More on Gender

For English speakers, one of the mysteries of Danish (and other European languages for that matter) is that nouns come in two different genders. This does seem unnecessary and not at all logical, but there it is. All nouns in Danish are either common gender (n-words) or neuter gender (t-words). About 75% of nouns are of n-words, but many very frequently used nouns are t-words. There is a some fleeting logic to it, in that uncountable things are usually t-words, but on the whole there is no sure way to predict the gender of a word. For a serious student of Danish, there is no real alternative to learning the gender of each word at the same time as learning the word itself.

The notes below represent my attempts to form some rules for my own use, to help me remember which nouns are t-words. Be warned though that none of these rules are completely reliable.

Neuter Nouns

Uncountable common things are usually t-words, for example arbejde (work), areal (area), vand (water), øl (beer), fyr (fire), kit (putty), kød (flesh), dun (down), brum (hum), fed (fat), fnuller (fluff, lint), held (luck), klynk (whimper), liv (life), plasma (plasma), sand (sand), sjov (fun), pludder (mud), skidt (dirt), stof (stuff), stå (straw), tab (loss), tak (thanks), tin (tin), vat (cotton wool). Note that øl becomes common when used in a countable way, en øl (a beer) meaning a glass or a bottle of beer.
But mad (food), tid (time), sne (snow), uld (wool), umage (trouble) and varme (heat) are n-words.
Things which usually come as part of a series or group, or which are not normally identified individually, are usually t-words. For example ark (sheet), skridt (step or pace), fnis (giggle), fnug (fluff, flake), fnys (snort), klap (pat, clap), kluk (cluck), klæde (cloth), loop (loop), nip (sip), nik (nod), trin (step or stair), plask (splash), dump (thud), slag (blow), stræk (stretch), stænk (splash, spot), ord (word). This is also perhaps the reason why barn (child!), dyr (animal), får (sheep) and svin (pig) are t-words. (When treated individually, children would be boys or girls which are n-words and animals would be referred by a species name.)
t-words are usually short, single-syllable words or are compound nouns which finish with a t-word.
Nouns which are unchanged in the plural are almost always t-words and vice versa.
Compound nouns which finish with a t-word are t-words.
Languages are t-words, because of sprog.
Countries are t-words, because of land.
Substances are t-words. For example element, tin, stål (steel).
Nouns imported from English or another language can be t-words if they are indentified with a Danish t-word. Hence additiv, casino, circulære, cv, forum, hotel, job, system, tribunal, trick, universitet.

Here are some examples of neuter nouns:

additiv barn bedste belæg ben besøg brug brud brum brus bryllup brød cirkulære cv Danmark dansk dun drøn dryp drys dyk dyr døgn erhverv Europa fed find forum får guf job hotel hus juks klap kursus kær kød køkken køn land lem lyn løb lån miljø mirror mål nik nip ny ord organ plask plasma plast rum ræs sand sjov skab skaft skel skib skidt skifte skilt skravl skridt skrift slag sprog stof svar svin syn system søm sår tab tag tak tog tribunal trick trin tæppe tøj universitet ur vand vindue vink æble æg øl ønske år

The longer words here are mostly imported from other languages, and have taken the gender of the closest Danish word.

Note that these include

country names (because of land)
language names (because of sprog)

Compound words follow the last component noun:

brug, hence jordbrug (agriculture)
hold (team), hence forbehold (reservation), forhold (conditions), indhold (contents), ophold (stay), underhold (support)
mål (target), hence formål and spørgsmål
ord (word), hence biord (adverb)
slip (lull), hence udslip (escape)
snit (cut), hence udsnit (section)
svar, forsvar (defence)
tag (grasp), hence optag (uptake)
tog (train), hence optog (procession)
tøj (clothes), hence køkkentøj (utensils), værktøj (tools)
trin (step), hence optrin (scene)

Some words have different genders with different meanings:

brud (et -) break, brud (en -e) bride
brug (et -) farm, brug (en) use
skrift (et -er) publication, skrift (en -er) writing

Most of the t-words are unchanged in the plural (et -). Exceptions are

hus, huse; land, lande; skab (cupboard), skabe
cv, cv'er; hotel, hoteller; køkken, køkkener; lem, lemmer; organ, organer; skrift, skrifter

More t-words

Danish for English Speakers