Denne meldingen er for privat.

This message is too private.

Breakdown of Denne meldingen er for privat.

• være: to be
• denne: this
• meldingen: the message
• for privat: too private

Questions & Answers about Denne meldingen er for privat.

Why is denne used here instead of dette or den?

Denne means this and is used with masculine / common-gender singular nouns like melding.

• dette = this (with neuter nouns, e.g. dette huset – this house)
• denne = this (with common gender nouns, e.g. denne meldingen – this message)
• den = that (or this in some contexts, but more pointing/contrasting: den meldingen = that message / that particular message)

Since melding is common gender (usually en melding), the correct form for this is denne.

What does the -en at the end of meldingen mean?

The -en ending marks the definite singular form:

• en melding = a message
• meldingen = the message

In Norwegian, when you use a demonstrative like denne (this), the noun usually appears in the definite form as well. This is called double definiteness:

• denne meldingen = literally this the-message, which just means this message.

Why isn’t it denne melding without the -en?

With denne / den / det / de (this / that / these / those), Norwegian normally requires the definite noun form:

• ✅ denne meldingen – this message
• ❌ denne melding – ungrammatical

So you need both:

1. The demonstrative (denne)
2. The definite suffix on the noun (-en in meldingen)

What does for mean in er for privat? Is it the same as English for?

Here for does not mean English for (as in for someone). In this structure, for means too:

• for privat = too private / too personal

So Denne meldingen er for privat most naturally means:

• This message is too private.

If you wanted just This message is private, you would usually say:

• Denne meldingen er privat. (without for)

So what is the difference between er privat and er for privat?

• er privat = is private / is confidential / is personal

  • A factual description: it’s private, not public.

• er for privat = is too private / is overly personal

  • There is an implicit standard: too private to be shared, to post, for this context, etc.

So for adds the idea of excess (too much).

Why is the adjective privat not changed to private or private(n) to match meldingen?

In Norwegian, when an adjective comes after the verb er (is), it stays in its basic singular form, even if the noun is definite:

• Meldingen er privat. – The message is private.
• Boken er dyr. – The book is expensive.
• Huset er stort. – The house is big.

If the adjective comes before a definite noun, then it usually takes -e:

• den private meldingen – the private message
• den dyre boken – the expensive book

So:

• Denne meldingen er privat. (no -e)
• Denne private meldingen (with -e)

Could I also say Denne private meldingen er …? How is that different?

Yes:

• Denne meldingen er privat. = This message is private.
• Denne private meldingen er … = This private message is …

They’re both correct, but the focus shifts slightly:

• Denne meldingen er privat.

  • You first introduce “this message”, then comment that it is private.

• Denne private meldingen …

  • You present the message as already known to be private (it’s one of its identifying features), then continue with something else about it.

What is the difference between melding and beskjed? Could I say Denne beskjeden er for privat?

You can say:

• Denne beskjeden er for privat.

Differences in usage (very roughly):

• melding

  • often: text message, app message, email, notification, report, status message, etc.
  • more general, and often used for electronic or written messages.

• beskjed

  • often: a message as an instruction or information to pass on, commonly spoken or passed via someone:
    
    • Gi ham en beskjed. – Give him a message / Let him know.

In many everyday contexts, they overlap, and both can be understandable. For something like a text/online message, melding is very common.

Where would ikke go if I wanted to say This message is not too private?

In this type of sentence, ikke (not) usually comes after the verb and before the adjective phrase:

• Denne meldingen er ikke for privat. – This message is not too private.

Structure:

• Denne meldingen (subject)
• er (verb)
• ikke (negation)
• for privat (adjective phrase)

How do you pronounce meldingen and for privat?

Approximate pronunciation (standard East Norwegian, shown roughly with English sounds):

• meldingen ≈ MELL-ding-en

  • mel as in mel in melon but shorter
  • ding like English ding
  • final -en like a quick en (almost like uhn)
• for ≈ somewhere between English for and fur, but usually short: like fohr with a short o.
• privat ≈ pree-VAHT
  
  • pri like pree
  • vat with a as in British father and a final t clearly pronounced.

So the whole sentence:

• Denne meldingen er for privat.
  ≈ DEN-neh MELL-ding-en ehr fohr pree-VAHT.