hænger

hænger is the present tense form of the Danish verb hænge, meaning to hang or to suspend. The word is used for actions in which something is placed so that it is supported or held up, for example objects on a wall or from a line, as well as for descriptions of something being in a hanging state. It often appears in everyday phrases such as “billedet hænger på væggen” (the picture hangs on the wall).

Grammatical notes: The Danish verb hænge is conjugated in the present tense as hænger for all singular and plural subjects (jeg hænger, du hænger, han/hun hænger, vi hænger, I hænger, de hænger). The simple past tense is hang, and the past participle is hængt, which is used with the auxiliary har to form the present perfect: “Jeg har hængt billedet op.” In some dialects or older texts you may encounter variant forms, but hang and hængt are standard in modern Danish.

Cross-linguistic note: In Norwegian Bokmål, the equivalent present tense is henger, with past tense hang and past participle hengt. Danish and Norwegian belong to the North Germanic language family and share similar roots for this verb.

Etymology and related forms: The verb derives from Old Norse henggja/henge and is cognate with related Germanic forms, including the English hang. Related nouns and adjectives include forms such as hængning (the act of hanging) and hængende (hanging). The word is primarily used as a verb, with related expressions describing the act or state of hanging.