The feminine definite paradigm has one feature you must get into your fingers: the doubled n in the dative and genitive singular — borginni, borgarinnar, konunni, konunnar. The nominative singular suffix is -in with a single n (contrast the masculine -inn), but the moment you move into the dative or genitive singular, the n doubles. This single-vs-double-n alternation is gender-and-case diagnostic — get it right and your spelling instantly looks native; get it wrong (writing borgini for borginni) and it reads as a beginner's slip. This page lays out a strong feminine (borg, kvk) and a weak feminine (kona, kvk) side by side so you can see the article behave identically on both, varying only with the noun underneath.
Two models side by side: borg and kona
Here are the full singular and plural definite forms for borg ("city", strong) and kona ("woman", weak). Read across to see that the article endings are the same; only the noun stem differs:
| Case | borg — sg. | kona — sg. | borg — pl. | kona — pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nefnifall (nom.) | borgin | konan | borgirnar | konurnar |
| Þolfall (acc.) | borgina | konuna | borgirnar | konurnar |
| Þágufall (dat.) | borginni | konunni | borgunum | konunum |
| Eignarfall (gen.) | borgarinnar | konunnar | borganna | kvennanna |
The article's own feminine forms are: singular -in / -ina / -inni / -innar, plural -nar / -nar / -num / -nna. Note immediately the bolded singular cells — -in (one n) in the nominative, but -inni and -innar (two n's) in the dative and genitive.
The strong feminine: borg
Borg is a strong feminine: bare stem in nom./acc./dat. singular, and a genitive in -ar (borgar). The article attaches to those forms.
The nominative is borg + in → borgin (one n). The accusative is borg + ina → borgina. The dative is borg + inni → borginni — and here the n doubles. The genitive is the longest: the noun's genitive borgar plus the article -innar → borgarinnar (you keep the noun's -ar and add -innar).
Borgin er falleg á kvöldin.
The city is beautiful in the evenings. Nominative singular 'borgin' = 'borg' + '-in' (one n).
Ég þekki borgina vel.
I know the city well. Accusative singular 'borgina' = 'borg' + '-ina'.
Ég bý í borginni.
I live in the city. Dative singular 'borginni' = 'borg' + '-inni' — the n doubles; 'í' takes the dative.
Gatnakerfi borgarinnar er flókið.
The city's street system is complicated. Genitive singular 'borgarinnar' = 'borgar' (the -ar genitive) + '-innar' — keep both.
In the plural, borgirnar (nom./acc., from borgir + -nar), the dative borgunum (the universal -unum), and the genitive borganna (borga + -nna).
Stærstu borgirnar á Íslandi eru við sjóinn.
The biggest cities in Iceland are by the sea. Nominative plural 'borgirnar' = 'borgir' + '-nar'.
Hún hefur búið í mörgum borgunum.
She has lived in many of the cities. Dative plural 'borgunum' — the '-unum' shared by all genders.
The weak feminine: kona
Kona is a weak feminine: it ends in -a and its singular oblique forms are konu (acc./dat./gen. all konu). The article joins onto those vowel-final forms.
Nominative kona + n → konan (the noun's final -a plus the article's -n; one n). Accusative konu + na → konuna. Dative konu + nni → konunni — n doubles. Genitive konu + nnar → konunnar — n doubles. Because the weak noun's stem already ends in -u, you don't see a separate -ar the way you do in borgarinnar; the form is just konu + -nnar.
Konan á efri hæðinni er læknir.
The woman on the upper floor is a doctor. Nominative singular 'konan' = 'kona' + '-n'.
Ég hitti konuna í gær.
I met the woman yesterday. Accusative singular 'konuna' = 'konu' + '-na'.
Ég talaði við konuna og rétti konunni miðann.
I spoke to the woman and handed the woman the ticket. Accusative 'konuna' (object of 'við') then dative 'konunni' (recipient) — note the n doubles only in the dative.
Bíll konunnar stendur fyrir utan.
The woman's car is parked outside. Genitive singular 'konunnar' = 'konu' + '-nnar' — double n.
The plural is konurnar (nom./acc.), dative konunum, genitive kvennanna (the noun kona has an irregular genitive plural stem kvenna, so the definite is kvenna + -nna → kvennanna).
