Vores nye reol er større end den gamle.

Here is the basic breakdown:

• Vores = our
• nye = new
• reol = bookcase / shelving unit
• er = is
• større = bigger / larger
• end = than
• den gamle = the old one / the old one of that common gender noun

So the structure is:

• Vores nye reol = our new bookcase
• er større end den gamle = is bigger than the old one

Danish often leaves out the repeated noun at the end when it is understood from context, just like English can say the old one instead of the old bookcase.

Vores is a possessive determiner meaning our, and it does not change form to match the noun.

So you can say:

• vores reol = our bookcase
• vores hus = our house
• vores bøger = our books

Unlike some other words in Danish, vores stays the same.

Ny means new, but adjectives in Danish change form depending on how they are used.

Here, reol is part of a noun phrase with a determiner: vores nye reol.
After possessives like min, din, vores, adjectives usually take the -e form.

So:

• en ny reol = a new bookcase
• vores nye reol = our new bookcase

This -e form is very common when the noun is made definite in meaning by words like the, my, our, etc.

Because the sentence is not introducing the noun by itself; it is already determined by vores.

In Danish, you normally do not use en/et together with a possessive like vores.

So:

• en reol = a bookcase
• vores reol = our bookcase

Not:

• vores en reol ✘

This is similar to English: we say our bookcase, not our a bookcase.

Because this is a comparison.

• stor = big / large
• større = bigger / larger

The sentence compares two things:

• the new bookcase
• the old one

So Danish uses the comparative form:

• stor → større

Examples:

• Reolen er stor. = The bookcase is big.
• Reolen er større. = The bookcase is bigger.

A very common pattern is:

• positive: basic adjective
• comparative: often -ere
• superlative: often -st

For example:

• gammel = old
• ældre = older
• ældst = oldest

But some common adjectives are irregular, including stor:

• stor = big
• større = bigger
• størst = biggest

So større is something you just need to learn as the comparative of stor.

In Danish, end is the normal word used after a comparative adjective.

So:

• større end = bigger than
• mindre end = smaller than
• ældre end = older than

Examples:

• Han er ældre end mig. = He is older than me.
• Huset er større end lejligheden. = The house is bigger than the apartment.

So end is simply the standard comparison word here.

Because Danish often leaves out a noun when it is obvious from context.

So:

• den gamle here means the old one, with reol understood.

You could say the full version:

• Vores nye reol er større end den gamle reol.

But that sounds more repetitive when the meaning is already clear.

This works much like English:

• Our new bookcase is bigger than the old one.

Because reol is a common gender noun in Danish, not a neuter noun.

Danish has two grammatical genders:

• common gender → usually takes en and den
• neuter → usually takes et and det

Since the noun is:

• en reol

the corresponding definite pronoun is:

• den

So:

• den gamle (reol) = the old one / the old bookcase

If it were a neuter noun, you would use det instead.

For the same general reason as nye: after den/det/de, adjectives usually take the -e form.

So:

• en gammel reol = an old bookcase
• den gamle reol = the old bookcase

And when the noun is omitted:

• den gamle = the old one

So gamle is the expected form after den.

The sentence follows the normal Danish main-clause pattern:

• Subject: Vores nye reol
• Verb: er
• Complement: større end den gamle

So:

• Vores nye reol = subject
• er = verb
• større end den gamle = description/comparison

This is very close to English word order:

• Our new bookcase / is / bigger than the old one

A rough guide for an English speaker:

• reol sounds approximately like ray-OL, with the stress on the second part
• større contains the Danish vowel ø, which does not exist in English; it is somewhat like the vowel in French peur or German schön, but shorter and more central in many accents

A few pronunciation notes:

• ø is important in større
• the r in Danish is not pronounced like a strong English r
• final -e is often reduced and light

If you are learning pronunciation, it helps to listen to native audio, because Danish vowels are hard to guess from spelling alone.

No, that would sound wrong in normal Danish.

With short, common adjectives like stor, Danish normally uses the comparative form itself:

• større = bigger

not:

• mere stor ✘

Using mere is possible with some adjectives, especially longer or more abstract ones, but not with stor.

So the natural sentence is:

• Vores nye reol er større end den gamle.