Demonstrative Pronouns in Danish

In Brief

Danish demonstratives match the gender and number of the noun: denne bog “this book,” dette hus “this house,” and disse biler “these cars.” For “that/those,” use den, det, de: den bog, det hus, de biler. In everyday speech, Danish often makes the contrast clearer with her “here” and der “there”: den her bog and den der bog.

Overview

Demonstratives are pointing words: they identify a particular person, object, or idea. In denne bog (“this book”), the demonstrative comes before a noun (a word for a person, place, thing, or idea). In Denne er god (“This one is good”), it stands on its own as a pronoun—a word used in place of a noun. Danish grammar commonly calls both uses pegende stedord.

This is an A1 topic because the basic pattern is compact and useful from the start. The only information you need for the core forms is whether the noun is common gender, neuter gender, or plural. Danish has two singular noun genders: common-gender nouns normally take en, while neuter nouns normally take et. That earlier gender choice controls whether you use denne/den or dette/det.

English distinguishes “this/these” from “that/those,” but does not change the singular word according to noun gender. Danish does. Danish also relies less on the formal-looking denne/dette/disse set in conversation than a simple English comparison may suggest: spoken Danish very often uses combinations such as den her (“this one”) and den der (“that one”).

How It Works

The basic forms

Meaning	Common gender singular	Neuter singular	Plural, both genders
this / these	denne	dette	disse
that / those	den	det	de

Start with the noun’s article:

• en bog (a book) → denne bog (this book) / den bog (that book)
• et hus (a house) → dette hus (this house) / det hus (that house)
• biler (cars) → disse biler (these cars) / de biler (those cars)

The plural form does not depend on gender. Both en nouns and et nouns use disse or de in the plural:

• disse bøger — these books
• disse huse — these houses
• de bøger — those books
• de huse — those houses

Before a noun

When a demonstrative points out a noun, the pattern is:

demonstrative + optional adjective + noun

• denne bog — this book
• dette gamle hus — this old house
• disse røde stole — these red chairs
• den store bil — that big car

The noun itself normally remains in its indefinite form—the same basic form seen after en or et. Danish often marks “the” by adding an ending to a noun, as in bogen (“the book”) and huset (“the house”), but that ending is not added after a demonstrative:

Indefinite	Definite	Demonstrative
en bog	bogen	denne bog / den bog
et hus	huset	dette hus / det hus
biler	bilerne	disse biler / de biler

If an adjective appears after a demonstrative, it normally uses the definite or weak form—the form usually ending in -e. You do not need to master adjective forms to use a demonstrative with a plain noun, but notice the pattern denne gamle bog, dette gamle hus, and disse gamle huse. It is gamle in all three phrases.

Standing alone

A demonstrative can replace a noun when the listener can see the item or already knows what category is meant:

• Hvilken bog vil du have? Denne. — Which book do you want? This one.
• Hvilket hus er til salg? Det der. — Which house is for sale? That one.
• Hvilke sko er dine? De her. — Which shoes are yours? These.

The omitted noun still controls the form. A known en noun takes denne/den, a known et noun takes dette/det, and a plural noun takes disse/de.

When the thing has not yet been identified or classified, Danish commonly uses neuter det as a general “this/that/it”:

• Hvad er det? — What is that/it?
• Hvad er dette? — What is this?
• Det er en gave. — It is a present.

Here det does not tell you that the answer will be an et noun. It is a default form for a situation, fact, object of unknown identity, or whole idea. Det er en bog is therefore correct even though bog is common gender.

Everyday spoken forms with her and der

In natural conversation, the most useful pattern is often:

Meaning	Common gender	Neuter	Plural
this / these	den her	det her	de her
that / those	den der	det der	de der

These combinations can come before a noun or stand alone:

• den her kaffe — this coffee
• det der bord — that table
• de her billetter — these tickets
• Jeg tager den der. — I’ll take that one.

Literally, her means “here” and der means “there.” They make the near/far contrast explicit. Denne/dette/disse are fully correct, but can sound more written, formal, careful, or emphatic than den her/det her/de her in relaxed speech.

A practical beginner decision

Use this three-step check:

1. Is the noun singular or plural?
2. If singular, is it an en noun or an et noun?
3. Are you pointing to something near (denne/dette/disse, often her in speech) or something farther away or contrasted (den/det/de, often der in speech)?

For everyday conversation, learning den her, det her, de her and den der, det der, de der as complete chunks is especially effective.

Examples in Context

Danish	English	Note
Denne bog er nem at læse.	This book is easy to read.	Common-gender singular
Jeg kan godt lide dette hus.	I like this house.	Neuter singular
Disse sko er meget behagelige.	These shoes are very comfortable.	Plural
Kender du manden i den bil?	Do you know the man in that car?	den with an en noun
Vi skal male det værelse.	We need to paint that room.	det with an et noun
De billeder er fra København.	Those pictures are from Copenhagen.	Plural de
Kan jeg prøve den her jakke?	Can I try on this jacket?	Common in speech
Hvor meget koster det her ur?	How much does this watch cost?	Spoken form with a neuter noun
Er de her pladser ledige?	Are these seats free?	Spoken plural
Tag ikke den der kop; den er beskidt.	Don’t take that cup; it is dirty.	der points out or contrasts
Hvad er dette?	What is this?	Formal or careful standalone use
Hvad er det der?	What is that?	Natural conversational question
Hvilken kage vil du have? — Denne.	Which cake would you like? — This one.	The omitted noun is common gender
Hvilket glas er mit? — Det her.	Which glass is mine? — This one.	The omitted noun is neuter
Jeg foretrækker disse frem for de andre.	I prefer these to the others.	Standalone plural

Notice that den in the second half of Tag ikke den der kop; den er beskidt means “it,” not “that.” The form is identical, but its job is different: the first den is part of a demonstrative phrase, while the second refers back to kop as an ordinary pronoun.

