Mødet begynder den femte maj klokken otte.

Mødet is the definite form of møde, meaning the meeting rather than just meeting. Danish often adds the definite article to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like the.

• et møde = a meeting
• mødet = the meeting

So Mødet begynder ... means The meeting begins ...

In Danish, the present tense of verbs usually ends in -r. The infinitive here is at begynde = to begin.

• at begynde = to begin
• begynder = begins / is beginning

So Mødet begynder means The meeting begins or The meeting is beginning, depending on context.

Danish commonly uses den + ordinal number + month when giving a date.

• den femte maj = the fifth of May
• literally: the fifth May

The word femte is the ordinal form of fem (five), so it means fifth.

You can also write it numerically as den 5. maj.

Usually yes, in a full date expression like this. Den is the normal word used before the ordinal date.

• den femte maj = on the fifth of May

In some contexts, especially headings, notes, or very informal usage, you may see just 5. maj, but in a full sentence den is very natural and standard.

In Danish, names of months are normally written with a lowercase letter, unlike in English.

• Danish: maj
• English: May

The same is true for days of the week:

• mandag = Monday
• tirsdag = Tuesday

Klokken means the clock and is used the way English uses o’clock or at ... when telling time.

• klokken otte = at eight o’clock

So the full phrase sounds natural for giving a starting time. In less formal contexts, Danish speakers may sometimes just say otte, especially if it is already clear that they are talking about time.

It is the definite form of klokke, which means clock.

• en klokke = a clock
• klokken = the clock

In time expressions, klokken functions like a fixed expression meaning at ... o’clock.

So:

• klokken otte = at eight o’clock
• klokken ni = at nine o’clock

The sentence follows normal Danish main-clause word order:

Mødet | begynder | den femte maj | klokken otte
subject | verb | date | time

So:

• Mødet = subject
• begynder = verb
• den femte maj = date expression
• klokken otte = time expression

This is very similar to ordinary English word order in a sentence like The meeting begins on the fifth of May at eight o’clock.

Yes. Danish is fairly flexible with time expressions, and you may also hear or see:

Mødet begynder klokken otte den femte maj.

That is also correct. The version with the date before the time is perfectly natural, and so is the version with the time before the date.

The letter ø is a vowel that does not exist in standard English, so it often feels difficult at first.

A rough guide:

• mødet sounds approximately like MUH-thith with rounded lips, but this is only an approximation.
• ø is pronounced with the tongue somewhat like for e in her, but with rounded lips.

Also note that the d in mødet is usually soft in pronunciation, not a strong English d.

So the word may sound softer than an English speaker expects.

A rough learner-friendly pronunciation might be:

MØH-det beh-GIN-er den FEM-teh maj KLOK-en OT-teh

But this is only approximate. A few important points:

• ø in mødet is a rounded vowel
• gy in begynder has a sound that is not exactly like English g
• klokken has a clear first syllable: KLOK-
• otte has two syllables: OT-te

Natural Danish pronunciation is often softer and more reduced than spelling suggests, so listening to native audio is especially helpful here.

Yes, often you can. Starter and begynder can both mean starts/begins.

• Mødet starter ...
• Mødet begynder ...

Both are natural. Begynder may sound slightly more formal or neutral in some contexts, while starter can feel a little more everyday, but both are common.

Yes. Danish often uses the present tense for scheduled future events, just like English does in sentences such as The meeting begins on May fifth at eight o’clock.

So begynder is present tense in form, but here it refers to the future because the date and time make that clear.