What is it?

Two words that are merged together to make one is called a compound word, like sprog and lærer makes sproglærer (language teacher).

The Rules

Mostly, compound words in Danish are written into one word instead of two.

But when?

If stress is put on the first part of the word the two words are made into one

Sometimes an 's' or an 'e' is added to join the words together. On very rare occasions the joining letter is an 'n'.

Examples

without a joining letter
			en lillefinger	little finger	n -en
			en håndflade	palm	n -en
			et rugbrød	rye bread	n -et
			en sproglærer	language teacher	n -en
			en havemøbler	garden furniture	n -en
's'
			smagssans	sense of taste	n -en
			en fødselsdag	birthday	n -en
			en månedsløn	monthly pay	n -en
'e'
			et juletræ	christmas tree	n -et
			et strygejern	iron	n -et
			en hundehvalp	puppy	n -en
			en barnevogn	pram	n -en
'n'
			et øjenbryn	eye brow	n -et
			en øjenvipper	eye lashes	n -en