Hvis filen ved en fejl ender i papirkurven, kan min kollega som regel finde den igen.

Filen means the file. Danish usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun:

• en fil = a file
• filen = the file

So this sentence is talking about a specific file, not just any file.

Ved en fejl means by mistake or accidentally.

Literally, it is something like by an error / through a mistake, but in natural English you would normally say by mistake.

This is a fixed expression in Danish, so learners should try to remember it as a whole unit:

• ved en fejl = by mistake

Hvis means if and introduces a conditional clause.

So:

• Hvis filen ved en fejl ender i papirkurven = If the file accidentally ends up in the trash

This part sets up the condition for what happens in the main clause.

A common point for English speakers: Danish hvis is used for if in conditional meaning, not om here.

Ender comes from at ende, which means to end or to end up.

In this sentence, ender i papirkurven means ends up in the trash / recycle bin.

So the idea is not that the file is deliberately put there, but that it somehow winds up there.

• at ende i noget = to end up in something

Papirkurven means the wastebasket, trash can, or on a computer the recycle bin / trash depending on context.

It is a compound noun:

• papir = paper
• kurv = basket
• papirkurven = the paper basket / the recycle bin

Because the sentence is about a file, this is most naturally understood as the computer trash/recycle bin.

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

The sentence begins with a subordinate clause:

• Hvis filen ved en fejl ender i papirkurven

After that, the main clause starts, and in Danish the finite verb usually comes in the second position of the main clause:

• kan min kollega som regel finde den igen

So even though min kollega is the subject, the verb kan comes first because the sentence has already started with another element.

A simpler comparison:

• Min kollega kan som regel finde den igen.
• Hvis ..., kan min kollega som regel finde den igen.

Som regel means usually or as a rule.

It is a very common fixed expression:

• som regel = usually

In this sentence:

• kan min kollega som regel finde den igen
• my colleague can usually find it again

It is in a very natural position for Danish sentence adverbs.

With a modal verb like kan, the structure is often:

• kan + subject + adverb + infinitive

So here:

• kan min kollega som regel finde den igen

That is why som regel comes after the subject and before the infinitive finde.

In Danish, object pronouns like den often come before adverbs like igen when they belong with the verb.

So:

• finde den igen = find it again / find it back

This word order is the natural one in Danish.

Here:

• den = it (referring back to filen)
• igen = again / back

Den refers back to filen.

Since fil is a common-gender noun (en fil), the pronoun used is den:

• en fil → den

So:

• finde den igen = find it again

If the noun had been a neuter noun (et-word), Danish would usually use det instead.

It can feel like both.

In this sentence, igen most naturally means something like again or back, depending on how you translate it:

• finde den igen = find it again
• or more naturally in context: find it back / recover it

English often prefers a different wording here, such as retrieve it or find it again, but Danish simply uses igen.

Because Danish possessives normally replace the article.

So you say:

• min kollega = my colleague

not:

• den min kollega or anything similar

This is the same basic idea as in English: we say my colleague, not the my colleague.

After a modal verb like kan (can), Danish uses the infinitive without at.

So:

• kan finde = can find
• vil finde = will / wants to find
• skal finde = must / has to find

This works much like English, where we also say can find, not can to find.

Yes. A very natural alternative is to put the main clause first:

• Min kollega kan som regel finde den igen, hvis filen ved en fejl ender i papirkurven.

That means the same thing.

The main difference is word order:

• When the sentence starts with Hvis ..., the next main clause has kan min kollega
• When the sentence starts directly with the main clause, it is Min kollega kan

So the meaning stays the same, but the word order changes because of Danish V2 rules.