| Masculine/Feminine |
stor |
en stor bil (a big car) |
| Neuter |
stort |
et stort hus (a big house) |
| Plural (all) |
store |
store biler (big cars) |
| Definite (all) |
store |
den store bilen (the big car) |
Pattern: Base form → Add -t for neuter → Add -e for plural/definite
Size & Dimension
| Norwegian |
Neuter |
Plural |
English |
| stor |
stort |
store |
big/large |
| liten |
lite |
små |
small |
| lang |
langt |
lange |
long |
| kort |
kort |
korte |
short |
| høy |
høyt |
høye |
tall/high |
| lav |
lavt |
lave |
low/short |
| bred |
bredt |
brede |
wide |
| smal |
smalt |
smale |
narrow |
| tykk |
tykt |
tykke |
thick |
| tynn |
tynt |
tynne |
thin |
Examples
| Norwegian |
English |
| en stor mann |
a big man |
| et lite barn |
a small child |
| en lang vei |
a long road |
| et høyt fjell |
a tall mountain |
Quality & Condition
| Norwegian |
Neuter |
Plural |
English |
| god |
godt |
gode |
good |
| dårlig |
dårlig |
dårlige |
bad |
| ny |
nytt |
nye |
new |
| gammel |
gammelt |
gamle |
old |
| ren |
rent |
rene |
clean |
| skitten |
skittent |
skitne |
dirty |
| hel |
helt |
hele |
whole |
| ødelagt |
ødelagt |
ødelagte |
broken |
| frisk |
friskt |
friske |
fresh/healthy |
| syk |
sykt |
syke |
sick |
Examples
| Norwegian |
English |
| en god bok |
a good book |
| et nytt hus |
a new house |
| de gamle bildene |
the old pictures |
| en frisk luft |
fresh air |
Temperature & Weather
| Norwegian |
Neuter |
Plural |
English |
| varm |
varmt |
varme |
warm/hot |
| kald |
kaldt |
kalde |
cold |
| kjølig |
kjølig |
kjølige |
cool |
| våt |
vått |
våte |
wet |
| tørr |
tørt |
tørre |
dry |
Examples
| Norwegian |
English |
| en varm dag |
a warm day |
| et kaldt rom |
a cold room |
| våte klær |
wet clothes |
Appearance
| Norwegian |
Neuter |
Plural |
English |
| pen |
pent |
pene |
pretty/nice |
| stygg |
stygt |
stygge |
ugly |
| vakker |
vakkert |
vakre |
beautiful |
| flott |
flott |
flotte |
great/gorgeous |
| mørk |
mørkt |
mørke |
dark |
| lys |
lyst |
lyse |
light/bright |
| tung |
tungt |
tunge |
heavy |
| lett |
lett |
lette |
light (weight) |
Examples
| Norwegian |
English |
| en pen jente |
a pretty girl |
| et vakkert landskap |
a beautiful landscape |
| mørke netter |
dark nights |
Personality & Character
| Norwegian |
Neuter |
Plural |
English |
| snill |
snilt |
snille |
kind/nice |
| hyggelig |
hyggelig |
hyggelige |
nice/pleasant |
| morsom |
morsomt |
morsomme |
funny |
| kjedelig |
kjedelig |
kjedelige |
boring |
| smart |
smart |
smarte |
smart |
| dum |
dumt |
dumme |
stupid |
| sterk |
sterkt |
sterke |
strong |
| svak |
svakt |
svake |
weak |
| modig |
modig |
modige |
brave |
| redd |
redd |
redde |
scared |
Examples
| Norwegian |
English |
| en snill mann |
a kind man |
| et morsomt program |
a funny show |
| hun er veldig hyggelig |
she is very nice |
Emotions & Feelings
| Norwegian |
Neuter |
Plural |
English |
| glad |
glad |
glade |
happy |
| trist |
trist |
triste |
sad |
| sint |
sint |
sinte |
angry |
| redd |
redd |
redde |
afraid |
| lei |
lei |
leie |
tired of/bored |
| fornøyd |
fornøyd |
fornøyde |
satisfied |
| nervøs |
nervøst |
nervøse |
nervous |
| rolig |
rolig |
rolige |
calm |
| spent |
spent |
spente |
excited |
| overrasket |
overrasket |
overraskede |
surprised |
Examples
| Norwegian |
English |
| Jeg er glad |
I am happy |
| Han er sint |
He is angry |
| De er spente |
They are excited |
Speed & Time
| Norwegian |
Neuter |
Plural |
English |
| rask |
raskt |
raske |
fast/quick |
| sakte |
sakte |
sakte |
slow |
| tidlig |
tidlig |
tidlige |
early |
| sen |
sent |
