Danish nouns carry the grammatical feature of gender, but unlike German with its three genders, Danish simplifies this to just two: common gender (fælleskøn) and neuter gender (intetkøn). While there are historical roots to these genders, they are largely arbitrary for modern learners and must be memorized alongside each noun.
The articles for Danish nouns
The common gender, often indicated by the articles en or den, encompasses nouns that were historically masculine and feminine, while the neuter gender, using et or det, corresponds to what was originally neuter. Understanding the gender is crucial because it impacts the forms of articles, adjectives, and demonstratives used with the noun.
Examples of Danish nouns
| Danish | English |
|---|---|
| en bil | a car |
| en pige | a girl |
| en mand | a man (and husbond) |
| en cykel | a bike |
| en kop | a cup |
| et hus | a house |
| et krus | a mug |
| et træ | a tree |
| et billede | a picture |
Definite form of Danish nouns
A defining characteristic of Danish nouns is their inflection for definiteness. Instead of distinct definite articles like “the” in English, Danish generally affixes a suffix to the noun itself to indicate definiteness. For common gender nouns, this suffix is usually -en or -et, while for neuter gender nouns, it’s typically -et. For example, en bog (a book – common gender) becomes bogen (the book), and et hus (a house – neuter gender) becomes huset (the house). This post-positive definite article is a vital component in expressing definiteness in Danish and distinguishing between general and specific references.
Examples of Danish nouns – definite form
| Danish | English |
|---|---|
| bilen | the car |
| pigen | the girl |
| manden | the man (and the husbond) |
| cyklen | the bike |
| koppen | the cup |
| huset | the house |
| kruset | the mug |
| træet | the tree |
| billedet | the picture |
Plural version of Danish nouns
Furthermore, the pluralization of Danish nouns follows a variety of patterns, adding another layer of complexity. Some nouns add -er to form the plural, such as en stol (a chair) becoming stole (chairs). Others use -e, like en hund (a dog) becoming hunde (dogs), while still others might add nothing at all, remaining unchanged in the plural form, such as et barn (a child) becoming børn (children – irregular form). And just to add another wrinkle, some plural forms require -(n)e when definite, forming, for example, husene (the houses). The definite plural form is formed by adding the suffix to the plural noun, thereby combining both the plural and definite markers. Therefore, mastering noun genders, definite forms, and pluralization patterns are essential for building a solid foundation in Danish grammar and achieving fluency.
Looking for a Danish teacher?
Leave A Comment