Skal vi spise sammen? Det kunne være hyggeligt.

Here skal is being used to make a suggestion or ask shall we...?

So Skal vi spise sammen? is very close to:

• Shall we eat together?
• Should we eat together?
• Do you want us to eat together? (depending on tone)

In Danish, skulle / skal is often used this way when proposing something politely.

Because this is a question.

In Danish, yes/no questions usually put the verb first:

• Vi skal spise sammen. = We are going to / we should eat together.
• Skal vi spise sammen? = Shall we eat together?

So the normal statement order is:

• subject + verb

but a yes/no question often becomes:

• verb + subject

After a modal verb like skal, Danish normally uses the bare infinitive without at.

So:

• skal spise
• kan spise
• vil spise
• må spise

Not:

• skal at spise ✘

This is similar to English:

• We shall eat
• not We shall to eat

Sammen means together.

So spise sammen means eat together.

It is a very common word and can be used in many contexts:

• Vi arbejder sammen. = We work together.
• Lad os gå sammen. = Let’s go together.
• De bor sammen. = They live together.

In this sentence, it simply means the people would eat in each other’s company.

Kunne is the past form of kan, but here it is not really about past time.

In Danish, as in English, a past-form modal can make something sound:

• more polite
• softer
• less direct
• more tentative

So:

• Det kan være hyggeligt. = That can be nice / It can be cozy.
• Det kunne være hyggeligt. = That could be nice / That might be cozy.

In this context, kunne sounds gentler and more natural after a suggestion. It is like saying:

• That could be nice.

Det refers to the idea or situation of eating together.

So the meaning is basically:

• Eating together could be nice.
• That could be nice.

Danish often uses det this way to refer to a whole action or situation that was just mentioned.

Hyggeligt comes from hyggelig, one of the most famous Danish words.

It can mean things like:

• cozy
• pleasant
• nice
• warm and comfortable
• socially enjoyable

In this sentence, hyggeligt is probably best understood as:

• nice
• pleasant
• cozy

So Det kunne være hyggeligt is not only about physical coziness. It also suggests a warm, friendly, enjoyable social atmosphere.

Because the adjective is being used with det, and in this kind of structure Danish normally uses the neuter form of the adjective.

Compare:

• en hyggelig aften = a cozy evening
• et hyggeligt sted = a cozy place
• Det er hyggeligt. = It is cozy / nice.

So in Det kunne være hyggeligt, the -t form is the correct one.

Usually it is just a suggestion.

It sounds natural, friendly, and fairly open. It does not usually sound as firm as:

• Vi skal spise sammen. = We’re going to eat together / We must eat together.

With rising intonation and a question mark, Skal vi spise sammen? is more like:

• Shall we eat together?
• How about eating together?

So the same word skal can feel different depending on whether it is a statement or a question.

Yes, you could.

• Skal vi spise sammen? = Shall we eat together?
• Lad os spise sammen. = Let’s eat together.

The difference is tone:

• Skal vi... ? sounds more like a proposal that invites agreement.
• Lad os... sounds a bit more direct and decisive.

Both are natural, but Skal vi spise sammen? often feels a little softer.

This word can be tricky for English speakers.

A rough guide is:

• hyg-ge-ligt

But in real speech, it is often pronounced more smoothly, and the middle part may sound reduced. The exact pronunciation varies a bit by speaker and style.

A few things to notice:

• y in Danish is not like English y.
• gg does not sound like a hard English g in careful pronunciation.
• The ending -ligt is often less clearly pronounced than an English learner might expect.

The most important thing at first is to recognize it as a very common adjective meaning cozy / nice / pleasant, even if pronunciation takes time to master.