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#23 "Noe" or "noen"? what they can mean and how they are used. [vokabular] [grammatikk]
Description
This notorious word pair confuses even advanced learners, but today I'm breaking it down into simple, manageable parts that will transform your understanding.
The secret lies in recognizing three distinct usage patterns.
First, when these words stand alone, "noe" means "something/anything" while "noen" means "someone/anyone." Norwegian doesn't distinguish between these pairs the way English does—it's all about context.
Second, when talking about plurals (books, people, cars), always use "noen" regardless of whether you'd say "some" or "any" in English. Uncountable nouns in singular form need "noe", no matter the gender.
And third, with singular countable nouns, the gender dictates your choice: "noe" for neuter nouns and "noen" for masculine/feminine ones.
What makes this topic fascinating is how native speakers often bypass grammar rules entirely. They might say "noe penger" (technically incorrect) because they conceptualize money as a mass rather than countable units.
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Transcript available here: https://the-norwegian-puzzle.buzzsprout.com
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