Danish prepositions: the complete guide
In Danish, prepositions are called forholdsord. That term is compound, a combination of the word forhold which means “relation” with the term ord which means “word”.
Prepositions are words that specify the relationship between two or more entities, often nouns or pronouns. The prefix “pre” indicates that a preposition is placed before the entity it governs, as it specifies the relationship with the next element in the sentence, for example where the noun is located relative to something.
For example, in the sentence “eleven sidder på stolen” (Translation: the student sits on the chair), the preposition “on” highlights the student’s position relative to “the chair”.
In Danish, as in most languages, prepositions are indeclinable words and therefore always keep the same form.
In this grammar guide, I have attempted to sort prepositions into three groups describing (abstract) placements, direction/channel of movement, and relations between entities. This is not an official way of sorting prepositions and some might have different opinions towards the chosen method.
Prepositions that describe placements
The table below provides a list of the most common Danish prepositions which are used to describe placements.
| Preposition | Translation |
|---|---|
| i | in |
| ved | at |
| mellem | between |
| over | over/above |
| på | on/at |
| under | under/beneath |
| bag(ved) | behind |
| foran | in front of |
| ved siden af | next to |
| nær | near |
| tæt (på) | close (by) |
| inde (i) | inside |
| udenfor | outside |
| blandt | among |
| efter | after |
| før/inden | before |
Here are some examples of Danish phrases in which prepositions describe placements.
- “Læreren skrev alfabetet på tavlen.”
“The teacher wrote the alphabet on the board” - “Lad os købe kaffe inden vi går ind.”
“Let us buy coffee before we go inside” - “Nanna sidder foran Morten.”
“Nanna is sitting in front of Morten” - “De diskuterede sproglære over middagen.”
“They discussed language teaching over dinner” - “Jeg satte mig ved siden af damen.”
“I sat down next to the lady”
Prepositions that describe a direction or a trajectory of movement
The table below contains the most common Danish prepositions which are used to describe a direction, a route, or a trajectory of movement.
| Preposition | Translation |
|---|---|
| til | to |
| fra | from |
| gennem | through |
| af | by |
| imod | towards |
| frem | forward |
| mod | against |
| langs med | along |
| rundt om/omkring | around |
| på tværs | across |
| i løbet af | during |
| forbi | past |
Here are some examples of Danish phrases in which prepositions describe a direction, route, or channel of movement.
- “Drengene løb langs vejen for at ankomme til tiden.”
“The boys ran along the road to arrive in time” - “I løbet af dagen kommer vi til at snakke om religion.”
“During the day, we will be talking about religion” - “Camilla gik forbi mig og imod auditoriet.”
“Camilla walked past me, towards the auditorium” - “Mathilde står ved cyklen.”
“Mathilde is standing (close) by the bicycle”
Danes often adds the adverbs ”hen” or ”henne” to the preposition (hen imod, hen til, hen forbi, hen af, hen ved) resembling the English ”there”, “over” or “over there”.”Hen” is more of a direct action (as in: they went over and did something) while ”henne” is an abstract place (as in: somewhere). They work as a definition of a direction or movement towards, or at, a point, or place, relatively close to the point of reference.
Although not grammatically correct, you will not see raised eyebrows if adding “hen” to practically any of the prepositions. Vice versa, the meaning of the sentence will not change at all without the “hen”.
Below, I have applied the same examples as above to emphasize how the words “hen” and “henne” make little, or no, difference.
- “Drengene løb hen langs vejen.”
“The boys ran along the road” - “Mathilde står henne ved cyklen.”
“Mathilde is standing by the bicycle” - “Hen i løbet af dagen.”
“During the day” - “Camilla gik hen forbi mig.”
“Camilla walked past me”
Prepositions describing relations between entities
The table below contains the most common Danish prepositions which are used to describe relations between entities.
| Preposition | Translation |
|---|---|
| hos | at |
| uden | without |
| for | for |
| om | about |
| med | with |
| med hensyn til / angående | in regards to / regarding |
| i stedet (for) | instead (of) |
| indtil | until |
| undtagen | except |
| på grund af | because of |
| siden | since |
| ifølge | according |
| vedrørende | concerning |
| ved hjælp af | with the help of |
| takket være | thanks to |
| med mindre | unless |
| på trods (af) | despite (of) |
| blandt andet | among other |
Here are some examples of Danish phrases in which prepositions describe the relation between entities:
- “Med hensyn til dine karakterer, så er jeg skuffet.”
“In regard to your grades, I am disappointed” - “I følge Sokrates er filosofi lig med liv.”
“According to Sokrates, philosophy is life” - “Birgitte er på dannelsesrejse for at forbedre sit franske.”
“Birgitte is on an educational journey to improve her French” - “Jeg giver dig en konsonant, med mindre du selv finder på den.”
“I’ll hand you a syllable, unless you come up with it yourself” - “Fortæl en historie om Egyptisk mytologi.”
“Tell a story about Egyptian mythology” - “Siden det er lørdag, har vi fri.”
“Since it’s Saturday, we’re off” - “Rune har, blandt andet, skrevet om mongolsk kultur.”
“Rune has, among other, written about Mongolian culture” - “Start ikke uden mig!”
“Don’t start without me!”
Prepositions as adverbs
In some cases, prepositions function as adverbs. In practice, it is a merging of the preposition and the adverb, for example:
- indenfor /inden for
- bagved /bag ved
- nedenunder /neden under
- overfor / over for
Whether the preposition has an object to govern or not, it is grammatically correct to write the merging as both one and two words.
- “Han sidder og læser inden for/indenfor.”
“He is inside studying” - “Der bor ingen over for/overfor.”
“Nobody lives opposite (from me)” - “Neden under/nedenunder jorden vrimler det med liv.”
“Beneath the soil, there’s full of life.”
Some merges do not have any common adverbial use and will therefore always appear as two words. The rule applies whether the preposition stands before or after the object it governs.
- “Hun træder frem for klassen.”
“She stands before the class” - “Mette foretrækker teoretisk analyse frem for personlig fortolkning.”
“Mette prefers theoretical analysis to personal interpretation” - “Gå hen ad vejen.”
“Walk along the way” - “De blev trætte af at læse hen ad aftenen.”
“They got tired of studying towards the evening”
Prepositions as postpositions
Sometimes, the preposition will stand at the end of a sentence, and we might call it a postposition. Broadly speaking, these can be divided into three groups:
- Postpositions adding or subtracting a referent (inclusive, exclusive and with)
- Postpositions which, together with the object they govern, describe a period of time or physical space (over and through)
- Postpositions not belonging to any of the abovementioned (from and in between)
Below are some examples of Danish phrases in which prepositions act as postpositions.
- “Kun 7 elever deltog i dansk, mig selv inklusiv.”
“Only 7 students participated in Danish (lesson), me included.” - “Klara skrev på sin opgave hele natten igennem.”
“Klara worked on her assignment the whole night through” - “Der tales engelsk hele verden over.”
“English is spoken all over the world” - “Videnskabelig læring kommer alle vegne fra.”
“Scientific knowledge comes from everywhere.”
Well, this grammar guide on Danish prepositions has reached its end. Practice listening to Danish here and there, and you will become comfortable with the pronunciations as well.
For more on Danish grammar, you can check out these guides to Danish pronouns, and Danish adverbs.
To learn more Danish vocabulary, here is a list of the 1000 most frequently used Danish vocabulary words.
