Spillbrikken er blå.

to be

Breakdown of Spillbrikken er blå.

• blå: blue
• spillbrikken: the game piece

Questions & Answers about Spillbrikken er blå.

What does spillbrikken break down into?

It is a compound noun:

• spill = game
• brikke = piece, token, or counter

So spillbrikke means game piece or playing piece.

In Norwegian, compound nouns are usually written as one word, not two.

Why does it say spillbrikken and not spillbrikke?

Spillbrikken is the definite singular form: the game piece.

• en spillbrikke = a game piece
• spillbrikken = the game piece

In Norwegian, definiteness is often shown by adding an ending to the noun instead of using a separate word like the.

Here, the ending -en marks the noun as definite.

Why is the ending -en used here?

Because brikke is usually a common gender noun in Norwegian.

For many common gender nouns:

• indefinite singular: en brikke
• definite singular: brikken

The same pattern applies in the compound:

• en spillbrikke
• spillbrikken

So the whole compound takes the definite ending on the last part.