Noun Gender
Three genders: masculine hestur (horse), feminine kona (woman), neuter hús (house). Things have gender too: bíll (car) is masculine, bók (book) feminine, borð (table) neuter.
How It Works
What gender changes
- The article at the end of the noun: hesturinn, konan, húsið. See The Article at the End of the Noun.
- Adjectives: góður, góð, gott. See Adjectives Agree With Nouns.
- Pronouns: a car is hann and a book is hún. See Singular Personal Pronouns.
- One to four: einn hestur, ein kona, eitt hús; tveir hestar, tvær konur, tvö hús. See Numbers One to Four.
Clues from the ending
Endings help, but they are clues, not rules:
- Most nouns in -ur are masculine: hestur, dagur, strákur (boy).
- Many nouns in -i are masculine: sími (phone), kennari (teacher). Some are neuter: kaffi, epli (apple).
- Most nouns in -a are feminine: kona, stelpa (girl), saga (story). A few are neuter: auga (eye), hjarta (heart).
- Many short nouns with no ending are neuter, such as hús, barn (child) and borð. Others are feminine, such as bók and borg (city).
Gender does not follow meaning
barn (child) is neuter even when you talk about a boy or a girl: Barnið er þreytt. Dictionaries mark gender as kk (masculine), kvk (feminine) and hk (neuter). Learn each noun with its gender, for example with its article: hesturinn, konan, húsið.
Examples (5)
- Þetta er góður hestur.
This is a good horse.
Word by Word: This is good horse.
hestur is masculine, so the adjective is góður.
- Þetta er góð bók.
This is a good book.
Word by Word: This is good book.
bók is feminine, so the adjective is góð.
- Þetta er gott hús.
This is a good house.
Word by Word: This is good house.
hús is neuter, so the adjective is gott.
- Hvar er síminn minn? Hann er á borðinu.
Where is my phone? It is on the table.
Word by Word: Where is phone-the my? He is on table-the.
sími (phone) is masculine, so it is called hann.
- Barnið er þreytt.
The child is tired.
Word by Word: Child-the is tired.
barn is neuter, so þreytt has the neuter form, whether the child is a boy or a girl.
Common Mistakes
Using the masculine adjective with a feminine noun.
Bókin er góður.Bókin er góð.bók is feminine, so the adjective must be feminine too: góð.
Calling every thing það, as with English it.
Hvar er bíllinn? Það er úti.Hvar er bíllinn? Hann er úti.bíll is masculine, so the car is hann. To stand for a noun, use það only if the noun is neuter, such as hús.
Choosing the gender from the meaning instead of the noun.
Barnið er þreyttur.Barnið er þreytt.Even if the child is a boy, barn is a neuter noun, so the adjective is neuter.
How It Connects
Related Patterns
- -inn / -in / -iðThe Article at the End of the Noun
The article at the end of a noun has a different form for each gender.
Level 1 - Adjectives Agree With Nouns
Adjectives change their ending to match the noun's gender.
Level 1 - ég / þú / hann / hún / þaðSingular Personal Pronouns
hann, hún and það replace nouns by their gender, even for things.
Level 1 - Numbers One to Four
One to four have separate masculine, feminine and neuter forms.
Level 1 - The Four Cases
Each gender has its own set of case endings.
Level 1 - Plural Nouns
The plural ending depends a lot on the noun's gender.
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice Noun Gender in Bubblegum
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