Danish grammar

Noun gender

Danish has two grammatical genders: common (en-words) and neuter (et-words). Learn the article with each noun.
en stol	a chair
en bog	a book
et hus	a house
et æble	an apple

Common nouns take en. Neuter nouns take et.
Definite form endings
The definite meaning is formed with a suffix on the noun (not a separate word).
stolen	the chair
huset	the house
stolene	the chairs
husene	the houses
Common nouns add -en. Neuter nouns add -et. Plural definite takes -ene.
English uses a separate word (the house); Danish attaches a suffix (huset).
Pronouns reflect gender
Use den for common nouns and det for neuter nouns.
Hvor er stolen? Den er her.	Where is the chair? It is here.
Hvor er huset? Det er her.	Where is the house? It is here.
There are no reliable rules for deciding en vs et. Learn each noun with its article.
About 75% of Danish nouns are en-words. To help you remember, all et-words are shown in orange on this site.
See the et-word list
Common pitfalls
✘ Add a separate "the" in Danish	✓ Use the suffix: stol → stolen, hus → huset
✘ Assume English rules predict gender	✓ Memorize article with the noun: en stol, et hus
✘ Use det for all nouns	✓ Match pronoun to gender: den (common), det (neuter)
✘ Forget neuter marking in plural/definite	✓ Keep tagging neuter forms: hus, huset, huse, husene
✘ Overgeneralize en because most nouns are common	✓ Remember exceptions: et hus, et æble
Quick tip
Always learn nouns together with their article (en/et + noun), because gender must be memorized: en stol, et hus.

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