Learn Danish: Ensomhed er en meget trist følelse. - Loneliness is a very sad feeling.

It is built from the adjective ensom (lonely). By adding the suffix -hed, we turn it into the noun ensomhed (loneliness). The Danish suffix -hed is very similar to the English suffixes "-ness" or "-hood" and is usually added to adjectives to create nouns that describe a state, condition, or quality.

How do I know if ensomhed is an en or et word?

It is an en word (common gender). A very useful rule to remember is that virtually all abstract nouns ending in the suffix -hed take en. Therefore, it is en ensomhed (a loneliness) and ensomheden (the loneliness).

Does the word følelse also use a suffix to become a noun?

Yes! Følelse (feeling) is formed from the verb at føle (to feel). By taking the stem of the verb and adding the suffix -else, it turns into a noun. Just like with -hed, nouns ending in -else are almost always common gender, which is why the sentence uses en (en meget trist følelse).

Why is the adjective trist not written as triste here?