B1
grammatikk
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.
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