Log inSign up

Han har en bok.

Han har en bok.
He has a book.
FromLesson 1inHardcore Norwegian
…

Breakdown of Han har en bok.

han
he
ha
to have
en
a
boken
the book
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“What's the best way to learn Norwegian grammar?”
Norwegian grammar becomes intuitive with practice. Focus on understanding the core patterns first — how sentences are structured, how verbs change form, and how words relate to each other. Our course breaks these concepts into small lessons so you can build understanding step by step.

Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor

Start learning Norwegian

Master Norwegian — from Han har en bok to fluency

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.

  • ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
  • ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
  • ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
  • ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions
Start learning Norwegian freeBrowse the full course

More from this lesson

jegværeAnnaJeg er Anna.duTomDu er Tom.han

Questions & Answers about Han har en bok.

Why does the sentence use Han instead of Hun or another pronoun?
In Norwegian, Han means he, whereas Hun means she. Because the sentence is talking about a male person who has a book, the correct pronoun is Han.
What does har mean in this sentence?
Har is the present tense of the verb å ha, which means to have. So Han har translates to He has.
Why is the indefinite article en used here?
Norwegian has three grammatical genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. The indefinite article en is used for masculine nouns (and sometimes for common gender nouns). Bok (book) is typically classified as a feminine noun, but it can also be treated as masculine in everyday usage, so en bok is perfectly acceptable.
Could the sentence also be Han har ei bok?
Yes, you might see Han har ei bok in some dialects or more traditional Bokmål usage, since ei is the feminine indefinite article. However, en bok is very common and widely used.
What does bok mean, and can it appear in another form?
Bok simply means book. If you want to make it definite (the book), you would generally write boka or boken, depending on dialect or style preference.
How do you pronounce the sentence Han har en bok?

In general Norwegian pronunciation (Bokmål), you can approximate it as:
• Han – roughly hahn
• har – roughly haar (with a slightly rolled or tapped r in some accents)
• en – roughly en
• bok – roughly book (similar to English book, but with a more rounded vowel in many Norwegian dialects)