Musikk er mørk.

Music is dark.

Breakdown of Musikk er mørk.

• være: to be
• musikken: the music
• mørk: dark

Questions & Answers about Musikk er mørk.

What grammatical gender does musikk have in Norwegian?

Musikk is a common‐gender (utrum) noun in Bokmål. In two‐gender Bokmål you treat it like a masculine/feminine word (not neuter). It’s also an abstract, uncountable noun, so you rarely see it with an indefinite article.

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Why is there no article before musikk in “Musikk er mørk.”?

When you make a general statement about a mass/uncountable noun, Norwegian omits the article just like in English (“Music is dark”). If you wanted to talk about a specific piece or collection of music, you’d use the definite form: Musikken er mørk.

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Why is the adjective mørk not in the neuter form mørkt?

Adjectives must agree in gender (and number) with the noun they describe. Because musikk is common‐gender, you use the common singular form mørk. The neuter form mørkt would be used with a neuter noun (e.g. huset er mørkt).

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Do Norwegian adjectives change form when they come after er (the verb “to be”)?

Yes. Even in predicative position (after a copula like er), adjectives agree in gender and number. You say bilen er mørk, huset er mørkt, vegger er mørke (plural).

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How do I say “dark music” when the adjective comes before the noun?

Place the adjective in its common‐gender singular form before musikk:
mørk musikk
No additional ending is needed because it’s a common‐gender noun in the indefinite singular.

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How would I say “this music is dark”?

Use the demonstrative denne plus the definite noun form, then the copula and adjective:
Denne musikken er mørk.

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How do you form comparative and superlative of mørk?

Comparative: mørkere (darker)
Superlative: mørkest (darkest)
Example: Denne platen er mørkere enn den forrige. Den mørkeste låta er nummer tre.

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How do I pronounce mørk?

The vowel ø sounds like the “u” in English “burn” (without the r). The final rk cluster is pronounced [ʁk] or [rk] depending on dialect. In IPA (Eastern Bokmål) you might see /mœʁk/. Roughly: “møʁk.”

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If I want to talk about “songs” (sanger) instead of abstract music, how does the adjective change?

“Sanger” is countable and plural. Adjectives in plural take the weak plural ending -e:
Sangene er mørke. or general plural Sanger er mørke.

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Can I say “Musikk er mørk” to mean “The music sounds dark”?

More idiomatic is to use høres ut for “sounds”:
Musikken høres mørk ut.
Literally: “The music hears dark out,” i.e. “The music sounds dark.”