig sjov.
  = The film tonight is really funny.
  Here, i aften belongs tightly with filmen: the film (that is on) tonight.

Other possibilities:

1. I aften er filmen rigtig sjov.
   Grammatically fine, but it sounds like: Tonight, the film is really funny – as if the film is especially funny tonight (maybe compared to other nights). You’d only say this in a very specific context.

2. Filmen er rigtig sjov i aften.
   Also grammatically fine, but sounds like the film can be more or less funny depending on the evening. Again, only natural in a very specific situation.

So the most natural way to say the film tonight is to keep i aften right after filmen, as in the original sentence.

Why is er (present tense “is”) used when talking about something that hasn’t happened yet (tonight)?

Danish often uses the present tense to talk about the near future, especially when there is a clear time expression in the sentence:

• Jeg tager i biografen i aften. = I’m going to the cinema tonight.
• Vi ses i morgen. = See you tomorrow.

In Filmen i aften er rigtig sjov, the speaker might:

• have already seen the film, or
• know about it from reviews, trailers, etc.

So they’re making a timeless statement about the film: it is really funny (in general), even though you might be watching it tonight.

This use of the present tense with a time adverbial (i aften) to indicate future is normal in Danish.

Does rigtig here mean right/correct, or does it mean really/very?

In this sentence, rigtig means really / very, not right/correct.

• Filmen i aften er rigtig sjov. = The film tonight is really funny.

As an adjective, rigtig can mean correct:

• Det er det rigtige svar. = That is the right/correct answer.

As an intensifying adverb (like in your sentence), it means really / very:

• Det er rigtig godt. = That is really good.
• Hun er rigtig sød. = She is really sweet/nice.
• Filmen er rigtig sjov. = The movie is really funny.

What is the difference between rigtig sjov, meget sjov, and virkelig sjov?

All three can be translated as very / really funny, but they feel slightly different:

• rigtig sjov

  • Very common, natural, conversational.
  • Roughly: really funny.

• meget sjov

  • Literally: much/very funny.
  • Perfectly correct, but sometimes a bit more neutral or “flat” in tone.
  • Often used more with gradable adjectives like meget træt (very tired), meget ked af det (very sad).

• virkelig sjov

  • Literally: truly / genuinely funny.
  • Slightly stronger than rigtig sjov, can sound a bit more emphatic or “serious”: actually / genuinely funny.

In everyday speech, rigtig sjov is extremely common and sounds very natural.

Why is it sjov and not sjovt?

It’s because film is a common-gender noun (en film), and in a sentence with er (is), the adjective agrees with the gender/number of the subject:

• En film er sjov. = A film is funny.
• Filmen er sjov. = The film is funny.
• Et hus er stort. = A house is big. (neuter)
• Huset er stort. = The house is big. (neuter)
• Filmene er sjove. = The films are funny. (plural)

So:

• common gender singular: sjov
• neuter singular: sjovt (e.g. Et spil er sjovt. – A game is fun.)
• plural: sjove

Since filmen is common gender, the correct form is sjov.

Should it be rigtig sjov or rigtigt sjov? I’ve seen both rigtig and rigtigt before adjectives.

Both forms exist, but in modern spoken Danish, rigtig sjov (without -t) is more common and feels very natural.

Historically and in more formal/written language:

• rigtigt is the adverb form (“really”)
• rigtig is the adjective form (“correct/right”)

So in a very strict traditional grammar, you might expect:

• Det er rigtigt sjovt.

But in real, everyday Danish, people very often use rigtig as an adverb too:

• Det er rigtig sjovt.
• Filmen er rigtig god.

Your sentence Filmen i aften er rigtig sjov is perfectly idiomatic modern Danish.

Can I say Den film i aften er rigtig sjov, or is that wrong?

You normally would not say Den film i aften er rigtig sjov in this context.

Reasons:

1. den film usually means that film / this film, with a pointing or contrastive meaning.
2. The default way to say the film tonight is simply filmen i aften.

You could say:

• Den film, der kommer i aften, er rigtig sjov.
  = That film that’s on tonight is really funny.

Here den is a demonstrative (that), followed by a relative clause der kommer i aften.

But as a simple statement describing the scheduled film, Filmen i aften er rigtig sjov is the normal formulation.

How would I make this plural, for example The films tonight are really funny?

You need to make both the noun and the adjective plural:

• Filmene i aften er rigtig sjove.
  = The films tonight are really funny.

Changes:

• film → filmene (the films)
• sjov → sjove (plural adjective form)

So:

• Singular: Filmen i aften er rigtig sjov.
• Plural: Filmene i aften er rigtig sjove.

How do you pronounce Filmen i aften er rigtig sjov?

Approximate pronunciation (standard Danish):

• Filmen ≈ FIL-men → [ˈfilmən]
• i ≈ ee → [i]
• aften ≈ AF-ten (the t is weak, the final e is very reduced) → [ˈɑftn̩]
• er ≈ a very short, reduced sound, like [ɐ]
• rigtig ≈ REK-ti (with a throaty r) → [ˈʁɛktig] (variants exist)
• sjov ≈ show but with a soft sh sound and a more open vowel → [ˈɕɒw] or [ˈɕɔw]

Said smoothly, it’s roughly:

[ˈfilmən i ˈɑftn̩ ɐ ˈʁɛktig ˈɕɒw]

Key points for an English speaker:

• r is produced further back in the throat, not like English r.
• sj in sjov is a soft sh sound, not like English s or j.
• Unstressed -en and -er endings are very reduced and quick.