Mission—Team—FAQ—Privacy—Terms—Sponsors—Grammar—Typing Course—Donate

© 2026 Elon Automation B.V.

Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Kvinnen var bevisstløs. - The woman was unconscious.

Hardcore Norwegian
/Digitising old family photographs
/Kvinnen var bevisstløs.

Kvinnen var bevisstløs.

Kvinnen var bevisstløs.

The woman was unconscious.

Breakdown of Kvinnen var bevisstløs.

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have an entire course teaching Norwegian grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Norwegian now

Questions & Answers about Kvinnen var bevisstløs.

Why is it kvinnen and not kvinne?

Because kvinnen is the definite singular form: the woman.

In Norwegian, the definite article is often attached to the end of the noun:

en kvinne = a woman
kvinnen = the woman

So the sentence uses kvinnen because it is talking about a specific woman.

What does the ending -en mean in kvinnen?

The ending -en is the usual definite article ending for many masculine and feminine/common-gender nouns in Bokmål.

So:

kvinne = woman
kvinnen = the woman

This is a very important feature of Norwegian grammar: instead of always using a separate word like the, Norwegian often adds the definite article to the noun itself.

Is kvinne feminine or masculine?

Traditionally, kvinne is a feminine noun. In Bokmål, though, feminine nouns can often also be treated as common gender nouns.

That means you may see:

ei kvinne / kvinna in some styles
en kvinne / kvinnen in very common Bokmål usage

In your sentence, kvinnen is completely standard.

What does var mean, and what verb is it from?

Var is the past tense of å være (to be).

Examples:

er = is / am / are (present tense)
var = was / were (past tense)

So:

Kvinnen er bevisstløs. = The woman is unconscious.
Kvinnen var bevisstløs. = The woman was unconscious.

Why is bevisstløs not changed to match kvinnen?

Here, bevisstløs is a predicate adjective: it comes after the verb var and describes the subject.

In Norwegian, predicate adjectives usually agree with the subject in gender and number:

common gender singular: bevisstløs
neuter singular: bevisstløst
plural: bevisstløse

Since kvinnen is singular and not neuter, bevisstløs is the correct form.

Compare:

Kvinnen var bevisstløs.
Barnet var bevisstløst.
Pasientene var bevisstløse.

Is bevisstløs one word?

Yes. Bevisstløs is written as one word.

That is very normal in Norwegian, especially with compounds and many adjectives. It is made up of parts that relate to conscious and without/lacking, but you should learn bevisstløs as a single adjective meaning unconscious.

What is the basic word order in this sentence?

The word order is very straightforward:

Kvinnen = subject
var = verb
bevisstløs = subject complement/predicate adjective

So the pattern is basically:

Subject + verb + description

That is similar to English:

The woman + was + unconscious

Could I say Hun var bevisstløs instead?

Yes, if it is already clear who you mean.

Kvinnen var bevisstløs. = The woman was unconscious.
Hun var bevisstløs. = She was unconscious.

Use kvinnen when you want to name the person as the woman. Use hun when the woman has already been identified in the conversation or text.

How would this sentence look in the present tense?

You just change var to er:

Kvinnen er bevisstløs. = The woman is unconscious.

So:

er = present tense
var = past tense

How is kvinnen pronounced?

A simple approximation for English speakers is:

kvinnen ≈ KVIN-nen

A few helpful points:

kv at the start is pronounced with both sounds: k
- v
the first syllable is stressed: KVIN
the ending -en is usually a light unstressed ending

The exact pronunciation can vary somewhat by dialect, but that approximation is a good start.

How is bevisstløs pronounced?

A rough pronunciation guide is:

bevisstløs ≈ beh-VIST-luhs or beh-VIST-lurs (very approximate)

Important things to notice:

the stress is on -visst-
the vowel ø does not exist in English, so it may take practice
the final -løs is one syllable

If you want to sound natural, the most important thing is to learn the ø sound and place the stress correctly.

Do Norwegian nouns get capitalized like in German?

No. In Norwegian, common nouns are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence.

So in this sentence:

Kvinnen is capitalized only because it is the first word
bevisstløs stays lowercase

If the noun appeared in the middle of a sentence, it would normally be lowercase:

Jeg så kvinnen. = I saw the woman.

Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io