Undskyld, kan De vise mig toilettet, eller er det bag døren ved køkkenet?

De is the formal way to say you in Danish. It is used when speaking very politely or respectfully to someone, especially in older or very formal language.

In modern everyday Danish, people usually say du instead, even to strangers. So this sentence is correct, but it sounds more formal than what you will hear most often.

Useful related forms:

• De = formal you as subject
• Dem = formal you as object
• Deres = formal your

When De means the formal you, it is often capitalized in writing to distinguish it from de, which usually means they or those.

So the capital letter helps the reader see immediately that this is a polite form of address, not a third-person plural pronoun.

In a Danish yes/no question, the finite verb usually comes first. That is why you get:

• Statement: De kan vise mig toilettet.
• Question: Kan De vise mig toilettet?

After the modal verb kan comes the subject De, and then the infinitive vise. This is very normal Danish question word order.

The verb vise means show. In this sentence, mig is the person being shown something, and toilettet is the thing/place being shown.

So the pattern is:

• vise
  • person + thing

That is why vise mig toilettet means show me the toilet/restroom.

You could also hear more explicit versions such as:

• vise mig, hvor toilettet er = show me where the toilet is
• vise mig vej til toilettet = show me the way to the toilet

Danish usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.

So:

• et toilet = a toilet

• toilettet = the toilet

• en dør = a door

• døren = the door

• et køkken = a kitchen
• køkkenet = the kitchen

The ending depends on the noun’s grammatical gender:

• common gender often takes -en
• neuter often takes -et

Here det stands for toilettet. Since toilet is a neuter noun in Danish (et toilet), the matching pronoun is det.

So:

• et toilet → det

If the noun were common gender (en-word), Danish would normally use den instead.

Yes. If you are asking where to go, toilettet is a very normal and safe word to use.

Badeværelse means bathroom, but in Danish that can sound more like the room for bathing/washing. If what you really need is the toilet, toilettet is often the most direct and natural choice.

So Hvor er toilettet? is a very common question.

• bag = behind
• ved = by, near, or at

So bag døren ved køkkenet means behind the door by/near the kitchen.

A learner should notice that ved is a bit broad. It does not always mean exactly the same as English by in every situation, but here it means that the door is located near the kitchen.

Because Danish usually marks definiteness with an ending on the noun itself, not with a separate article.

So English says:

• the door
• the kitchen

But Danish says:

• døren
• køkkenet

That is one of the biggest structural differences from English, and it is completely normal.

Yes, it is understandable and grammatically fine. It sounds like the speaker is asking an alternative question: Can you show me the toilet, or is it behind the door by the kitchen?

That said, some Danes might phrase the second part a little differently, for example:

• eller ligger det bag døren ved køkkenet?

Using ligger can sound slightly more natural when talking about where a room or place is located. But er det is still perfectly understandable.

It is correct, but it sounds somewhat formal and a little stiff in modern everyday conversation, mostly because of De.

A more typical modern version would be:

• Undskyld, kan du vise mig toilettet, eller er det bag døren ved køkkenet?

Even more natural and simpler would often be:

• Undskyld, hvor er toilettet?
• Undskyld, kan du vise mig, hvor toilettet er?

So the original sentence is useful to understand, but many Danes today would choose a less formal version.