hvad

What

Level 1

Hvad is the standard Danish word for 'what'. It is used in direct questions (Hvad er det?), indirect questions, and as a relative pronoun meaning 'that which'.

How It Works

1. Basic Usage
Hvad is used to ask about objects, actions, or ideas. In direct questions, Danish follows the V2 rule, meaning the verb must come immediately after hvad.

2. Pronunciation
The 'h' is always silent. In natural, spoken Danish, the 'd' is also frequently dropped, making it sound like 'va' [væ]. You will often see this written informally as hva'.

3. Idiomatic Phrases
A core phrase to learn is hvad med (what about). It is used to redirect a question or make a suggestion (e.g., Hvad med en kaffe? - What about a coffee?).

4. Tag Questions
In informal speech, hvad is used at the end of a sentence as a tag question to mean 'right?' or 'isn't it?'. For example: Det er flot, hvad? (It's pretty, isn't it?).

5. Indirect Questions and 'der'
When hvad is the subject of a subordinate clause (an indirect question), you must add the relative marker der immediately after it.

  • Direct: Hvad skete der? (What happened?)
  • Indirect: Jeg ved ikke, hvad der skete. (I don't know what happened.)

Examples (6)

  1. Hvad hedder du?

    What is your name?

    Word by Word: What are-called you?

    A standard greeting using the V2 word order.

  2. Hvad laver du i dag?

    What are you doing today?

    Word by Word: What do you today?

    Used here to ask about an action.

  3. Hvad med dig?

    What about you?

    Word by Word: What with you?

    A very common idiomatic way to ask 'what about' or 'how about'.

  4. Det er koldt, hvad?

    It's cold, isn't it?

    Word by Word: It is cold, what?

    In spoken Danish, hvad is often used as a tag question to seek agreement.

  5. Jeg ved ikke, hvad han siger.

    I don't know what he is saying.

    Word by Word: I know not, what he says.

    An example of hvad introducing an indirect question.

  6. Hvad for en film vil du se?

    Which movie do you want to see?

    Word by Word: What for a movie will you see?

    The common spoken way to use 'what' as a determiner, often meaning which one.

Common Mistakes

  • Pronouncing the 'h' in 'hvad'.

    [hvad]
    [vad] or [va]

    The 'h' is always silent in Danish question words starting with 'hv-'.

  • Using English word order in direct questions.

    Hvad du laver?
    Hvad laver du?

    Danish requires the verb to be in the second position (V2 rule) in direct questions.

  • Omitting 'der' when 'hvad' is the subject of a subordinate clause.

    Jeg ved ikke, hvad skete.
    Jeg ved ikke, hvad der skete.

    When hvad acts as the subject in a subclause, it must be followed by der.

How It Connects

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hvadLevel 1What

Learn This First

To use the question word 'hvad' effectively, you should be familiar with basic sentence structure, the verb 'to be', and subject pronouns to form complete questions.

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hvad