Like English, Norwegian has an indefinite and definite case. Whilst this might sound daunting at first, the actual meaning behind this is very simple.
In English, we use "a" or "an" for something general (indefinite), and "the" for something specific (definite). Norwegian does something similar, but instead of using a separate word for "the", it attaches it to the end of the noun.
Indefinite form: This is used when you’re talking about something in general. Norwegian uses an article before the noun, similar to "a" or "an" in English.
- en bil – a car
- et bord – a table
- en hund – a dog
The article depends on the gender of the noun: en for masculine and feminine nouns, and et for neuter nouns.
Definite form: This is used when you’re referring to something specific. In Norwegian, instead of saying "the" as a separate word, it’s added to the end of the noun.
- bilen – the car
- bordet – the table
- hunden – the dog
Note: Some nouns in Norwegian have alternate forms in the definite case. These typically involve using an -a ending instead of -en. These forms are more common in spoken Norwegian.
- en bok – a book / boka or boken – the book
- en jente – a girl / jenta or jenten – the girl
However, not all nouns can use the -a form. For example:
- en venn – a friend / vennen – the friend (never venna)
Tip: When learning new nouns, try to memorize them with their article and practice the definite form alongside them. This will help reinforce gender and pattern recognition.