cykel
/sykəl/common gender
The Danish word for bicycle is cykel.
cykel is a common-gender noun used to refer to the vehicle.
Meaning: vehicle (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
To specify a particular bicycle, you can use the definite form cyklen (the bicycle) by adding the suffix -en to the noun. For the plural, use cykler (bicycles). If you need to refer to something belonging to multiple bicycles, the definite plural possessive form is cyklernes (the bicycles').
How do you pronounce it?
/sykəl/
Did you know?
- In Denmark, the Christiania bike is a famous three-wheeled cargo bike originally designed for the Freetown Christiania commune.
- The Danish word cykel was borrowed directly from the English 'cycle' in the 1880s.
- The spelling of cykel uses the letter 'y', which is a distinct vowel in Danish that does not exist in English, making the pronunciation quite different from the English 'cycle'.
Examples in context
- Er det din cykel?Is that your bicycle?This sentence is useful for asking if a bicycle belongs to someone.Tatoeba #2325505 by danepo, translation #2547652 by CK
- Her er min cykel.Here is my bicycle.This sentence is useful for pointing out your own bicycle.Tatoeba #3994596 by danepo, translation #33141 by CK
- Hans cykel er blå.His bicycle is blue.This sentence is useful for describing the color of a bicycle.Tatoeba #475219 by danepo, translation #386701 by Mouseneb
- 93 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mikkel and Sofie are outside a cafe in Copenhagen.
- MikkelHar du din cykel med?Do you have your bicycle with you?
- SofieJa, den står lige der.Yes, it is standing right there.
- MikkelEr det en god cykel?Is it a good bicycle?
- SofieDen er virkelig hurtig.It is really fast.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “bicycle” translations and entries cykel, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cykel, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
