4.13 Compound Nouns
Norwegian uses many compound nouns, made up of two or more parts.
The last element of a compound noun must be a noun, and this last element determines gender and plural forms.
The first element can be other parts of speech, such as adjectives or verbs, and serves to narrow the meaning of the noun. For example: textbook, workbook, and songbook are all types of books.
The two parts can be connected by an -e-, an -s- or have no connector. It is difficult to know what the connector will be, but typically a given first element always uses the same connector.
Compounds can be made up of a combination of two nouns:
herreklær = herre + klær = klær for herrer (men’s clothing)
dameklær = dame + klær = klær for damer (ladies’ clothing)
barneklær = barn + e + klær = klær for barn (children’s clothing)
idrettshall = idrett + s + hall = hall for idrett (sports hall)
et skolebarn = skole + barn =et barn som går på skole (a school child)
en barneskole = barn +e + skole = en skole for barn (a children’s school)
en ungdomssklole = ungdom + s + skole = en skole for ungdom (a school for youth-lower secondary school)
NB! The last element in a compound noun determines gender and root meaning!
Compound nouns can be a combination of adjective plus noun:
grønnsåpe = grønn + såpe (green soap)
rødbeter = rød + beter (red beets)
en storby = stor + by (big city)
blåbær = blå + bær (blueberries)
Or a combination of verb plus noun:
ei spisestue = spise + stue (dining room)
et spisebord = spise + bord (dining table)
et soverom = sove + rom (bedroom)
joggesko = jogge + sko (jogging shoes)
Or a preposition plus noun:
en bakgård = bak + gård (rear court of apartment building)
en underetasje = under + etasje (lower floor, basement)
førjulsstria = før + jul + s+ stria (pre-Christmas rush )