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Filmen handler om en familie.

Filmen handler om en familie.
The film is about a family.

Breakdown of Filmen handler om en familie.

en
a
familien
the family
filmen
the film
handle om
to be about
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Questions & Answers about Filmen handler om en familie.

What does handler om mean, and why don’t you just use er (is) like in English “The film is about a family”?

Handler om is a fixed verb–preposition combination that means “is about / deals with / is concerned with.”

  • handle (verb) literally means to deal, to be about, to be concerned with (it can also mean to trade in other contexts).
  • om is the preposition about here.

So “Filmen handler om en familie” literally is “The film deals with / is about a family.”

You cannot say “Filmen er om en familie” in Norwegian.
The natural way is always:

  • Boka handler om … – The book is about …
  • Samtalen handler om … – The conversation is about …
  • Filmen handler om … – The film is about …

Using handler om for this meaning is just how Norwegian works.

Why is it “Filmen” and not just “Film”? What does the -en at the end do?

Norwegian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun as a suffix:

  • film = a film / film (in general)
  • filmen = the film

So:

  • Filmen handler om en familie.
    = The film is about a family.

If you said just “Film handler om en familie”, it would sound wrong in this context, because you’re talking about one specific film, so you need the definite form filmen.

Why is it “en familie” and not “familien”?

The difference is indefinite vs definite, just like “a family” vs “the family”:

  • en familie = a family (indefinite)
  • familien = the family (definite)

In “Filmen handler om en familie”, you’re saying:

  • The film is about a family (we don’t know which one yet; it’s being introduced).

If you said:

  • Filmen handler om familien.
    = The film is about *the family* (some specific family already known in the context).
Why is the article “en” used with familie? Is familie masculine or feminine?

Familie is grammatically masculine in standard Bokmål, so it takes en:

  • en familie – a family
  • familien – the family
  • flere familier – several families
  • familiene – the families

In some dialects and in an alternative form of Bokmål, people might use feminine articles for many nouns, but in standard Bokmål you normally learn:

  • en familie / familien
How does the verb “handler” work grammatically? What are its forms?

The infinitive is å handle. It’s a regular verb:

  • å handle – to be about / to deal with / to trade
  • (jeg) handler – I deal / it is about (present tense)
  • (jeg) handlet – I dealt / it was about (past tense)
  • (jeg) har handlet – I have dealt / it has been about (present perfect)

In your sentence:

  • Filmen handler om en familie.
    Here handler is present tense: is about.
Why is the word order “Filmen handler om en familie” and not something like “Filmen om handler en familie”?

Norwegian main clauses follow the verb-second rule (V2):

  1. First comes the subject (or some other element like an adverb, etc.).
  2. The finite verb (here: handler) must be in second position.

So:

  • Filmen (subject)
  • handler (verb – second position)
  • om en familie (the rest of the sentence)

That’s why “Filmen handler om en familie” is correct, and “Filmen om handler en familie” is ungrammatical: the verb must come right after the first element in a normal statement.

Can “om” mean other things than “about”? Why specifically “om” after handler here?

Yes, om has several meanings in Norwegian, for example:

  • about – Vi snakker om deg. (We’re talking about you.)
  • if / whether – Jeg vet ikke om han kommer. (I don’t know if he’s coming.)
  • around / approximately – om en time (in/about an hour).

After å handle in the sense of “to be about / to deal with,” you always use om:

  • Filmen handler om en familie.
  • Artikkelen handler om politikk. – The article is about politics.
  • Samtalen handler om jobb. – The conversation is about work.

So in this expression, om = about, and it’s required.

Is “handler om” only used for films, or can I use it for other things too?

You can use handler om for many things that have a topic:

  • Filmen handler om en familie. – The film is about a family.
  • Boka handler om krigen. – The book is about the war.
  • Møtet handler om budsjettet. – The meeting is about the budget.
  • Livet handler om mer enn jobb. – Life is about more than work.

So it’s not limited to films; it’s the general way to say something is about something.

Are there synonyms for “handler om” in Norwegian?

Yes, there are a few, though handler om is the most common and neutral.

Some alternatives:

  • dreier seg om – revolves around / concerns
    • Filmen dreier seg om en familie.
  • går ut på – is essentially about / boils down to (more about the point or idea)
    • Hva går filmen ut på? – What’s the film about (what’s the point of it)?

But in standard, everyday speech, handler om is the safest and most common choice.

How do you pronounce “Filmen handler om en familie”?

In a neutral Eastern Norwegian pronunciation (approximate IPA):

  • Filmen – /ˈfɪlmən/
  • handler – /ˈhɑndlær/ or /ˈhɑnlær/ (the d is often very soft or almost gone in fast speech)
  • om – /ʊm/ or /ɔm/ depending on dialect
  • en – /ɛn/ (often weak)
  • familie – /fɑˈmiːlɪə/ or /fɑˈmiːljə/

Spoken naturally, it flows something like:
ˈfɪlmən ˈhɑnlær ʊm ɛn fɑˈmiːljə

(There are dialectal variations, but this gives you a workable model.)