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Questions & Answers about Osten er mild.
Why is the noun osten used here instead of en ost?
In Norwegian the definite article is attached as a suffix. ost means “cheese,” and when you want to say the cheese you add -en: ost → osten. So en ost = “a cheese,” and osten = “the cheese.”
Where is the word the in this sentence?
There is no separate word for the in Osten er mild because Norwegian marks definiteness with endings. The -en on osten already means the.
Why isn’t the adjective mild written as milde or milt?
Because mild is used predicatively (it follows the verb er). Predicative adjectives in Norwegian remain in their base form regardless of gender or number. Attributive adjectives (before a noun) change:
• en mild ost (“a mild cheese”)
• et mildt brød (“a mild bread,” neuter noun)
• den milde osten (“the mild cheese,” definite form adds -e)
What gender is ost, and how does that affect its forms?
Ost is a common-gender noun (in Bokmål often called masculine/feminine merged). Common-gender nouns take en in the indefinite singular and -en in the definite singular:
• indefinite singular: en ost
• definite singular: osten