Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Filmen er rar.

The masculine gender is what gives you the definite ending -en here. If it were a neuter noun, you’d typically get -et (e.g. et hus → huset).

How would I say “a movie is strange” instead of “the movie is strange”?

You would use the indefinite form:

En film er rar. = A movie is strange.

Compare:

En film er rar. – A movie is strange. (general, any movie)
Filmen er rar. – The movie is strange. (a specific movie you both know about)

What exactly does “rar” mean here? Is it “funny” or “strange”?

In modern Norwegian, “rar” most often means “strange / weird / odd”.

It can sometimes have a softer, slightly “funny-odd” feel, but if you want to say “funny” in the sense of “makes you laugh,” you normally use:

morsom (funny, amusing)
kul (cool), depending on context

So “Filmen er rar” is best understood as “The movie is weird/odd/strange.”

Does “rar” change form with different genders and plurals?

Yes. “Rar” is the base form used with masculine and feminine singular nouns in the simple predicate:

Boka er rar. – The book is weird. (feminine/masculine)
Filmen er rar. – The movie is weird. (masculine)

Other forms:

Neuter singular: rart
- Huset er rart. – The house is weird.
Plural (all genders): rare
- Filmene er rare. – The movies are weird.

In front of a definite or specific noun in attributive position, you also use “rare”:

den rare filmen – the strange movie
det rare huset – the strange house
de rare filmene – the strange movies

Why is the verb “er” used, and does it change with the subject?

“Er” is the present tense of the verb “å være” (to be).

Norwegian has no person changes for verbs in the present tense. The form “er” is used for all subjects:

jeg er – I am
du er – you are
han / hun / den / det er – he / she / it is
vi er – we are
dere er – you (plural) are
de er – they are

So “Filmen er rar” literally lines up as “The movie is strange.”

How would I turn “Filmen er rar.” into a yes/no question?

You invert the order of the subject and the verb, just like in English:

Statement: Filmen er rar. – The movie is strange.
Question: Er filmen rar? – Is the movie strange?

Norwegian yes/no questions are formed mainly by verb–subject inversion plus rising intonation.

How can I ask “Why is the movie strange?” using this sentence?

You use a question word and then keep verb–subject inversion:

Hvorfor er filmen rar? – Why is the movie strange?

Structure:

Question word: Hvorfor (Why)
Verb: er
Subject: filmen
Predicate/adjective: rar

How do I negate the sentence? How do I say “The movie is not strange”?

You insert “ikke” (not) after the verb:

Filmen er ikke rar. – The movie is not strange.

Basic word order pattern:

Subject – Verb – ikke – Rest
- Filmen er ikke rar.
- Jeg er ikke trøtt. – I am not tired.

Can I also say “Det er en rar film”? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say:

Det er en rar film. – It is a strange movie / That is a strange movie.

Nuance:

Filmen er rar.
- Focuses more directly on the movie itself: “The movie is strange.”
- Often used when both speakers already know which movie you’re talking about.
Det er en rar film.
- Often used when you’re introducing or commenting on a movie more generally: “That’s a weird movie.”
- The subject “det” is more like “it/that,” and “en film” is new information.

Where would I put “very” if I wanted to say “The movie is very strange”?

Use “veldig” (“very”) before the adjective:

Filmen er veldig rar. – The movie is very strange.

You can also use “svært” or “ganske” for other degrees:

Filmen er svært rar. – The movie is very/quite strange.
Filmen er ganske rar. – The movie is pretty/quite strange.

How do you pronounce “Filmen er rar”?

Approximate standard pronunciation (Eastern Norwegian):

Filmen: [ˈfɪlmən]
- fil- like English “film” but with a shorter i (like in English “fill”)
- -men like “men,” but with a reduced vowel, closer to “muhn”
er: [ær] or [eːr], depending on dialect
rar: [rɑːr]
- long a like in British “father”
- r is often tapped or trilled [r], or uvular [ʁ] depending on region

Word stress is on the first syllable of “Filmen”: FIL-men er rar.

Why isn’t “Filmen” capitalized in the middle of a sentence like in English titles?

Norwegian capitalization is similar to English for sentences:

Only the first word of a sentence and proper names are capitalized.
Common nouns like “film / filmen” stay lowercase, even if they refer to a specific movie (unless it is part of the movie’s official title).

So “Filmen er rar.” is correctly written with only the first letter capitalized.

How would I say “The movie was strange” instead of “is strange”?

You change the verb “er” (is) to the past tense “var” (was):

Filmen var rar. – The movie was strange.

Verb “å være” (to be):

Present: er – is/are
Past: var – was/were
Perfect participle: vært – been
- Filmen har vært rar. – The movie has been strange.