B1
grammatikk
Quiz
Plural of Nouns
Learn how to form the plural in Norwegian — the rules and the most common exceptions.
In Norwegian forming the plural is simple — most nouns get the ending -er!
The basic rule
Indefinite plural: add -er (or -r if the word ends in a vowel)
en bil → biler | ei jente → jenter | et hus → hus (no ending!)
The three patterns
| Singular | Plural | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| en bil — a car | biler — cars | masculine → +er |
| en stol — a chair | stoler — chairs | masculine → +er |
| ei jente — a girl | jenter — girls | ends in -e → +r |
| et hus — a house | hus — houses | neuter → no ending |
| et barn — a child | barn — children | neuter → no ending |
Common exceptions
| Singular | Plural | Note |
|---|---|---|
| en mann — a man | menn — men | vowel change |
| en fot — a foot | føtter — feet | vowel change |
| ei bok — a book | bøker — books | o→ø vowel change |
| en bror — a brother | brødre — brothers | vowel change + ending |
Tip
Norwegian plurals are much more regular than English (no goose→geese or mouse→mice surprises!). Most words simply add -er. Learn the exceptions one by one as you encounter them.
🧠 Test yourself
Question 1 / 3
What is the plural of the word 'bil' (car)?
Read also
Prepositions in Norwegian
Learn the most common prepositions in Norwegian — i, på, til, fra, med, uten and more.…
Adjectives in Norwegian
Learn the most common adjectives in Norwegian and how they are inflected.…
Verbs in Past Tense
Learn how Norwegian verbs are conjugated in the past tense — weak and strong verbs.…