bjørn
/bjœrn/common gender
The Danish word for bear is bjørn.
The noun bjørn refers to the large mammal of the family Ursidae. In a financial context, it can also describe a market characterized by falling prices. Note that if you wish to express the verb 'to be equipped with', you should use the related verbs bære or føre instead.
Meaning: large mammal of family Ursidae (noun)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun bjørn is a common-gender noun. Its definite form, meaning 'the bear', is bjørnen. To refer to multiple animals, use the plural form bjørne. For the plural definite genitive, meaning 'the bears' (possessive), use bjørnenes.
How do you pronounce it?
/bjœrn/
When do people say it?
While bjørn is used for the animal, Danish speakers commonly use the word bamse when referring to teddy bears or something cuddly and child-friendly.
Did you know?
- The word bamse is so common for cuddly bears that it is often used as a term of endearment for people, much like 'teddy' or 'sweetie' in English.
- The word bjørn shares an ancient root with the English word 'brown', stemming from a Proto-Indo-European word meaning 'shining' or 'brown'.
- In the Danish language, the word bjørn belongs to a group of animal names that share roots with Old Norse, preserving an ancient Germanic naming tradition.
Examples in context
- Her bor én bjørn.Here lives one bear.This sentence shows how to use bjørn to state the presence of one animal.Tatoeba #10488720 by danepo, translation #2019091 by Balamax
- Bjørnen løb efter mig.The bear ran after me.This sentence uses the form bjørn to describe a bear in a narrative context.Tatoeba #3215878 by danepo, translation #48603 by CK
- Bjørnen spiser et æble.The bear is eating an apple.This sentence uses the form bjørn to describe the bear's action.Tatoeba #2852570 by danepo, translation #2787369 by _undertoad
- Jeg så en bjørn i skoven i går.I saw a bear in the forest yesterday.
- Du er min lille bamse.You are my little bear.
- Jeg fik en stor bamse i fødselsdagsgave.I got a big teddy bear as a birthday present.
- Min nevø har en blød bamse, som han aldrig går i seng uden.My nephew has a soft teddy bear that he never goes to bed without.
- 10 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mads and Mette are looking at a picture book about animals.
- MadsSe, her er en stor bjørn!Look, here is a big bear!
- MetteEr det en isbjørn?Is it a polar bear?
- MadsNej, det er en brun bjørn.No, it is a brown bear.
- MetteDen ser meget sød ud.It looks very cute.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “bear” translations and entries bjørn, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bjørn, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
