Nouns: The Definite Form

01

The Endings

The ending depends on the gender of the noun and on whether it is singular or plural.

• masculine: -en - en bil → bilen (the car)
• feminine: -a or -en - ei bok → boka or boken (the book)
• neuter: -et - et hus → huset (the house)
• plural, every gender: -ene - bilene, bøkene, husene

The t of the neuter ending is silent: huset sounds like "hoo-seh".

• Mannen spiser.

  The man is eating.

• Klokka er ni.

  It is nine o'clock.

• Været er kaldt.

  The weather is cold.

• Bussene ankommer bussholdeplassen.

  The buses arrive at the bus stop.

02

First Mention and After

As in English, a new thing is introduced with the indefinite article, and once it is known it takes the definite ending.

• Jeg kjøpte en bil. Bilen er rød.

  I bought a car. The car is red.

• Det er et vindu. Vinduet er åpent.

  There is a window. The window is open.

03

Nouns Ending in -e

A noun that already ends in -e adds only the rest of the ending.

• en kake → kaken or kaka (the cake)
• et eple → eplet (the apple)
• en jente → jenta or jenten (the girl)

• Denne kaken koster tretti dollar.

  This cake costs thirty dollars.

04

Nouns Ending in -el and -er

Nouns like sykkel (bicycle) and lærer (teacher) take the ending normally in the singular. In the plural many of them lose a vowel, and the -er nouns take -ne instead of -ene.

• sykkelen - syklene (the bicycle, the bicycles)
• læreren - lærerne (the teacher, the teachers)

05

Where Norwegian Uses the Definite Form

In most cases the definite form matches English "the". It also appears in several places where English uses something else. With a possessive after the noun, the noun is definite:

• Dette er vennen min.

  This is my friend.

For parts of the body, where English uses "my" or "your":

• Jeg har vondt i magen.

  I have a stomach ache.

• Jeg brakk armen.

  I broke my arm.

For times of the day and things that happen regularly:

• Om natten er det mørkt.

  At night it is dark.

For things in general, where English uses no article:

• Livet er som en eske med sjokolade.

  Life is like a box of chocolates.

06

Where the Ending Is Left Out

With a possessive or an -s owner in front of the noun, the noun has no ending. Some fixed phrases with på also use the bare noun, where English uses "the".

• Min bil er rød.

  My car is red.

• Annas bil er rød.

  Anna's car is red.

• Skal vi gå på kino?

  Shall we go to the cinema?

• Hvorfor går vi ikke på restaurant?

  Why don't we go to a restaurant?

07

After Demonstratives

Norwegian keeps the definite ending after denne (this) and den (that), so the noun is marked twice.

• Denne boken er gammel.

  This book is old.

• Den mannen løper med hunden sin.

  That man is running with his dog.