Hen/henne - adverbs of relative direction/location

Hvor? (Where?) can be a difficult question in Danish. Absolute location/direction is expressed more or less like in English:

  • Jeg skal til København (I am going to Copenhagen, absolute direction)
  • Jeg bor i København (I live in Copenhagen, absolute location)

  • But if you want to express location/direction relative to here or some other place you will have to use a small adverb like hen/henne - like in the English expression: I am going up/down to London. Danes seem obsessed with little adverbs describing north/south, in/out etc. In the Danish phrases:

  • Jeg skal op til Helsingør.
  • Han bor et sted oppe ved Helsingør

    op/oppe would mean that Helsingør is north of your current location - or uphill. Towards the center will be ind, away from the center will be ud.
    The small adverbs come in pairs - no ending for direction (or transition), and -e ending for place (or steady state): hen/henne over/over at, hjem/hjemme home to/at home, op/oppe up to/up at, ned/nede down to/down at, ind/inde into/inside, ud/ude out from/outside, over/ovre over to/over at, om/omme round/behind .
    Choose adverb with no ending for relative direction and -e ending for relative place in the drop down menu.
  • 1) Der er et busstoppested ved kirken.
    2) Hvis der ikke er lys nok, kan du sætte dig til vinduet.
    3) Sidder Bent Bo her, eller sidder han ved vinduet?
    4) Der ligger en god restaurant lige om hjørnet.