Jeg tjekker både refleksen og lygten, før jeg kører hjem i mørket.

It means both ... and ....

So:

• både refleksen og lygten = both the reflector and the light

This is a very common Danish structure:

• både kaffe og te = both coffee and tea
• både min mor og min far = both my mother and my father

In Danish, the definite article is usually added to the end of the noun.

So:

• refleks = reflector

• refleksen = the reflector

• lygte = light / lamp

• lygten = the light

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

This is different from English, where the is a separate word.

Because Danish nouns belong to different grammatical genders, and that affects the definite ending.

Very roughly:

• common gender nouns often take -en
• neuter nouns often take -et

Here:

• refleks is a common gender noun → refleksen
• lygte is also common gender, but because the word already ends in -e, the definite form becomes lygten
• mørke is neuter → mørket

So the endings are not random; they follow the noun’s gender and form.

Here, lygte means a light, especially a bicycle light or small vehicle light.

Depending on context, lygte can mean things like:

• bicycle light
• lamp
• lantern
• headlight / rear light

In this sentence, because of refleksen and kører hjem i mørket, it strongly suggests a traffic or cycling context.

Yes. At tjekke is a very common modern Danish verb meaning to check.

So:

• jeg tjekker = I check / I am checking

It is a loanword from English, but it is fully natural in everyday Danish.

You may also see more formal or native alternatives in some contexts, but tjekke is extremely common in speech and writing.

Because Danish often uses the present tense for:

• habits and routines
• general statements
• near-future or planned actions

So this sentence can mean something like:

• I check both the reflector and the light before I ride/drive home in the dark

It sounds natural even though the going home happens after the checking. English does something similar in sentences like:

• I check everything before I leave

Før means before.

It introduces a subordinate clause:

• før jeg kører hjem i mørket = before I go/drive/ride home in the dark

In this clause, the word order is the normal subordinate-clause order:

• før + subject + verb
• før jeg kører ...

That is why you do not get inversion here.

Because Danish normally uses a comma before a subordinate clause.

So:

• Jeg tjekker både refleksen og lygten, før jeg kører hjem i mørket.

This comma is standard in Danish writing. English punctuation is often less strict in similar sentences, but in Danish this comma is very normal.

It can mean drive, but it is broader than English drive.

At køre can be used for traveling by vehicle in general, and in many contexts it can also be used for going by bike.

Depending on context, jeg kører hjem might mean:

• I drive home
• I ride home
• I go home by vehicle

Because the sentence mentions refleksen and lygten, many learners would guess this could be about cycling.

This is a very important Danish distinction:

• hjem = homeward / to home (movement)
• hjemme = at home (location)

So:

• jeg kører hjem = I go/drive/ride home
• jeg er hjemme = I am at home

Since the sentence describes movement toward home, hjem is correct.

It means in the dark or in the darkness.

This is a common Danish expression:

• at gå i mørket = to walk in the dark
• at cykle i mørket = to cycle in the dark

Here, mørket is the definite form of mørke. In English we usually just say in the dark, so the forms line up quite nicely.

Yes, quite close.

The sentence breaks down like this:

• Jeg tjekker = I check / I am checking
• både refleksen og lygten = both the reflector and the light
• før = before
• jeg kører hjem = I go/drive/ride home
• i mørket = in the dark

So the overall structure is very similar to English, which makes this sentence fairly approachable for English speakers.

You could move the før-clause to the front:

• Før jeg kører hjem i mørket, tjekker jeg både refleksen og lygten.

Notice what happens in the main clause after the fronted subordinate clause:

• tjekker jeg instead of jeg tjekker

That inversion happens because the sentence now begins with another element. This is a very common Danish word-order pattern.