Hi again!
Welcome to the third part of our “Learn Swedish” series. These posts serve as an introduction to our online Swedish courses. In this entry we go through nouns — the word class that lets us name people, places and things. Nouns can be concrete (something you can touch) or abstract (something you think or feel). Examples:
en stol (a chair — concrete)
kärlek (love — abstract)
As usual, we cover this with examples, explanations and audio files. Join in!
First things first: en and ett
One challenging aspect of Swedish is that we have so-called en– and ett-words. En and ett correspond to English “a” and “an.” For example: en sång (a song), ett flygplan (an airplane). In English, the choice depends on the following sound, but in Swedish it is a grammatical distinction. Historically, Swedish had three genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter). Over time, masculine and feminine merged into a common gender, now marked by en, while neuter nouns kept ett. This is why most nouns referring to people are en-words (e.g. en pojke — a boy, en kvinna — a woman, en man — a man), even though many non-living things are also en-words (en bok — a book, en stad — a city).
About 75% of Swedish nouns are en-words, but this is difficult to memorise perfectly. In our Swedish courses we practise this through conversation and by making sentences you can use in daily life — that is the most enjoyable and effective way to learn.
Let’s listen to (and say!) five common en-words and five common ett-words in a sentence:Audio Player
Five common en-words
en dag (a day)
Ex: Vi ska ha möten en hel dag. (We will have meetings for a whole day.)
en gång (a time / once)
Ex: Jag har varit där en gång. (I have been there once / one time.)
en vän (a friend)
Ex: En vän kommer på besök. (A friend is coming to visit.)
en sak (a thing)
Ex: Jag vill prata om en viktig sak. (I want to talk about an important thing.)
en stad (a city / town)
Ex: Stockholm är en vacker stad. (Stockholm is a beautiful city.)
Five common ett-words
ett år (a year)
Ex: Jag flyttade hit för ett år sedan. (I moved here a year ago.)
ett barn (a child)
Ex: Ett barn leker i parken. (A child is playing in the park.)
ett hus (a house)
Ex: Vi köpte ett hus på landet. (We bought a house in the countryside.)
ett problem (a problem)
Ex: Jag har ett problem. (I have a problem.)
ett arbete (a job / work)
Ex: Hon har fått ett nytt arbete. (She has gotten a new job.)
Definite and indefinite forms
An important difference from English is that Swedish usually forms the definite noun not with a separate word like “the”, but by adding a suffix to the noun. We change the ending to talk about a specific thing or person. Here are some regular patterns:
- En– and ett-words that end with a vowel: add -n (for en-words) or -t (for ett-words): En pojke (a boy) → pojken (the boy). Ett piano (a piano) → pianot (the piano).
- Words ending in a consonant often take -en (for en-words) or -et (for ett-words): En glass (an ice cream) → glassen (the ice cream). Ett hus (a house) → huset (the house).
Often we use definite and indefinite forms in roughly the same way as in English — when we are familiar with something or not. Compare:
a) There is a boy standing on the street. → Det står en pojke på gatan.
b) There’s the boy we met yesterday. → Där är pojken vi träffade igår.
There are, however, cases where usage differs between the languages — for example with demonstrative pronouns where Swedish uses the definite form but English does not:
Ex: Jag gillar den telefonen. (I like that telephone.) These patterns need practice, ideally with a Swedish teacher who can point out your specific challenges.
Let’s say six sentences with indefinite and definite forms.
Ex:
Jag vill köpa en glass. Ger du mig glassen?
(“I want to buy an ice cream — Will you give me the ice cream?”)
Han är läkare. Ska du gå till läkaren?
(“He is a doctor. Are you going to the doctor?”)
Jag behöver semester! Den semestern var fantastisk.
(“I need a vacation! That vacation was fantastic.”)
Plural forms — common patterns
Swedish plural forms require more practice than English, where you usually just add an -s. In Swedish we can divide nouns into several groups. Below are the most common patterns; the first three groups are almost always en-words.
- -or (only en-words) en flicka → flickor (a girl → girls)
- -ar (only en-words) en bil → bilar (a car → cars)
- -er (mostly en-words) en elev → elever (a pupil → pupils) ett bryggeri → bryggerier (a brewery → breweries)
- -n (only ett-words) ett äpple → äpplen (an apple → apples)
- no plural ending (mostly ett-words) ett hus → hus (a house → houses) en läkare → läkare (a doctor → doctors)
- -s (loanwords, often from English) en hit → hits (a hit → hits)
Note: do not confuse the plural -s with the genitive -s that signals possession in Swedish (e.g. Elins bok — Elin’s book; bilens motor — the car’s engine). The genitive -s attaches directly to the noun.
Let’s listen and repeat to some sentences with plurals:
Har du barn? — Ja, två flickor.
(“Do you have children? — Yes, two girls.”)
Vår familj har tre bilar.
(“Our family has three cars.”)
Det går sjutton elever i klassen.
(“There are seventeen students in the class.”)
Jag tar med fyra äpplen.
(“I’m bringing four apples.”)
Det ligger fem hus på gatan.
(“There are five houses on the street.”)
Beatles hade många hits.
(“The Beatles had many hits.”)
Bokens pärm är blå.
(“The book’s cover is blue.”)
How we form words — regular patterns from singular to plural
Below is an overview of how we form nouns according to regular patterns. In our Swedish courses we use examples that you can actually use when speaking with Swedes. The final step is to understand the definite plural form: for en-words we typically add -na, and for ett-words we add -a or -en, depending on the group.
| Group | Indefinite form (sing.) | Definite form (sing.) | Indefinite form (plur.) | Definite form (plur.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | (en) lampa — “a lamp” | lampan — “the lamp” | lamp-or — “lamps” | lampor-na — “the lamps” |
| 2 | (en) bil — “a car” | bilen — “the car” | bil-ar — “cars” | bilar-na — “the cars” |
| 3 | (en) röst — “a voice” | rösten — “the voice” | röst-er — “voices” | röster-na — “the voices” |
| 4 | (ett) äpple — “an apple” | äpplet — “the apple” | äppl-en — “apples” | äpplen-a — “the apples” |
| 5 | (ett) hus — “a house” | huset — “the house” | hus — “houses” | hus-en — “the houses” |
| 6 | (en) läkare — “a doctor” | läkaren — “the doctor” | läkare — “doctors” | läkar-na — “the doctors” |
Compounds
Swedish forms many new nouns by joining words together: tågbiljett (train ticket), fotbollsmatch (football game). The main word comes last and determines the gender of the compound:
Ett tåg = a train. En station = a station. En tågstation = a train station.
Summary
Nouns are one of the most important word classes in Swedish. Remember:
- Nouns can be en-words or ett-words.
- The definite form is added as a suffix (en bok → boken).
- Plurals are formed in different ways depending on the noun category.
With this foundation, you can start building your own Swedish sentences more confidently.
Practice for Yourself!
To make the most of what you’ve just learned, try these small exercises:
- Think of three nouns you use often in your daily life. Are they en-words or ett-words?
- Write one short sentence with each noun, in Swedish.
- If you want an extra challenge, put your sentences in the plural form too.
👉 Example:
- en bok – a book
- Jag läser en bok. (I am reading a book.)
- Jag läser två böcker. (I am reading two books.)
This way, you connect the rules to your own vocabulary and practice using Swedish in a natural way.
We hope this post was helpful — see you in one of our Swedish courses!
Warm regards, Albrechts Kommunikation