Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Hulen er mørk.

Breakdown of Hulen er mørk.

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Why is hulen one word, and where is the word for the?

In Norwegian, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of standing as a separate word.

So:

The ending -en is functioning like English the here.

What is the dictionary form of hulen?

The dictionary form is hule.

That is the basic indefinite singular form, the form you would look up in a dictionary. From that, Norwegian builds other forms, such as:

Why can it be hulen? Isn’t hule feminine?

Yes, hule is traditionally a feminine noun, but in Bokmål many feminine nouns can also be used with masculine forms.

So both of these can be correct in Bokmål:

A learner will often see both. Hulen is not wrong; it is just using the masculine-style definite ending.

What does er mean here?