Kanten er jevn.

to be

Breakdown of Kanten er jevn.

• jevn: even
• kanten: the rim

Questions & Answers about Kanten er jevn.

Why is it kanten and not kant?

Kanten is the definite singular form of kant, which means edge or rim.

So:

• en kant = an edge
• kanten = the edge

In Kanten er jevn, the sentence is talking about the edge, not just any edge.

What gender is kant, and how does that affect the form?

Kant is usually a masculine noun in Bokmål:

• en kant
• kanten

In Norwegian, masculine nouns often get -en in the definite singular form. That is why kant becomes kanten.

What does er mean here?

Er means is. It is the present tense of the verb å være, which means to be.

So:

• jeg er = I am
• du er = you are
• kanten er = the edge is

This works very much like English is.