en, ei, et (nouns and the three genders)
Gender, the article on the end of the word, and plurals.
15 minutes · A free lesson from A1: Første steg (first steps) · Roman and Urdu pronunciation guides and English meanings are shown under each phrase
Every Norwegian noun has a gender: en (masculine), ei (feminine) or et (neuter). Learn each noun with its article: not bil but en bil.
| en | Say ehn | اےن | Means: a, an (masculine); one |
| ei | Say ai | آئی | Means: a, an (feminine) |
| et | Say eht | اےت | Means: a, an (neuter) |
| bil | Say beel | بیل | Means: car |
| en bil | Say ehn beel | اےن بیل | Means: a car |
In Bokmål, every feminine noun may also take en: ei jente and en jente are both correct. Choose one and use it consistently.
| en | Say ehn | اےن | Means: a, an (masculine); one |
| ei jente | Say ai yehntuh | آئی یےنتَ | Means: a girl |
| en jente | Say ehn yehntuh | اےن یےنتَ | Means: a girl |
To say "the", Norwegian puts the article on the end of the word:
| en / ei / etSay: ehn, ai, ehtاےن, آئی, اےتMeans: a, an (masculine / feminine / neuter) | the | flertallSay: flehtalفلےتالMeans: plural | the (plural) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | en bilSay: ehn beelاےن بیلMeans: a car | bilenSay: beeluhnبیلَنMeans: the car | bilerSay: beeluhrبیلَرMeans: cars | bileneSay: beeluhnuhبیلَنَMeans: the cars |
| feminine | ei jenteSay: ai yehntuhآئی یےنتَMeans: a girl | jentaSay: yehntaیےنتاMeans: the girl | jenterSay: yehntuhrیےنتَرMeans: girls | jenteneSay: yehntuhnuhیےنتَنَMeans: the girls |
| neuter | et husSay: eht hoosاےت ہُوسMeans: a house | husetSay: hoosuhtہُوسَتMeans: the house | husSay: hoosہُوسMeans: house; houses | huseneSay: hoosuhnuhہُوسَنَMeans: the houses |
Lesson quiz
Check what you have learned. Choose an answer to see whether it is right, and why.
Quick check: Choose the “the” form of “en bil”.
- bilen
- bilet
- bila
Show the answer
A: bilen — A masculine noun adds -en: bilen, the car.
Quick check: Choose the “the” form of “et hus”.
- hus
- huset
- husene
Show the answer
B: huset — A neuter noun adds -et: huset, the house. husene is the houses.
Quick check: Choose the plural of “ei jente”.
- jentene
- jenta
- jenter
Show the answer
C: jenter — jenter means girls, jentene the girls, and jenta the girl.
Quick check: Which guess is best when you do not know a noun's gender?
- et (neuter)
- en (masculine)
- ei (feminine)
Show the answer
B: en (masculine) — Most nouns are masculine, so en is the safest guess.
Quick check: Which gender are nouns that end in -het?
- Neuter (et)
- Feminine only (ei)
- Masculine (en)
Show the answer
C: Masculine (en) — Nouns in -het are masculine: en mulighet.
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