Rollefiguren er morsom.

to be

Breakdown of Rollefiguren er morsom.

• morsom: funny
• rollefiguren: the character

Questions & Answers about Rollefiguren er morsom.

What does rollefiguren mean exactly?

Rollefiguren means the character, usually in the sense of a character in a story, film, game, play, or other fictional work.

It is built from:

• rolle = role
• figur = figure / character

Together, rollefigur means character.

The ending -en makes it definite, so:

• en rollefigur = a character
• rollefiguren = the character

Why is rollefiguren one word?

Because Norwegian very often forms compound nouns by writing them as one word.

So:

• rolle + figur = rollefigur

This is very normal in Norwegian. English often uses separate words where Norwegian uses one compound word.

A learner should get used to this pattern, because it happens all the time:

• skolebok = school book
• barnerom = children’s room / child’s room
• rollefigur = character

Why is there no separate word for the?

In Norwegian, the is often shown by an ending attached to the noun instead of a separate word.

Here:

• rollefigur = character
• rollefiguren = the character

The ending -en is the definite singular ending for many common gender nouns.

So instead of saying a separate word like English the, Norwegian often adds the definite meaning directly to the noun.