Jeg sætter mig på pladsen ved vinduet.

Sætter mig is the reflexive verb at sætte sig, which means to sit down or to seat oneself.

So:

• jeg sætter mig = I sit down / I seat myself
• du sætter dig = you sit down
• han/hun sætter sig = he/she sits down

Danish often uses a reflexive pronoun with this verb, where English usually just says sit down.

A useful contrast is:

• Jeg sætter mig på pladsen ved vinduet. = I sit down / take the seat by the window.
• Jeg sidder på pladsen ved vinduet. = I am sitting in the seat by the window.

So sætter mig focuses on the movement into the seated position.

Because mig is the object form of jeg.

Compare:

• jeg = I
• mig = me

In jeg sætter mig, the subject is jeg and the reflexive object is mig.

This is similar to English I wash myself:

• I = subject
• myself = object referring back to the subject

In Danish, with at sætte sig, you use the reflexive pronoun:

• jeg sætter mig
• du sætter dig
• han sætter sig
• vi sætter os
• I sætter jer
• de sætter sig

This is a very common question, because English often uses sit for both ideas.

The difference is:

• sætter sig = sits down; movement, action, change of position
• sidder = is sitting; state, already seated

So:

• Jeg sætter mig på pladsen ved vinduet. = I sit down in the seat by the window.
• Jeg sidder på pladsen ved vinduet. = I am sitting in the seat by the window.

A good way to remember it:

• sætte sig = getting into the position
• sidde = being in the position

Here pladsen means the seat, the place, or the spot.

The noun is:

• en plads = a place / a seat / a spot
• pladsen = the place / the seat / the spot

In this sentence, it most naturally means the seat or the spot by the window.

Exactly how to translate it depends on context:

• on a bus or train: probably the seat
• in a classroom or at a table: the place/seat
• more generally: the spot

Because Danish usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun.

So:

• en plads = a seat / a place
• pladsen = the seat / the place

This is different from English, which uses a separate word: the.

Other examples:

• en stol = a chair → stolen = the chair
• et bord = a table → bordet = the table
• en bog = a book → bogen = the book

So pladsen literally means the place/seat.

Because Danish idiomatically uses på with plads in many cases where English would say in the seat or in the place.

So:

• på pladsen = in/on the seat/spot/place

This is just the natural preposition here.

A rough way to think about it is that Danish often treats a seat/spot/place more like a surface or assigned position, so på is normal.

Compare some common expressions:

• sidde på sin plads = sit in one’s seat / in one’s place
• sætte sig på sin plads = sit down in one’s place
• være på plads = be in place / be ready / be settled

Using i pladsen would sound unnatural in this context.

Because ved means by, next to, or at.

So:

• ved vinduet = by the window

That is the normal way to say that the seat is next to the window.

If you said i vinduet, it would literally mean in the window, which suggests physically being inside the window frame or opening. That is not what you want here.

Compare:

• et bord ved vinduet = a table by the window
• en stol ved døren = a chair by the door

Yes, absolutely.

Jeg sætter mig ved vinduet means I sit down by the window.

The difference is:

• Jeg sætter mig ved vinduet. = I sit down by the window.
• Jeg sætter mig på pladsen ved vinduet. = I sit down in the seat/spot by the window.

The second version is more specific because it mentions the seat/place itself. The first is more general and often sounds a bit more natural in everyday conversation if the exact noun seat/place is not important.

Yes, it is grammatical and understandable.

However, depending on context, many Danes might more often say something slightly simpler, such as:

• Jeg sætter mig ved vinduet.
• Jeg tager plads ved vinduet.
• Jeg sætter mig på vinduespladsen.

Your sentence is still fine. It sounds like you are referring to a specific seat: the seat by the window.

So it is natural enough, especially if a particular seat has already been identified.

The sentence follows normal Danish main-clause word order:

• Jeg = subject
• sætter = finite verb
• mig = object/reflexive pronoun
• på pladsen ved vinduet = prepositional phrase

So the pattern is basically:

Subject + verb + object + other information

That gives:

Jeg sætter mig på pladsen ved vinduet.

Danish is a V2 language, which means the finite verb usually comes in second position in main clauses. Since Jeg is first, sætter must come second.

For example:

• Nu sætter jeg mig på pladsen ved vinduet.
• På pladsen ved vinduet sætter jeg mig.

In both of those, the finite verb sætter still stays in second position.

A rough learner-friendly guide is:

• sætter sounds approximately like SEH-ter, but with a Danish t and a very reduced final -er

A few important notes:

1. æ is not like English a in cat, though that is often the closest quick approximation.
2. The tt does not sound like a strongly released English t.
3. The final -er is usually weak and unstressed.

If you want a rough full pronunciation guide for the sentence:

• Jeg ≈ yai or yay
• sætter ≈ SEH-ter
• mig ≈ mai
• på ≈ po
• pladsen ≈ PLA-sen
• ved ≈ vel / veth depending on speech style
• vinduet ≈ VIN-doo-eth

These are only approximations. Danish pronunciation is often much less phonetic than spelling suggests, so listening to native audio is especially helpful.

Yes. These are very common words and structures.

Examples with sætte sig:

• Jeg sætter mig ned. = I sit down.
• Hun sætter sig på stolen. = She sits down on the chair.
• Vi sætter os ved bordet. = We sit down at the table.

Examples with plads:

• Der er ikke flere pladser. = There are no more seats/spots.
• Er den her plads ledig? = Is this seat free?
• Han sidder på sin plads. = He is sitting in his seat / in his place.

So your sentence uses two very useful everyday patterns:

• at sætte sig
• på pladsen / ved vinduet