sene |
late |
| ny |
nytt |
nye |
new/recent |
| gammel |
gammelt |
gamle |
old |
Examples
| Norwegian |
English |
| en rask bil |
a fast car |
| det er for sent |
it’s too late |
Difficulty & Complexity
| Norwegian |
Neuter |
Plural |
English |
| lett |
lett |
lette |
easy |
| vanskelig |
vanskelig |
vanskelige |
difficult |
| enkel |
enkelt |
enkle |
simple |
| komplisert |
komplisert |
kompliserte |
complicated |
Examples
| Norwegian |
English |
| en lett oppgave |
an easy task |
| et vanskelig spørsmål |
a difficult question |
Important & Common
| Norwegian |
Neuter |
Plural |
English |
| viktig |
viktig |
viktige |
important |
| vanlig |
vanlig |
vanlige |
common/usual |
| spesiell |
spesielt |
spesielle |
special |
| forskjellig |
forskjellig |
forskjellige |
different |
| lik |
likt |
like |
same/similar |
| annen |
annet |
andre |
other |
Examples
| Norwegian |
English |
| en viktig beslutning |
an important decision |
| noe spesielt |
something special |
Irregular Adjectives
Some adjectives have irregular forms:
| Base |
Neuter |
Plural |
English |
| liten |
lite |
små |
small |
| annen |
annet |
andre |
other |
| egen |
eget |
egne |
own |
| gammel |
gammelt |
gamle |
old |
| blå |
blått |
blå |
blue |
| grå |
grått |
grå |
gray |
Adjectives That Don’t Change
Some adjectives stay the same in all forms:
- bra (good/fine) – alltid “bra”
- stille (quiet) – alltid “stille”
- moderne (modern) – alltid “moderne”
- gratis (free) – alltid “gratis”
Comparative & Superlative
| Positive |
Comparative |
Superlative |
English |
| stor |
større |
størst |
big, bigger, biggest |
| liten |
mindre |
minst |
small, smaller, smallest |
| god |
bedre |
best |
good, better, best |
| dårlig |
verre |
verst |
bad, worse, worst |
| lang |
lengre |
lengst |
long, longer, longest |
| ung |
yngre |
yngst |
young, younger, youngest |
| gammel |
eldre |
eldst |
old, older, oldest |
Regular Pattern: -ere / -est
| Positive |
Comparative |
Superlative |
| pen |
penere |
penest |
| rask |
raskere |
raskest |
| kald |
kaldere |
kaldest |
Examples
| Norwegian |
English |
| Hun er eldre enn meg |
She is older than me |
| Dette er det beste! |
This is the best! |
| Han er den høyeste |
He is the tallest |
Using Adjectives in Sentences
Before a Noun (Attributive)
| Norwegian |
English |
| en fin dag |
a nice day |
| et stort problem |
a big problem |
| fine dager |
nice days |
After a Verb (Predicative)
| Norwegian |
English |
| Dagen er fin |
The day is nice |
| Problemet er stort |
The problem is big |
| Dagene er fine |
The days are nice |
Common Adjective + Noun Combinations
| Norwegian |
English |
| god morgen |
good morning |
| god natt |
good night |
| rød vin |
red wine |
| hvit vin |
white wine |
| fersk fisk |
fresh fish |
| varm sjokolade |
hot chocolate |
| kaldt vann |
cold water |
| frisk luft |
fresh air |
Tips for Learning Adjectives
- Learn in pairs – stor/liten, god/dårlig, ny/gammel
- Practice agreement – Say full phrases, not just words
- Notice patterns – Most follow the -t / -e rule
- Memorize irregulars – liten/lite/små is important
- Use often – Describe things around you daily
Practice Norwegian Adjectives
Ready to practice describing things in Norwegian? Play NorskKryss – Learn Norwegian vocabulary including adjectives through crossword puzzles.
Download the App – Master vocabulary with daily practice.
Norsk er ikke så vanskelig! (Norwegian isn’t that difficult!)
Practice What You’ve Learned
Test your knowledge of Norwegian adjectives with this interactive crossword puzzle:
Can’t see the puzzle? Play on NorskKryss.no
