Det lyder godt.

A simple breakdown is:

• Det = it / that
• lyder = sounds
• godt = good

So the structure is very close to English: It sounds good.

In this sentence, det often refers to:

• something just mentioned
• an idea
• a plan
• a suggestion
• a situation

So if someone says Vi kan mødes klokken seks and you reply Det lyder godt, det means that whole idea, not just a single noun.

Lyder is the present tense of the verb at lyde, which means to sound.

A few useful forms are:

• at lyde = to sound
• lyder = sounds / is sounding
• lød = sounded
• har lydt = has sounded

In Danish, the present tense is often formed with -r, so lyde → lyder is a very typical pattern.

Because godt agrees with det, which is grammatically neuter.

In Danish, adjectives often change form depending on the gender/number of the noun or pronoun they describe. Here, god becomes godt with neuter det.

Compare:

• Den idé lyder god. = That idea sounds good.
  (idé is common gender)
• Det forslag lyder godt. = That suggestion sounds good.
  (forslag is neuter)
• Forslagene lyder gode. = The suggestions sound good.
  (plural)

So in Det lyder godt, godt matches det.

Here it is best understood as an adjective used predicatively, not just a plain adverb.

The verb lyde links the subject to a description, much like være in Det er godt. So godt describes det.

That is why agreement matters:

• Den lyder god
• Det lyder godt
• De lyder gode

If it were just a fixed adverb with no agreement, you would not see those changes.

It is normal Danish main-clause word order:

• Det = subject
• lyder = verb
• godt = complement

So the sentence pattern is basically subject + verb + complement.

If you turn it into a yes/no question, Danish usually puts the verb first:

• Lyder det godt? = Does it sound good?

And if another element comes first, Danish still keeps the verb in second position:

• Så lyder det godt. = Then that sounds good.

This is part of the common Danish V2 pattern in main clauses.

The pronunciation can be tricky for English speakers, especially because of:

• y in lyder
• the soft d
• the way godt is pronounced much less literally than it is spelled

Helpful points:

• ly- has a vowel like German ü or French u, not like English loo
• the d in lyder is a soft Danish d, somewhat similar to the th in this
• det is often pronounced quite lightly in normal speech
• godt does not sound like English got

A rough learner-friendly approximation is something like:

• deh LÜ-thər got

But that is only approximate. The real Danish sounds are a bit different, especially the vowel in lyder and the pronunciation of godt.

It is very commonly used when reacting positively to what someone has said. For example:

• a suggestion
• a plan
• an explanation
• an offer

Examples:

• Vi kan tage toget i morgen.
  Det lyder godt.
• Jeg sender dig filen senere.
  Det lyder godt.

It often means That sounds good to me or That seems like a good idea.

The difference is important:

• Det lyder godt = it sounds good
  You are reacting to information, an idea, or how something seems.
• Det er godt = it is good
  You are stating more directly that something is good.

So Det lyder godt is often a little less absolute. It can suggest:

• That seems good
• That sounds promising
• I like what I’m hearing

This makes it very natural in conversation when someone proposes something.

No. Just like English That sounds good, Danish Det lyder godt is often used figuratively.

It can refer to:

• plans
• ideas
• arrangements
• explanations
• possibilities

So it does not have to mean that a literal sound is pleasant. Very often it just means That seems good or That sounds like a good idea.