En eller ett?
ett barn
ett-wordBarn (meaning "children") is a neuter noun in Swedish - it takes the article ett. Definite singular: barnet. Indefinite plural: barn. Definite plural: barnen.
Example sentences
Hon leker med ett barn.
indefinite singular
Han älskar barnet.
definite singular
Föräldrarna leker med sina barn.
plural
Why is barn an ett-word?
Animals and people are almost always en-words
This is one of 30 rules of thumb in Artikulera for predicting Swedish grammatical gender. The rule isn't absolute, but it holds for the vast majority of nouns that match the pattern.
Rare exceptions exist, but this rule correctly predicts the gender of most Swedish nouns that match the pattern.
Same rule - also ett-words
Practice barn in Artikulera
Train en/ett with spaced repetition, 30 rules of thumb, and 4,500+ nouns. Free to download.
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Frequently asked questions
- Is barn en or ett in Swedish?
- Barn (meaning "children") is an ett-word in Swedish. Indefinite: ett barn. Definite: barnet. Plural: barn. Definite plural: barnen.
- What is the definite form of barn?
- The definite singular of barn is barnet. Ett-words take the suffix ‑et in the definite singular. The definite plural is barnen.
- What is the plural of barn in Swedish?
- The indefinite plural of barn is barn. The definite plural is barnen.
- Why is barn an ett-word?
- Animals and people are almost always en-words. Barn follows this pattern.