How it works
In English, 'the' goes before the noun: 'the house'. In Swedish, the definite article is a suffix glued to the end of the noun. Which suffix you use depends on the noun's gender.
| Gender | Indefinite | Definite | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| en-word | en bil | bilen | the car |
| en-word ending in vowel | en flicka | flickan | the girl |
| ett-word | ett hus | huset | the house |
| ett-word ending in vowel | ett äpple | äpplet | the apple |
When the noun already ends in a vowel
If an en-word ends in -a, the definite just changes -a to -an. If an ett-word ends in -e, it changes to -et. No double vowels.
en skola → skolan
a school → the school
ett kaffe → kaffet
a coffee → the coffee
en gata → gatan
a street → the street
Double definite (with adjectives)
When you put an adjective in front of a definite noun, Swedish uses BOTH a free-standing article (den/det/de) AND the suffix. This 'double definite' is one of the most distinctive features of Swedish.
den röda bilen
the red car
det stora huset
the big house
de gamla böckerna
the old books
Without an adjective, you only use the suffix: 'bilen' (the car). Add an adjective and suddenly you need both: 'den röda bilen'.
Practice
Test yourself — 6 quick exercises on this topic.
1 of 6
How do you say 'the girl' in Swedish?