Hvis renten stiger pludselig, bliver lånet dyrere.

Hvis means if and introduces a condition.

So:

• Hvis renten stiger pludselig = If the interest rate rises suddenly

It works much like English if in conditional sentences.

Because Danish often adds the definite article as an ending on the noun instead of using a separate word like the.

• rente = interest rate / interest
• renten = the interest rate
• lån = loan
• lånet = the loan

This is very common in Danish:

• bil = car

• bilen = the car

• hus = house
• huset = the house

So renten and lånet both mean the ....

Because Danish nouns have grammatical gender.

• rente is a common gender noun, so the definite singular ending is usually -en
  • rente → renten
• lån is a neuter noun, so the definite singular ending is usually -et
  • lån → lånet

So the ending depends on the noun’s gender.

Stiger is the present tense of stige, which means to rise, to go up, or to increase.

So:

• renten stiger = the interest rate rises / goes up

This is a very common verb for prices, temperatures, rates, and numbers:

• Priserne stiger = Prices are rising
• Temperaturen stiger = The temperature is rising

Pludselig means suddenly.

In Danish, adverbs often come after the verb in a simple clause like this:

• renten stiger pludselig

This word order is natural and common.

English can do something similar:

• the interest rate rises suddenly

You may also see pludselig in other positions in Danish depending on emphasis, but here its placement is very normal.

This is because of Danish V2 word order in main clauses.

Danish main clauses usually place the finite verb in the second position. When the sentence starts with a subordinate clause, that whole clause takes the first position:

• Hvis renten stiger pludselig = first element
• then the finite verb must come next: bliver
• then the subject: lånet

So:

• Hvis renten stiger pludselig, bliver lånet dyrere.

This is one of the most important Danish word-order rules.

Compare:

• Lånet bliver dyrere. = The loan becomes more expensive.
• Hvis renten stiger pludselig, bliver lånet dyrere.

After the if-clause comes first, the main clause inverts.

Because the sentence begins with a subordinate clause:

• Hvis renten stiger pludselig = subordinate clause
• bliver lånet dyrere = main clause

In Danish, it is standard to separate these clauses with a comma.

So the comma marks the boundary between:

1. the condition
2. the result

Here bliver means becomes.

The verb blive is very common in Danish and can mean:

• become
• sometimes remain / stay, depending on context
• it is also used in passive constructions

In this sentence:

• lånet bliver dyrere = the loan becomes more expensive

So bliver is showing a change of state.

Dyrere is the comparative form of dyr (expensive).

• dyr = expensive
• dyrere = more expensive
• dyrest = most expensive

Since the meaning is becomes more expensive, the comparative is needed.

Why not dyrt?
Dyrt is the neuter singular form of the basic adjective dyr, for example:

• Et lån er dyrt. = A loan is expensive.

But in the comparative, Danish adjectives usually do not change for gender the same way:

• dyrere works regardless of noun gender here

So:

• lånet er dyrt = the loan is expensive
• lånet bliver dyrere = the loan becomes more expensive

Danish often uses the present tense for general truths, likely future events, and conditions.

So:

• Hvis renten stiger pludselig, bliver lånet dyrere

can refer to a general rule or a future possibility.

English often does the same in if-clauses:

• If the interest rate rises, the loan becomes / will become more expensive.

Danish does have ways to express future meaning, but the present tense is very natural here.

Normally, no.

In this sentence, hvis is the right word because it introduces a condition:

• Hvis renten stiger ... = If the interest rate rises ...

Om can sometimes mean whether / if, but that is usually for indirect questions, not conditions:

• Jeg ved ikke, om renten stiger. = I don’t know whether the interest rate is rising.

So:

• conditional if → hvis
• whether/if in indirect questions → often om

Renten is singular: the interest rate.

If you wanted the interest rates, you would use the plural definite form:

• renterne

So:

• Hvis renterne stiger pludselig, bliver lånet dyrere.

would mean If the interest rates rise suddenly, the loan becomes more expensive.

Both are possible depending on context, but the original sentence uses the singular.

A rough breakdown is:

• Hvis = if
• renten = the interest rate
• stiger = rises / goes up
• pludselig = suddenly
• bliver = becomes
• lånet = the loan
• dyrere = more expensive

So literally:

If the interest rate rises suddenly, becomes the loan more expensive.

That literal English sounds wrong, but it helps show the Danish structure, especially the verb-first order in the main clause after the initial if-clause.