Konurnar í kórnum syngja á sunnudögum.
The women in the choir sing on Sundays. Nominative plural 'konurnar' = 'konur' + '-nar'.
Why borginni but borgina? Tracking the n
The logic behind the n/nn alternation is worth seeing, because it is regular. The article's stem is the old hinn, which in the feminine had forms with -nni- and -nnar- in the dative and genitive (two n's), but -in and -ina in the nominative and accusative (one n). So the doubling is not random — it is baked into those specific case-forms of the ancient article. Every feminine noun inherits exactly the same switch:
| Case (sg.) | Article ending | n's | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -in | one | borgin, konan |
| Accusative | -ina / -na | one | borgina, konuna |
| Dative | -inni / -nni | two | borginni, konunni |
| Genitive | -innar / -nnar | two | borgarinnar, konunnar |
Don't mix it up with the masculine -inn
A final warning. The masculine nominative singular is -inn with a double n (hesturinn). The feminine nominative singular is -in with a single n (borgin, konan). They look nearly identical but differ by exactly one letter, and that letter is gender-diagnostic. Then — confusingly — the feminine does double its n, but only later, in the dative and genitive. So the feminine goes single → single → double → double, while the masculine nominative is already double.
Maðurinn og konan ganga heim.
The man and the woman walk home. Masculine 'maðurinn' (double n) vs feminine 'konan' (single n) — the n-count distinguishes the genders in the nominative.
Common Mistakes
❌ Single n in the dative singular: 'í borgini'
Incorrect — the feminine dative singular doubles the n: 'borginni'.
✅ í borginni
in the city — dative '-inni', double n.
❌ Single n in the genitive singular: 'bíll konunar'
Incorrect — the feminine genitive singular doubles the n: 'konunnar'.
✅ bíll konunnar
the woman's car — genitive '-nnar', double n.
❌ Double n in the feminine nominative: 'borginn' or 'konann'
Incorrect — the feminine nom.sg article is '-in' with ONE n; the double n is masculine.
✅ borgin, konan
the city, the woman — single n in the nominative.
❌ Dropping the strong noun's -ar in the genitive: 'borginnar' for 'of the city'
Incorrect — the strong feminine keeps its genitive '-ar', then adds '-innar': 'borgarinnar'.
✅ borgarinnar
of the city — 'borgar' + '-innar'.
❌ Treating the dative plural like other cases: 'borgirnar' for 'to the cities'
Incorrect — the dative plural definite is '-unum' across genders: 'borgunum', not the nom./acc. 'borgirnar'.
✅ borgunum
to the cities — dative plural '-unum'.
Key Takeaways
- Strong feminine (borg): borgin, borgina, borginni, borgarinnar / borgirnar, borgirnar, borgunum, borganna.
- Weak feminine (kona): konan, konuna, konunni, konunnar / konurnar, konurnar, konunum, kvennanna.
- The signature trap is the n/nn switch: nominative -in and accusative -ina/-na take one n; dative -inni/-nni and genitive -innar/-nnar take two.
- The feminine nominative -in has a single n — contrast the masculine -inn (double); this one letter distinguishes the genders.
- The strong feminine keeps its genitive -ar before the article (borgar
- -innar → borgarinnar).
- The dative plural definite is -unum for feminines too (borgunum, konunum), the same ending shared by every gender.
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Start learning Icelandic→Related Topics
- Definite Article: Masculine ParadigmA2 — The full case-by-case suffixed definite article on a masculine noun — hesturinn, hestinn, hestinum, hestsins / hestarnir, hestana, hestunum, hestanna — including the nom.sg fusion, the genitive -sins, and the double -um dative plural.
- Strong Feminine Nouns: OverviewA2 — The strong feminine declensions — marked by a genitive singular in -ar (or -ur/-r) and plurals in -ir or -ar — where the singular is almost invariant and all the action is in the plural and its umlaut.
- Weak Feminine Nouns: -a type (kona, gata)A2 — The weak feminine declension — nominative singular -a, all oblique singulars -u, nominative plural -ur — drilled through kona and gata, with the u-umlaut a→ö (götum) and the suppletive genitive plural kvenna.