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A1📦Nouns & Articles
Noun Gender
Substantivets kjønn
Norwegian nouns have three genders: masculine (en), feminine (ei), and neuter (et). The gender determines which article and endings a noun takes. Most learners start by mastering masculine and neuter, then add feminine forms.
Rule
en (masc) / ei (fem) / et (neut) + noun
Examples
en gutt
a boy
ei jente
a girl
et hus
a house
Common Mistake
✗
et gutt
✓
en gutt
Hindi/Urdu speakers often guess gender based on their native language rules. Norwegian gender is largely arbitrary and must be memorized with each noun.
English vs Norwegian
| English | Norsk |
|---|---|
| a boy | en gutt |
| a girl | ei jente |
| a house | et hus |
English
a boy
Norsk
en gutt
English
a girl
Norsk
ei jente
English
a house
Norsk
et hus