Jeg har ett barn.

I have one child.

Breakdown of Jeg har ett barn.

• jeg: I
• ha: to have
• barnet: the child
• ett: one

Questions & Answers about Jeg har ett barn.

Why is it ett and not et in this sentence?

In writing, Norwegian often uses ett (double t) for the numeral one and et (single t) for the indefinite article a/an with neuter nouns.

• ett barn = one child (focusing on the number)
• et barn = a child (neutral, just stating that a child exists)

Both spellings are technically allowed as the numeral, but the double t clearly marks it as the number one, not the article.

Why is it ett barn and not en barn?

Norwegian has grammatical gender: masculine, feminine, and neuter.

• barn is a neuter noun.
• Neuter nouns use et / ett (not en) as article/ numeral.

So you must say et/ett barn, never en barn.
(With masculine nouns you’d use en, for example en gutt – a boy.)

Is there a difference in meaning between Jeg har ett barn and Jeg har et barn?

Yes, there is a nuance:

• Jeg har et barn. = I have a child.
  – Neutral statement; you have at least one child.
• Jeg har ett barn. = I have one child.
  – Emphasises the number: exactly one, not two or more.

In everyday speech, the difference is mainly in how you stress the word, but writing ett supports that emphasis.

Does barn mean both child and children?

In Norwegian, barn can be both singular and plural, depending on context and form:

• Singular indefinite: et/ett barn = a/one child
• Plural indefinite: barn = children

So barn by itself (without a number or article) usually means children, but in ett barn the numeral shows it’s singular. Context decides whether barn is one child or several.

How do I say “I have two/three children” in Norwegian?

Use the numeral + barn (indefinite plural form):

• Jeg har to barn. = I have two children.
• Jeg har tre barn. = I have three children.
• Jeg har fire barn. = I have four children.

Notice that barn does not add an -er in the plural; it stays the same.

What are the definite forms of barn (the child / the children)?

The full pattern for barn is:

• Singular indefinite: et barn = a child
• Singular definite: barnet = the child
• Plural indefinite: barn = children
• Plural definite: barna = the children

So:
Jeg har barnet. = I have the child.
Jeg har barna. = I have the children.

How do you pronounce Jeg har ett barn?

A simple, approximate pronunciation (East Norwegian) is:

• Jeg ≈ “yai” (like English y
  • eye)
• har ≈ “har” (like English har in hard, but no d)
• ett ≈ “ett” (short e, like get)
• barn ≈ “barn” with a long a, something like British English bahn with an r.

Put together: roughly “yai har ett bahn”.
Native accents vary, but this will be understood.

Why doesn’t the verb change with jeg? Shouldn’t it be something like “I has” or “I haveS”?

Norwegian verbs do not change for person or number in the present tense.

For the verb å ha (to have):

• jeg har – I have
• du har – you have
• han/hun har – he/she has
• vi har – we have
• dere har – you (plural) have
• de har – they have

So har is the same for all subjects.

What tense is har here, and does it also form perfect tenses like in English?

In Jeg har ett barn, har is present tense and expresses possession, like English have.

The same form har is also used as an auxiliary to form the present perfect:

• Jeg har spist. = I have eaten.

So har can mean have (possession) or be the auxiliary have in perfect tenses; context decides which.

Is the word order Jeg har ett barn (subject–verb–object) the normal order in Norwegian?

Yes. The default word order in simple main clauses is:

• Subject – Verb – Object

So:

• Jeg (subject)
• har (verb)
• ett barn (object)

This SVO order is the same as in English (I have one child), though Norwegian word order becomes stricter when you add more elements to the sentence.