Common Mistakes

Ignoring the noun’s gender

• Wrong: denne hus
• Right: dette hus
• Why: Hus is a neuter noun (et hus), so singular “this” must be dette. Use denne with common-gender nouns such as en bog.

Using a singular form with a plural noun

• Wrong: denne biler
• Right: disse biler
• Why: Biler is plural. Use disse for “these” and de for “those,” regardless of the nouns’ singular gender.

Adding the definite noun ending

• Wrong: denne bogen / dette huset
• Right: denne bog / dette hus
• Why: The demonstrative already makes the noun specific. In standard Danish, the noun normally stays in its indefinite form after it.

Copying English this without checking the context

• Wrong: Denne er en bog. (when identifying an unknown object)
• Right: Det er en bog.
• Why: Danish normally uses default det to identify an unknown thing or present a classification. Denne is possible when a particular common-gender item has already been selected, but not as the general equivalent of every English “this.”

Sounding unnecessarily formal in casual conversation

• Less natural in relaxed speech: Vil du have denne?
• More conversational: Vil du have den her?
• Why: Denne is grammatical, but Danish speakers often choose den her when pointing to an ordinary item in conversation. The first version may sound more formal or deliberate, depending on context.

Treating de as only “they”

• Misreading: de sko as “they shoes”
• Correct reading: de sko — “those shoes”
• Why: Before a noun, de can be the plural demonstrative “those.” Standing before a verb, it is often the subject pronoun “they”: De er nye (“They are new”). Position and context reveal the meaning.

Usage Notes

Distance is not the only contrast

“This” and “that” often suggest physical distance, but speakers also use demonstratives to manage attention. Den der idé can mean “that idea” because it was mentioned earlier, because the speaker is contrasting it with another idea, or because the speaker wants the listener to focus on it. The object does not have to be physically far away.

In speech, stress can sharpen the contrast. DEN der may mean “that particular one,” especially when several choices are visible. In writing, context has to do more of this work.

Written and spoken preferences

You will meet denne, dette, disse frequently in instructions, formal prose, presentations, labels, and careful descriptions: I dette kapitel (“in this chapter”), på denne side (“on this page”), disse regler (“these rules”). In conversation about visible objects, the forms with her and der are extremely common.

Do not turn this tendency into a rigid rule. Denne is not “wrong in speech,” and den her is not limited to speech. The difference is one of register (the style appropriate to a situation), rhythm, and emphasis rather than basic grammatical correctness.

Den, det, and de have several jobs

These forms are common elsewhere in Danish grammar. They can be personal pronouns (“it/they”), demonstratives (“that/those”), or parts of noun phrases such as den røde bil (“the red car”). Compare:

• Den bil er dyr. — That car is expensive.
• Den røde bil er dyr. — The red car is expensive.
• Bilen er dyr. Den er ny. — The car is expensive. It is new.

The form alone does not determine the translation. Look at whether it points out a noun, introduces an adjective plus noun, or replaces a noun already mentioned.

Beyond the Basics: Reference and Style

You do not need to master the following distinctions at A1, but they explain patterns you will encounter later.

Referring to a whole statement

Neuter det can refer not just to an object but to an event, fact, weather condition, or complete statement:

• Det regner. — It is raining.
• Hun kommer i morgen. Det er godt. — She is coming tomorrow. That is good.
• Det var det. — That was it / That’s all.

This broad use of det is one reason it appears far more often than a simple gender table might predict. In Det er min søster, the default det introduces or identifies someone; it does not agree with the common-gender noun søster.

Referring back to a specific noun

Once a specific noun is established, Danish normally refers back to it with den for a common-gender singular noun, det for a neuter singular noun, and de for a plural noun:

• Hvor er bogen? Den ligger på bordet. — Where is the book? It is on the table.
• Hvor er brevet? Det ligger her. — Where is the letter? It is here.
• Hvor er nøglerne? De ligger i tasken. — Where are the keys? They are in the bag.

These are personal-pronoun uses rather than demonstratives, but the shared forms make gender agreement worth learning well.

More formal backward and forward reference

In formal writing, denne can refer to a person or thing just mentioned, much like “the latter” or “this person/one” in English. It can reduce repetition, but repeated use may sound bureaucratic. Clear repetition of the noun is often easier for learners and readers.

You may also see fixed formal phrases such as denne gang (“this time”), på dette tidspunkt (“at this point/time”), and i disse dage (“these days”). Learn such phrases as units: their meaning is not always about something literally within pointing distance.

Demonstratives can carry attitude

Like English “that man” or “that idea,” den mand and especially den der mand can sound neutral, emphatic, dismissive, admiring, or irritated depending on voice and context. Grammar gives the pointing function; intonation and situation supply the attitude. Be cautious about using a strongly stressed den der for a person until you can hear the intended tone.

Practice Tips

1. Build gender pairs from vocabulary you already know. Write ten en nouns and ten et nouns. Point to each item or picture and say both patterns: denne stol / den her stol and dette bord / det her bord. Then make them distant: den der stol / det der bord.
2. Practise real choices. When shopping, looking at a menu, or browsing pictures, ask and answer: Hvilken vil du have? — Den her. / Hvilket vil du have? — Det der. / Hvilke vil du have? — De her. This makes agreement automatic without requiring grammar labels each time.
3. Listen for register. In a Danish conversation, note forms with her/der; in a news article or set of instructions, mark denne/dette/disse. Comparing the two sources helps you learn not only what is correct, but what sounds natural in each setting.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Noun Gender (Common/Neuter) — knowing whether a noun takes en or et lets you choose denne/den or dette/det correctly.