Compound Nouns
Sammensatte substantiv
Norwegian loves compound nouns, often creating very long words: 'sykehus' (hospital = sick+house), 'barnehage' (kindergarten = child+garden). The last element determines gender and plural form. A linking -s or -e may appear between elements.
Rule
noun1 + (s/e) + noun2 (gender = noun2's gender)
Examples
et sykehus (syk + hus)
a hospital
en arbeidsplass (arbeid + s + plass)
a workplace
en togstasjon (tog + stasjon)
a train station
Common Mistake
et syke hus (two separate words)
et sykehus (one compound word)
Norwegian compounds are written as one word, not two. Splitting them changes the meaning: 'sykehus' (hospital) vs. 'syke hus' (sick houses).
English vs Norwegian
| English | Norsk |
|---|---|
| a hospital | et sykehus (syk + hus) |
| a workplace | en arbeidsplass (arbeid + s + plass) |
| a train station | en togstasjon (tog + stasjon) |
English
a hospital
Norsk
et sykehus (syk + hus)
English
a workplace
Norsk
en arbeidsplass (arbeid + s + plass)
English
a train station
Norsk
en togstasjon (tog + stasjon)