Det var en lur idé.

That was a clever idea.

Breakdown of Det var en lur idé.

• være: to be
• en: a
• ideen: the idea
• det: that
• lur: wise

Questions & Answers about Det var en lur idé.

In this sentence, what does Det refer to? Is it like English it or that?

Det is a very common pronoun in Norwegian. Here it works like English it or that, referring to something already mentioned or understood from context:

• If someone just suggested a plan, Det var en lur idé would usually be understood as:
  That was a clever idea.
• Grammatically, det is a neutral subject pronoun; it can refer to:
  • a specific thing or idea just mentioned
  • or be a “dummy subject” when you just want to comment in general (like English It was a clever idea).

So you can translate Det var en lur idé as either That was a clever idea or It was a clever idea, depending on context.

Why do we use var (past tense “was”) instead of er (“is”)?

Var is the past tense of å være (to be), so:

• Det er en lur idé = That is a clever idea (you are talking about an idea that still feels current or future).
• Det var en lur idé = That was a clever idea (you are looking back at an idea, often after you have already done it or seen the result).

Examples:

• Before doing something: Det er en lur idé å ta med paraply.
  It’s a clever idea to bring an umbrella.
• After it has already rained and you did bring the umbrella: Det var en lur idé å ta med paraply.
  It was a clever idea to bring an umbrella.

So var places your evaluation in the past.

Why is the article en used with idé? Could it be ei or et?

In Bokmål, idé is grammatically masculine, so the standard indefinite article is:

• en idé = an idea

Technically, many feminine nouns in Bokmål can use either en or ei, but idé is not normally treated as feminine. You will almost always see:

• en idé, idéen, idéer, idéene

You would not normally say et idé. That would be incorrect, because idé is not a neuter noun.

So en lur idé is the regular and expected form.

What does lur mean exactly? Is it the same as “clever” or “good”?

Lur mainly means:

• clever, smart, shrewd, wise (in the sense of making good, sensible decisions)

So en lur idé is:

• a clever idea
• a smart idea
• a wise idea

Compared with some close words:

• god idé = good idea (general positive judgment, but not necessarily “clever”)
• smart idé = smart idea (very similar to lur, maybe a bit more modern/colloquial)
• fornuftig idé = sensible/reasonable idea (emphasis on being rational/practical)

Lur can, in some contexts, also have a slightly “sly” or “cunning” flavor (see another answer below), but in en lur idé it’s normally just positive: clever/smart.

Why is the adjective form lur here and not lurt or lure?

Norwegian adjectives change form depending on how they are used. For lur, the usual pattern is:

• Attributive, singular, indefinite (before a noun):
  
  • en lur idé – a clever idea
  • et lurt barn – a clever child (neuter noun)
  • ei lur jente – a clever girl (if using feminine form)
• Attributive, plural or definite (before a noun):
  
  • de lure idéene – the clever ideas
  • den lure idéen – the clever idea
• Predicative (after å være etc.):
  
  • Det er lurt. – It is clever.
  • Idéen er lur. – The idea is clever.
  • Barna er lure. – The children are clever.

In en lur idé:

• The noun idé is masculine, singular, indefinite,
• so the adjective takes the base form lur.

That’s why it’s en lur idé, not en lurt idé or en lure idé.

What’s the difference between Det var en lur idé and Det var lurt?

Both are natural, but they have slightly different structure and feel:

1. Det var en lur idé.

   • Literally: That was a clever idea.
   • Focuses explicitly on the idea as a noun.

2. Det var lurt.

   • Literally: That was clever. / It was clever.
   • Lurt here is the neuter form of the adjective, used in a general way to comment on an action or decision.
   • You’re evaluating what happened, without explicitly using the noun idé.

Usage:

• When referring to a suggestion/plan as an “idea,” Det var en lur idé fits very well.
• When commenting on what someone actually did (their action), Det var lurt is very common.

Example:

• Someone says: La oss dra tidlig. – Let’s leave early.
  You might respond: Det var en lur idé. (That was a clever idea.)
• After you’ve actually left early and avoided traffic, you look back and say: Det var lurt å dra tidlig. (It was clever to leave early.)

How do you pronounce Det var en lur idé?

Approximate pronunciation in a common Eastern Norwegian accent:

• Det ≈ deh or de (often [de] or [dɛ])
• var ≈ vahr (with an open a like in British car)
• en ≈ en (like en in enemy)
• lur ≈ loor but with u like in French tu or German ü: [lʉːr]
• idé ≈ ee-DEH with stress on the second syllable: [iˈdeː]

Put together (very roughly):
Det var en lur idé ≈ Deh vahr en lʉʉr i-DEH

Key points:

• idé has the stress on -dé.
• lur has a long vowel: luuurr.
• r in var, lur, and idé varies by dialect (sometimes a tapped r, sometimes more guttural).

Why is there an accent in idé? Can I just write ide?

In modern Bokmål, the standard spelling is idé with an accent on é.

• The accent:
  • Marks the correct stress (idé; stress on the last syllable)
  • Reflects the word’s origin (from French idée)
  • Helps distinguish it from some other words in writing

Writing ide without the accent is sometimes seen informally or in older texts, but the recommended standard spelling is idé.

So for learning and formal writing, you should use:

• en idé, idéen, idéer, idéene.

What is the plural of idé, and how do you say “Those were clever ideas”?

The noun idé inflects like this in Bokmål:

• Singular:
  • en idé – an idea
  • idéen – the idea
• Plural:
  • idéer – ideas
  • idéene – the ideas

So “Those were clever ideas” could be:

• Det var noen lure idéer. – Those were some clever ideas.
• Or more literally “The ideas were clever”:
  Idéene var lure.

Note how the adjective changes:

• Singular indefinite: en lur idé
• Plural indefinite: lure idéer
• Plural definite: de lure idéene

Could I also say Det var en smart idé or Det var en god idé? Are they different from lur?

Yes, both are natural and idiomatic:

• Det var en smart idé.
  
  • Very close to en lur idé, maybe a bit more modern or casual.
• Det var en god idé.
  
  • Good idea in a general, positive sense; not necessarily emphasising cleverness.

Nuances:

• lur idé – often suggests the idea is clever, maybe a bit strategic or shrewd; you avoid problems or gain an advantage.
• smart idé – can feel slightly more colloquial; often overlaps with lur.
• god idé – just a good / nice / sensible idea, not necessarily tricky or particularly ingenious.

All three are positive; they just shade the compliment slightly differently.

Can lur ever be negative, like “sly” or “sneaky”?

Yes, lur can have a more ambiguous or negative tone in some contexts, depending on the noun and situation.

Examples:

• en lur fyr – a sly guy / someone you’re not sure you can trust
• Han er litt lur. – He’s a bit sly/cunning (could be slightly suspicious or just “street smart,” depending on tone).

So lur can mean:

• positively: clever, smart, shrewd, wise
• or more neutrally/negatively: sly, cunning, crafty

In en lur idé, though, it’s almost always understood positively: a clever/smart idea. Context and tone decide whether there’s any hint of trickiness.

Is the word order fixed, or could I say En lur idé var det?

The normal, neutral word order is:

• Det var en lur idé.

You can say En lur idé var det, but that sounds:

• more emphatic or stylistic,
• a bit more poetic, dramatic, or like spoken emphasis.

For everyday speech, if you just want to say That was a clever idea in a neutral way, you stick with:

• Det var en lur idé.

Use word order variations like En lur idé var det only when you want special focus or stylistic effect.