Hvis svømmevingerne bliver væk, tør hun ikke gå så langt ud.

Hvis means if and introduces a condition.

So Hvis svømmevingerne bliver væk means something like If the water wings go missing / if the floaties are lost.

A learner might compare it with når, which often means when. The difference is:

• hvis = if, a condition
• når = when, something expected or repeated

Here the sentence is conditional, so hvis is the natural choice.

Svømmevingerne is the definite plural form of svømmevinger.

It is a compound noun:

• svømme = swim / swimming
• vinger = wings

But the actual meaning is not literal swimming wings in English. It refers to the inflatable arm floats children wear in water, often called:

• water wings
• floaties
• arm bands in some varieties of English

So svømmevingerne = the water wings / the floaties.

The ending -ne marks the definite plural in Danish.

Compare:

• en svømmevinge = a water wing / one float
• svømmevinger = water wings / floaties
• svømmevingerne = the water wings / the floaties

Unlike English, Danish often adds definiteness directly to the noun instead of using a separate word like the.

Bliver væk is a very common Danish expression meaning:

• go missing
• get lost
• disappear

Literally:

• bliver = becomes / gets
• væk = away / gone

So svømmevingerne bliver væk is not literally the floaties become away in natural English. It means the floaties go missing.

This expression focuses on the result: they are no longer there.

If you wanted to say someone actively loses them, you might use mister:

• Hvis hun mister svømmevingerne ... = If she loses the floaties ...

That sounds a bit more direct and agent-focused than bliver væk.

This is a very common Danish word-order pattern.

The sentence starts with a subordinate clause:

• Hvis svømmevingerne bliver væk

After that, the main clause follows. In Danish main clauses, the finite verb normally comes in second position. So when something else comes first, the verb comes before the subject:

• Hvis ..., tør hun ikke ...

Compare:

• Hun tør ikke gå så langt ud. = She does not dare go that far out.
• Hvis svømmevingerne bliver væk, tør hun ikke gå så langt ud.

So tør hun ikke is normal because the first position is already occupied by the hvis clause.

Tør is the present tense of at turde, which means to dare.

So:

• hun tør = she dares
• hun tør ikke = she does not dare

In this sentence, it expresses lack of courage or confidence:

• tør hun ikke gå ... = she does not dare go ...

This is often used in situations involving fear, uncertainty, or risk.

Because tør functions like a modal-type verb here, and after it Danish normally uses the infinitive without at.

So:

• Hun tør gå ud. = She dares to go out.
• not Hun tør at gå ud in normal standard usage

This is similar to English, where dare can also be followed directly by the bare infinitive in some structures:

• She dare not go
• She doesn't dare go

So tør hun ikke gå is completely normal Danish.

In Danish main clauses, ikke usually comes after the finite verb and often after the subject if the verb has moved to second position.

Here the order is:

• tør = finite verb
• hun = subject
• ikke = negation

So:

• tør hun ikke gå ...

This is standard Danish sentence structure after fronting a clause.

Compare:

• Hun tør ikke gå så langt ud.
• Hvis ..., tør hun ikke gå så langt ud.

The negation ikke stays in its usual area after the finite verb and subject.

Så langt ud means that far out.

The parts are:

• så = so / that
• langt = far
• ud = out

In this context, ud refers to going farther out into the water, away from shore.

So:

• gå ud = go out
• gå langt ud = go far out
• gå så langt ud = go that far out / go so far out

The order may feel different from English, but it is very natural in Danish to place ud at the end here.

Ud often means out, but its exact sense depends on context.

Here it most likely means out into the water, farther away from land or the beach.

So gå så langt ud suggests something like:

• walk that far out into the water
• go that far from shore

It is not just a general go outside. The water context created by svømmevingerne makes the meaning more specific.

Good question. Gå literally often means walk, but in many contexts it is also used in a broader sense that English might translate as go.

In water-related situations, gå ud can mean physically wading or moving out into the water.

So in English, depending on context, you might translate it as:

• go that far out
• walk that far out into the water
• wade that far out

All of those can fit, depending on how literal you want to be.

Yes. A few variants are possible, depending on nuance.

For example:

• Hvis svømmevingerne forsvinder, tør hun ikke gå så langt ud.
  • forsvinder = disappear
• Hvis hun mister svømmevingerne, tør hun ikke gå så langt ud.
  • mister = loses

But the original sentence sounds natural and idiomatic. Bliver væk is especially common in everyday speech when something ends up missing.

It can be understood either way, depending on context.

Without extra context, it often sounds like a general or likely condition:

• if the floaties are gone, she does not dare go that far out

It could describe:

• a habitual situation
• a child’s general behavior
• a specific situation being discussed right now

Danish present tense often covers both general and immediate situations, just like English present tense can.