Swedish noun· top 500 most common

ett barn

child, kid/bɑːrn/

Meaning

child; kid

In Swedish: en ung människa från födseln och något tiotal år framåt; en persons son eller dotter

Forms

Forms of barn
Singular, indefiniteett barn
Singular, definitebarnet
Plural, indefinitebarn
Plural, definitebarnen

barn is an ett-word, so adjectives agree with it: ett stort barn, det stora barnet. Check another noun

Practise barn

1 / 2

Is it en barn or ett barn?

barn in a sentence

  • passa barn
    look after (mind) children
  • bli med barn
    become pregnant
  • Både barn och vuxna är välkomna.
    Both children and adults are welcome.
  • Hon pussade sina barn godnatt.
    She kissed her children good night.
  • hans vuxna barn
    his adult children
  • Han är ett barn av sin tid.
    He is a child of his times.
  • vara med barn
    be pregnant
  • göra någon med barn
    make someone pregnant

Words built with barn

  • barnledig to be on maternity (paternity) leav
  • barnvänlig suitable for children
  • älsklingsbarn favourite child
  • barnmisshandel child abuse
  • barnhem children's home, orphanage
  • barnarov kidnapping
  • barnbok children's book

Questions

What does barn mean in English?

barn means “child, kid”.

Is it en barn or ett barn?

It is ett barn, and “the child” is barnet.

What is the plural of barn?

barn doesn't change in the plural: ett barn, två barn (definite: barnen).

Similar words

ungarungekidsen

Where the course teaches it

Origin

From Old Swedish barn (“child”), from Old Norse barn (“child”), from Proto-Germanic *barną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-.

Nearby common words

barn is number 141 in our frequency list. These words come just before and after it.

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Sources: Folkets lexikon (CC BY-SA 2.5) and Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), edited by Lingolib. Recording: Wikimedia Commons. Browse the dictionary