-en/-et

Definite Singular Suffix

Level 1

Add -en or -et to a noun to mean 'the'.
en bil (a car) → bilen (the car)
ett hus (a house) → huset (the house)

How It Works

Swedish uses suffixes to show that a noun is 'definite' (specific, like 'the' in English). This is different from English, where 'the' is a separate word.

The choice of suffix is determined by the noun's gender, which you learn along with the noun itself. You can learn more about this in the noun genders lesson.

Rules for Definite Singular Nouns:

1. For 'en-words':
Add the suffix -en.

  • en bok (a book) → boken (the book)
  • en stol (a chair) → stolen (the chair)

2. For 'ett-words':
Add the suffix -et.

  • ett bord (a table) → bordet (the table)
  • ett fönster (a window) → fönstret (the window)

Spelling Notes:

  • If an en-word ends in -a, keep the a and add -n: en flicka → flickan.
  • An ett-word ending in an unstressed vowel commonly takes -t: ett äpple → äpplet. After a stressed long vowel, many nouns instead take -et, as in ett bi → biet.

Learn The Whole Form
Compare en cykel → cykeln, where only -n is added, with ett fönster → fönstret, where the unstressed e in the stem disappears before -et. These are not all formed by mechanically adding the full written ending to the unchanged noun.

The definite form generally presents the referent as identifiable in context. With an adjective, the ordinary pattern also uses a preceding article: den stora bilen, det stora huset. With a possessive, the noun normally has no definite suffix: min stora bil.

Examples (5)

  1. en bil → bilen

    a car → the car

    Word by Word: a car → the car

    bil is an 'en-word', so it takes the -en suffix to become definite.

  2. ett hus → huset

    a house → the house

    Word by Word: a house → the house

    hus is an 'ett-word', so it takes the -et suffix to become definite.

  3. en flicka → flickan

    a girl → the girl

    Word by Word: a girl → the girl

    Keep the final a in flicka and add -n: flicka + n → flickan. The a is not removed.

  4. ett äpple → äpplet

    an apple → the apple

    Word by Word: an apple → the apple

    Äpple ends in an unstressed vowel, so this noun adds -t: äpple + t → äpplet. Not every vowel-final ett-word follows this pattern.

  5. Jag läser boken.

    I am reading the book.

    Word by Word: I read the-book.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the wrong suffix for the noun's gender.

    Jag ser bilet.
    Jag ser bilen.

    bil is an 'en-word', so its definite form is bilen. The suffix -et is only for 'ett-words'.

  • Using a separate word for 'the' like in English.

    Jag har den bok.
    Jag har boken.

    For the ordinary meaning “I have the book”, use boken. Swedish also has separate den/det in constructions such as den stora boken and demonstrative den boken. The error is the bare noun form in this standalone model, not the existence of a separate article.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

-en/-etLevel 1Definite Singular Suffix

Learn This First

The definite singular suffix in Swedish is determined by the gender of the noun. A learner must be able to distinguish between 'en' words and 'ett' words to correctly apply the corresponding suffix (-en or -et) to make a noun definite.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

And 8 more in the full list.