Jeg er bange for mørket.

It follows a very common Danish pattern:

subject + verb + adjective + prepositional phrase

So here you have:

• Jeg = subject
• er = verb
• bange = adjective
• for mørket = prepositional phrase telling you what the fear is about

A very literal breakdown is:

• Jeg = I
• er = am
• bange = afraid
• for mørket = of the dark

So the structure is very close to English.

Because bange is an adjective, and Danish uses at være (to be) with adjectives of state.

So:

• Jeg er træt = I am tired
• Jeg er glad = I am happy
• Jeg er bange = I am afraid

English does the same thing, so this part is actually straightforward.

Bange means afraid or scared.

In this sentence it describes a state or feeling, not an action. That is why it comes after er.

A useful thing to remember is that bange is the normal everyday word for afraid/scared in Danish.

Examples:

• Jeg er bange. = I am afraid.
• Hun er bange for hunde. = She is afraid of dogs.

This is one of those places where Danish and English use different prepositions.

In Danish, the normal pattern is:

bange for + noun/pronoun

So:

• bange for mørket = afraid of the dark
• bange for edderkopper = afraid of spiders

Even though for often means for in English, here it matches English of because that is just the fixed Danish expression.

So you should learn bange for as a set phrase.

Because Danish normally uses the definite form here, just like English says the dark, not just dark.

• mørke = darkness / dark, indefinite form
• mørket = the darkness / the dark, definite form

So for mørket is the natural way to say of the dark.

This is very similar to English:

• natural: afraid of the dark
• not natural: afraid of dark

Because Danish usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word in front.

So:

• et mørke = a darkness
• mørket = the darkness / the dark

The ending -et is doing the job that the does in English.

This is one of the most important differences between Danish and English nouns.

Because mørke is a neuter noun.

In Danish, nouns have grammatical gender, and that affects the indefinite article and the definite ending.

For neuter nouns:

• indefinite singular: et
• definite singular ending: -et

So:

• et mørke = a darkness
• mørket = the darkness / the dark

If it were a common-gender noun, the definite ending would usually be -en instead.

A rough learner-friendly guide is:

• Jeg ≈ yai or sometimes closer to ya in casual speech
• er ≈ a soft air / are-like sound, but shorter and weaker
• bange ≈ BANG-uh with a soft Danish vowel quality
• for ≈ fohr, but with a more rounded vowel
• mørket ≈ something like MUR-kuhth, though the Danish ø does not exist in normal English

A few important points:

• Jeg is often reduced in everyday speech.
• ø in mørket is a special Danish vowel. English speakers usually need practice with it.
• The final -et in Danish is often weak and unstressed.

If you want to sound natural, it is better to listen to native audio than rely only on English-style approximations.

You put ikke after the verb:

Jeg er ikke bange for mørket.

That means I am not afraid of the dark.

This is a very common Danish word order:

subject + verb + ikke + rest

So:

• Jeg er bange for mørket.
• Jeg er ikke bange for mørket.

In a yes/no question, Danish usually puts the verb before the subject:

Er du bange for mørket? = Are you afraid of the dark?

So the word order changes from:

• Jeg er bange for mørket.

to:

• Er du bange for mørket?

This verb-first pattern is very common in Danish questions.

Yes. A common alternative is:

Jeg frygter mørket.

That also means I fear the dark, but it sounds a bit stronger, more formal, or more dramatic than Jeg er bange for mørket.

So in everyday conversation, Jeg er bange for mørket is usually the most natural choice.

A rough comparison:

• Jeg er bange for mørket = everyday, natural
• Jeg frygter mørket = stronger, more literary or formal