meget
Very / a Lot (Meget)
Meget is the primary Danish word for intensity and quantity. It covers three English words: very (with adjectives), much (with mass nouns), and a lot (with verbs).
How It Works
In Danish, meget is a versatile tool that functions in three main ways:
- As an Intensifier (Very): Place it before an adjective or adverb.
Example: meget god (very good), meget hurtigt (very fast). - As a Quantifier (Much/A Lot of): Use it with singular mass nouns (things you can't count, like water, time, or love).
Example: meget vand (much water), meget tid (a lot of time). - As an Adverb (A Lot): Use it after a verb to describe the degree of an action.
Example: Jeg sover meget (I sleep a lot).
Note on Pronunciation: The final 't' in meget is silent. It sounds more like 'my-eh' or 'my-uh'. Avoid pronouncing a hard 'T' or adding an 'L' sound at the end.
Note on Gender: While meget is technically the neuter form, in modern Danish, it is used for both common and neuter mass nouns (e.g., meget mad is standard, even though mad is common gender).
Examples (5)
- Filmen er meget lang.
The movie is very long.
Word by Word: The-movie is very long.
Here, 'meget' acts as an intensifier for the adjective 'lang'.
- Der er meget sukker i kaffen.
There is a lot of sugar in the coffee.
Word by Word: There is much sugar in the-coffee.
Sugar is a mass noun, so we use 'meget' to show quantity.
- Han arbejder meget.
He works a lot.
Word by Word: He works much.
When modifying a verb, 'meget' usually comes after the verb.
- Det betyder meget for mig.
It means a lot to me.
Word by Word: It means much for me.
A common expression where 'meget' indicates the degree of importance.
- Jeg er meget træt i dag.
I am very tired today.
Word by Word: I am very tired in day.
Used with an adjective to show intensity.
Common Mistakes
Using 'meget' for countable plural items.
Jeg har meget venner.Jeg har mange venner.Use 'meget' for things you can't count (mass nouns) and 'mange' for things you can count (plural nouns).
Placing 'meget' before the verb like in English 'I very much like'.
Jeg meget kan lide det.Jeg kan meget godt lide det.In Danish, intensifiers for verbs usually follow the verb or the modal verb construction.
Using 'mange' before a comparative.
Hun er mange højere end mig.Hun er meget højere end mig.Before a comparative, Danish uses 'meget' ('much'): 'meget højere'. 'Mange' is only for countable plural things, such as 'mange venner'.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To use 'meget' correctly, you need to understand basic sentence structure involving the present tense and the verb 'to be', as 'meget' functions as an intensifier for both verbs and adjectives.
Related Patterns
- hvor mange/hvor megetHow Many / How Much
These are the question forms used to ask 'how many' (countable) vs 'how much' (uncountable).
Level 1 - ogsåAlso / Too
Another high-frequency adverb often used in similar sentence positions to add information.
Level 1 - Adjective After Være
'Meget' is most frequently used to modify adjectives in the predicate position.
Level 1 - for ... til atToo ... to (For ... Til at)
While 'meget' means 'very', 'for' is used to mean 'too' (excessive), which is a common point of confusion.
Level 3 - Finite Verb + ikkePlacement of Ikke
Understanding where to put adverbs like 'meget' is related to the general rules of adverb placement in Danish.
Level 2
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice meget in Bubblegum
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