Han er en mann.

to be

Breakdown of Han er en mann.

• han: he
• en: a
• mannen: the man

Questions & Answers about Han er en mann.

Why does the sentence use Han instead of another pronoun?

Han is the Norwegian subject pronoun for "he." You use han whenever you talk about a male person in the third person, just like "he" in English.

Why is er used here?

Er is the Norwegian present tense form of the verb "to be" (å være). Much like "is" in English (He is → Han er).

When do I use en before a noun?

In Norwegian, en is the indefinite article for masculine (and many "common gender") nouns. Since mann ("man") is a masculine noun, you say en mann ("a man").

Why isn’t the sentence Han er mannen?

Han er mannen would mean "He is the man," using the definite form mannen. If you just want to say "He is a man," you use the indefinite article: Han er en mann.

Is it a complete sentence and is it commonly used?

Yes, Han er en mann is a complete sentence in Norwegian with a subject (Han), a verb (er), and an object/predicate noun (en mann). It’s a very straightforward statement and is perfectly common for basic grammar examples.