Definite Forms

Danish doesn't use a separate word for “the” — instead, it adds a suffix to the noun. The suffix depends on the noun's gender.

The pattern

en-words → add -en

en bil → bilen (the car)

et-words → add -et

et hus → huset (the house)

Examples

Indefinite
Definite
English
en bil
bilen
the car
et hus
huset
the house
en bog
bogen
the book
et æble
æblet
the apple
en kat
katten
the cat
et barn
barnet
the child
lightbulb

Context tells you which form

Use the indefinite form for new/unknown things (“I saw a car”) and the definite form for known/specific things (“I saw the car”).

Try it yourself

Pick the correct noun form for each sentence.

Exercises for this topic are coming soon.