En eller ett?
en vän
en-wordVän (meaning "friend") is a common-gender noun in Swedish - it takes the article en. Definite singular: vännen. Indefinite plural: vänner. Definite plural: vännerna.
Example sentences
Hon var en vän.
indefinite singular
Han ringde vännen.
definite singular
Människor har vänner.
plural
Why is vän an en-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 en-words
Practice vän 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 vän en or ett in Swedish?
- Vän (meaning "friend") is an en-word in Swedish. Indefinite: en vän. Definite: vännen. Plural: vänner. Definite plural: vännerna.
- What is the definite form of vän?
- The definite singular of vän is vännen. En-words take the suffix ‑en in the definite singular. The definite plural is vännerna.
- What is the plural of vän in Swedish?
- The indefinite plural of vän is vänner. The definite plural is vännerna.
- Why is vän an en-word?
- Animals and people are almost always en-words. Vän follows this pattern.