Noun gender: common (en) and neuter (et), definite suffixes -en/-et
Can identify noun gender and use correct indefinite and definite forms
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
En hund og et barn leker i parken.
A dog and a child are playing in the park.
Mannen leser avisen og barnet sover.
The man is reading the newspaper and the child is sleeping.
Jeg bor i et hus, ikke i en leilighet.
I live in a house, not in an apartment.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Norwegian nouns have grammatical gender. Bokmål uses two genders in practice: en (common) and et (neuter). Feminine ei is optional.
| Gender | Indef. | Definite suffix | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common (m/f) | en | -en | en mann → mannen |
| Neuter | et | -et | et barn → barnet |
Common en-words: en mann, en dag, en bil, en hund. Common et-words: et hus, et barn, et bord, et rom.
Always learn nouns with their article!
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
Practice ExercisesNo noun gender in English — memorise en hund, et hus as fixed pairs. Definite suffix -en/-et replaces 'the'.
Uses wrong article (en hus or et mann)
Learn each noun with its gender: en mann, et hus. Memorise as a fixed pair.
Wrong definite suffix
en-words → -en (hunden, mannen), et-words → -et (huset, barnet).
Uses both article and suffix (en mannen)
Either indefinite (en mann) OR definite suffix (mannen) — never both.
En hund og et barn leker i parken.
A dog and a child are playing in the park.
'En hund' = a dog (common/masculine gender), 'et barn' = a child (neuter gender).
Mannen leser avisen og barnet sover.
The man is reading the newspaper and the child is sleeping.
Definite: mannen (en mann + -en suffix), barnet (et barn + -et suffix). No separate 'the' word.
Jeg bor i et hus, ikke i en leilighet.
I live in a house, not in an apartment.
'Et hus' = a house (neuter). 'En leilighet' = an apartment (common gender).
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises