hvor + Adjective
Exclamations with Hvor and Sikke
Danish uses two main words for exclamations: hvor (for qualities/adjectives) and sikke(n) (for things/nouns). They express surprise, admiration, or strong emotion.
How It Works
Exclamations in Danish allow you to express intensity. The choice depends on whether you are emphasizing a specific quality or the object itself.
1. Hvor (How...)
Often emphasizes an adjective or adverb. It can also intensify a whole action, as in Hvor hun dog snakker! It has two common word orders:
- Verb Before Subject: Hvor er du sød! (How sweet you are!) - Follows the V2 rule. This has main-clause word order; it can praise someone in a particular situation.
- Subject Before Verb: Hvor du er sød! - This is a standalone exclamation with subordinate-clause order. The difference is construction and emphasis, not a fixed general-versus-immediate meaning.
To make these exclamations sound more natural and emphatic, the particle dog is often inserted: Hvor er du dog sød!
2. Sikke / Sikken / Sikket (What a...)
Often used with a noun phrase. Before a noun without an article, sikken/sikket/sikke can reflect the gender and number of the noun:
- Common Gender: Sikke en dag! or Sikken en dag!
- Neuter Gender: Sikke et vejr! or Sikket vejr!
- Plural/Uncountable: Sikke farver! or Sikke noget!
Unlike hvor, exclamations with sikke almost exclusively use S-V order or a fragment (e.g., Sikke en bil han har!). You cannot use V-S order with sikke. Note that while sikken and sikket are inflected forms, they are very frequently used alongside the indefinite article in modern Danish (e.g., Sikken en...).
Unchanged Sikke: Sikke en dag and Sikke et vejr work across genders. Adverbial sikken also occurs before either article. An adjective often makes the admired quality explicit, as in Sikke en smuk have!, but it is optional: Sikke en have! is complete. Sikke can also intensify a clause: Sikke du snakker!
Examples (6)
- Hvor er det flot!
How beautiful it is!
Word by Word: How is it beautiful!
A standard exclamation using 'hvor' followed by an adjective and V-S word order.
- Hvor løber han stærkt!
How fast he runs!
Word by Word: How runs he fast!
Demonstrates 'hvor' modifying an adverb ('stærkt') to express intensity.
- Hvor hun dog snakker!
How she just talks! / She really talks a lot!
Word by Word: How she indeed talks!
Uses S-V word order, which is very natural in spoken Danish exclamations.
- Sikke en dejlig overraskelse!
What a lovely surprise!
Word by Word: What a lovely surprise!
Uses 'sikke en' because 'overraskelse' (surprise) is a common gender noun.
- Sikket vejr vi har i dag!
What weather we are having today!
Word by Word: What weather we have in today!
Uses the neuter form sikket before vejr; compare the uninflected pattern sikke et vejr.
- Sikke nogle store æbler!
What big apples!
Word by Word: What some big apples!
Uses 'sikke' with the plural 'nogle' for a plural noun.
Common Mistakes
Using 'hvor' directly with a noun.
Hvor en bil!Sikke en bil!For a noun phrase meaning 'What a car!', use 'sikke(n)', not 'hvor en'. This does not prevent hvor from intensifying a verb, as in Hvor hun dog snakker!
Using the common-gender inflected form before a bare neuter noun.
Sikken hus!Sikket hus! / Sikke et hus!In the inflected pattern, hus takes sikket. Before an explicit article, sikke or sikken can be adverbial and unchanged: both sikke et hus and sikken et hus occur. Sikken et hus is not a gender-agreement error.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To use 'hvor' in exclamations, you need to be familiar with 'hvor' as a basic question word and understand how adjectives are used to describe subjects after the verb 'være'. You also need to be comfortable with Danish word order (V2) to correctly place the verb after the initial exclamation phrase.
- hvorWhere
Learners must first understand 'hvor' as a question word ('where') before learning its secondary function as an intensifier in exclamations.
Level 1 - Adjective After Være
Exclamations with 'hvor' typically follow the structure of a predicate adjective (e.g., 'Hvor er det flot!'), so understanding how adjectives follow the verb 'være' is essential.
Level 1 - Verb-Second Word Order
Even in exclamations, Danish maintains specific word order rules where the verb follows the 'hvor + adjective' phrase, requiring knowledge of standard verb placement.
Level 2
Related Patterns
- Adjective Agreement
Adjectives used with 'hvor' must still agree with the noun they describe.
Level 2 - enIndefinite Article (Common Gender)
'Sikke en' uses the common gender indefinite article.
Level 1 - etIndefinite Article (Neuter)
'Sikke et' uses the neuter gender indefinite article.
Level 1 - hvilken/hvilket/hvilkeWhich
This is a more formal/literary way to create exclamations similar to 'sikke'.
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
Practice hvor + Adjective in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Danish lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
