En natt er lang.

A night is long.

Breakdown of En natt er lang.

• være: to be
• en: a
• natten: the night
• lang: long

Questions & Answers about En natt er lang.

Why do we use "en" before "natt"?

In Norwegian Bokmål, natt is a feminine noun, but feminine nouns can often use the masculine article en. So you may see ei natt in some contexts, but en natt is also correct and very common.

What is the difference between "lang" and "lenge"?

Lang is an adjective describing physical length or duration as a quality of something (e.g., "En natt er lang" – A night is long). Lenge is usually an adverb related to duration, and it's used differently (e.g., "Jeg sov lenge" – I slept for a long time).

Why does "er" come right after "natt"?

Norwegian typically follows a Subject–Verb–Object (SVO) order in simple statements. Here, natt is the subject and er is the verb. So "En natt er lang" is subject + verb + adjective complement.

How would I say "The night is long" instead of "A night is long"?

Simply replace en with the definite article ending on the noun. In Norwegian, you often add -en (or -a if using feminine forms) to the noun. So "The night is long" becomes "Natten er lang" (or "Natta er lang" using the feminine form).