When encountering international loanwords in Swedish, their gender and plural forms are highly predictable. Words ending in the common suffixes -ion, -ism, and -itet are reliably en-words.
Definite Singular
Because these are en-words, you simply add -en to create the definite singular form ("the").
| I think capitalism created this mentality. | Jag tror kapitalismen skapade den här mentaliteten. |
This rule applies consistently whether you are discussing ideologies, societal trends, or scientific concepts.
| I hope migration can change the mentality in the city. | Jag hoppas migrationen kan förändra mentaliteten i staden. |
Forming the Plural
Countable loanwords with these suffixes take -er to form the plural. To make the plural definite, add -na to the plural form (resulting in -erna).
| Suffix | Singular | Plural | Definite Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ion | en institution | institutioner | institutionerna |
| -itet | en aktivitet | aktiviteter | aktiviteterna |
| -ism | en mekanism | mekanismer | mekanismerna |
| The institutions lost their authority many years ago. | Institutionerna förlorade sin auktoritet för många år sedan. |
Note that while many words ending in -ism represent uncountable concepts (like kapitalism or extremism), the countable ones follow the exact same -er pattern.
| We must understand the mechanisms that lead to extremism. | Vi måste förstå mekanismerna som leder till extremismen. |
Recognizing these three suffixes allows you to confidently discuss complex topics without having to memorize the gender of every individual word.
| What visions does the government have for migration? | Vilka visioner har regeringen för migrationen? |