Last Update: 13 October 2023
Nouns. Yup. As one of the most basic components of any language, people have a tendency to overlook exactly how much the grammar of nouns can teach you about a language. The Danish language is, of course, no exception. Despite being a Germanic language, you'll see here how Danish nouns differ significantly in conjugations with its own quirky grammar rules. Check out my little introduction to Danish nouns below.
Gender of Danish nouns
The Danish language has two genders. And as you read that, your mind might go straight to "masculine" and "feminine", but these concepts don't exist in modern Danish. Instead, we have:
Common Gender (often called "en-words" in colloquial Danish): These nouns are preceded by the indefinite article "en." For example, "en hund" (a dog) and "en kat" (a cat) are both common gender nouns. Makes up around 75% of all Danish nouns.
Neuter Gender (often called "et-words" in colloquial Danish): These nouns are preceded by the indefinite article "et." For instance, "et æble" (an apple) and "et hus" (a house) are neuter gender nouns. Makes up around 24% of all Danish nouns.
In some Latin languages like Spanish and France (or even German), we might be able to infer a noun's gender based on its ending (such as -o vs. -a). However, this is not the case for the Danish language. Instead, it's said that common gender nouns usually denote human beings, animals, plants, trees, festivals, and months as well as certain suffixes such as -ance, -ans, -dom, -else, -hed, -ence, -ing, -ion -isme, and several others.
On the other hand, nouns that relate to substances, areas, and localities are generally neuter. Same for nouns ending in -dømme, -ed, -ende, -ri, and -um. But – of course, of course – you'll find plenty of exceptions to the rules in both cases.
Plural of Danish nouns
In the Danish language, nouns can be either singular or plural, but there are three plural endings:
-(e)r is the ending for approx. 75% of all nouns
-e is the ending for approx. 15%
- is the ending for approx. 10%
One very interesting thing, you'll observe in the tables underneath is that definite nouns in Danish are created with suffixes (i.e. not an article) unless qualified by an adjective – see below. The definite singular ending is -en for common-gender nouns and -et for neuter nouns. For plural, it is either -erne, -ene, or -.
DANISH NOUNS IN PLURAL -ER
Common noun with the plural ending -ER | Singular | Plural |
Indefinite | en bil (a car) | biler (cars) |
Definite | bilen (the car) | bilerne (the cars) |
Neuter noun with the plural ending -ER | Singular | Plural |
Indefinite | et træ (a tree) | træer (trees) |
Definite | træet (the tree) | træerne (the trees) |
DANISH NOUNS IN PLURAL -E
Common noun with the plural ending -E | Singular | Plural |
Indefinite | en hund (a dog) | hunde (dogs) |
Definite | hunden (the dog) | hundene (the dogs) |
Neuter noun with the plural ending -E | Singular | Plural |
Indefinite | et hus (a house) | huse (houses) |
Definite | huset (the house) | husene (the houses) |
Compound Nouns in Danish
Personally, I'm a fan. I love compound nouns and find them to be one of the most unique features of the Danish language as well as other Germanic sister languages. But if what gender is speciallægepraksisplanlægningsstabiliseringsperiode then? The answer is much simpler than you might think: the same gender as the last word. No matter how many nouns are smashed together.
So whether you decide to combine two or more words to create a new noun, it will look like this:
et hus (a house) + en leje (a lease) = en husleje (a rent)
en bil (a car) + en ejer (an owner) = en bilejer (a car owner)
en have (a garden) + et bord (a table) = et havebord (a garden table
The Genitive Case
In Danish, the genitive case is used to show possession. The short explanation is that you will typically add "-s" to the noun in order to create the genitive form:
en piges bog (a girl's book)
pigens bog (the girl's book)
pigernes bog (the girls' book)
husets have (the house's garden)
et hus' have (a house's garden)
husenes have (the houses' garden)
Be aware! An apostrophe is ONLY used when the noun ends in -s. You might come across people mistakingly using the apostrophe as in English (huset's). This is not correct and is considered an anglicism that has sneaked in.
Possessive Pronouns
Notice, that in Danish, it will look slightly different with the use of possessive pronouns. While most of them don't need to be conjugated in gender and number, there are some exceptions:
| Common Gender | Common Gender | English |
Definite Singular – 1st person singular | min | mit | my/mine |
Definite Plural – 1st person singular | mine | mine | – |
Definite Singular – 2nd person singular | din | dit | your/yours |
Definite Plural – 2nd person singular | dine | dine | – |
Definite Singular – 3rd person singular, reflexive | sin | sit | his/her/its (referring back to the grammatical subject) |
Definite Plural – 3rd person singular, reflexive | sine | sine | – |
Examples of possessive pronouns in Danish:
Min bil (my car) vs. mit hjem (my home)
Dit hus (your house) vs. din datter (your daughter)
Hans computer (his computer)
Hendes telefon (her telefon)
Vores hund (our dog)
Jeres skole (your pl. school)
Deres bog (their book)
Conclusion
Danish nouns may initially seem daunting, but they are an essential part of mastering the language and delving into the rich culture of Denmark. It has unique features such as no masculine/feminine gender dichotomy, suffixes for definite noun formation, and complex compound nouns. If you're learning Danish and have questions, or you simply just want to know more, feel free to reach out!