Jeg er egentlig ikke så glemsom derhjemme, men på kontoret glemmer jeg ofte små ting.

Here egentlig adds nuance rather than a big change in meaning. In this sentence, it means something like actually, really, or to be honest.

So Jeg er egentlig ikke så glemsom derhjemme suggests:

• I’m actually not that forgetful at home
• I’m not really that forgetful at home

It often softens the statement a little and makes it sound more natural in conversation.

Ikke så + adjective means not so / not that + adjective.

So:

• ikke så glemsom = not that forgetful

This is a very common Danish pattern:

• Han er ikke så høj. = He isn’t that tall.
• Det er ikke så svært. = It isn’t that difficult.

Here så does not mean so in the sense of therefore. It works with the adjective to mean that in English: not that forgetful.

They come from the same idea, but they are different parts of speech:

• glemsom = forgetful, an adjective
• glemmer = forget / am forgetting, a verb form

In the sentence:

• Jeg er ... glemsom = I am ... forgetful
• jeg glemmer ofte små ting = I often forget small things

So the first clause describes a general quality, and the second clause describes an action that happens often.

Not really. They express two slightly different things:

• glemsom describes a person’s general tendency
• glemmer describes actual repeated actions

So the sentence contrasts:

• At home, I’m not really that forgetful
• but at the office, I often forget small things

This sounds natural because the speaker is comparing a general trait with what happens in a specific place.

Derhjemme means at home.

It is very close to hjemme, and in many contexts both can work. Derhjemme can feel a bit more specific, like back home / at home there, but in everyday speech it often simply means at home.

Examples:

• Jeg er hjemme. = I am at home.
• Jeg er ikke så glemsom derhjemme. = I’m not that forgetful at home.

In this sentence, derhjemme helps set up a contrast with på kontoret.

Danish often uses på with workplaces and institutions where English would use at:

• på kontoret = at the office
• på skolen = at school
• på arbejde = at work

So på kontoret is the natural Danish expression here.

By contrast, i kontoret would usually suggest being physically inside the office room, and in many cases it sounds less natural if you just mean the workplace in general.

Kontoret means the office. Danish often uses the definite form when talking about a familiar or specific place connected to the speaker’s life.

So:

• på kontoret = at the office / at my office / at the office where I work

If you said på et kontor, that would mean in/at an office, some office, which is much less specific.

This is because Danish is a V2 language in main clauses. That means the finite verb must come in the second position.

In the second clause, på kontoret is moved to the front for emphasis or contrast. Once that happens, the verb must come next:

• På kontoret = first position
• glemmer = second position
• jeg = after the verb

So:

• På kontoret glemmer jeg ofte små ting.

Not:

• På kontoret jeg glemmer ofte små ting.

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

Because men joins two separate main clauses, and each clause needs its own subject and verb.

The sentence is:

• Jeg er egentlig ikke så glemsom derhjemme
• men på kontoret glemmer jeg ofte små ting

Even though English also repeats the subject here, learners sometimes expect Danish to leave it out. But Danish normally keeps it.

Ofte is an adverb, and in Danish adverbs like ofte usually come before the object in a normal main clause.

So:

• glemmer jeg ofte små ting
• verb + subject + adverb + object

This is very natural Danish word order.

Compare:

• Jeg læser ofte bøger. = I often read books.
• Han køber tit kaffe. = He often buys coffee.

Because the speaker means small things in general, not specific small things.

So:

• små ting = small things
• not the small things
• not some small things in a strongly marked way

This is just an indefinite plural used generically.

Compare:

• Jeg køber bøger. = I buy books.
• Hun glemmer navne. = She forgets names.

If the speaker meant specific things already known in the conversation, Danish would use a definite form instead.

Yes, very possibly. Småting is a common word meaning small things, little things, or minor items/details.

So these are both natural:

• ... glemmer jeg ofte små ting
• ... glemmer jeg ofte småting

The version with two words, små ting, is very transparent for learners. The one-word form småting is also very idiomatic.

Yes, very much so. It sounds natural and conversational.

A few things make it feel especially everyday:

• egentlig adds a natural spoken nuance
• derhjemme and på kontoret create a clear contrast
• ofte små ting sounds like ordinary real-life speech

So this is a good sentence to learn from because it shows both useful vocabulary and very typical Danish word order.