← All lessons
Grammar notes
Every Swedish noun has one of two grammatical genders — en (utrum, "common" gender) or ett (neutrum, "neuter" gender) — which decides the indefinite article ("a/an"). About 75% of nouns are en-words and the rest are ett-words, and it's mostly not predictable from meaning, so learn each noun together with its article (always memorize en bok, not just bok).
A few patterns help, though there are exceptions:
| Tends to be... | Pattern | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| en (utrum) | nouns ending in -a; abstract nouns ending in -het, -ning, -else | en flicka, en möjlighet, en utveckling |
| ett (neutrum) | nouns ending in -um, -ment; nouns formed from a verb's present/past participle (-ande, -ende) | ett museum, ett argument, ett förhållande |
For compound nouns, the gender always follows the last word in the compound: ett rum + sova → ett sovrum.
Noun Gender: en, ett
Which level do you want to practice?