jente
/²jɛntə/feminine, masculine
The Norwegian word for girl is jente. It is also spelled jenta. Wiktionary also lists pike.
Meaning: young female person (noun)
Ways to say it
| Norwegian | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| jente | /²jɛntə/ | feminine, masculine |
| pike | feminine, masculine | |
| jenta | /ˈjɛntɑ/ | feminine, alternative form |
The word jente is used to refer to a young female person. It is the standard and most commonly used word for girl in Norwegian.
Which one should you use?
jente is the standard form used for a girl, while jenta is the definite singular form used to mean 'the girl'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word jente can be used as both a masculine and feminine noun. To specify a particular girl, use the definite singular form jenta (the girl). For more than one girl, the plural is jenter (girls) and the definite plural is jentene (the girls).
How do you pronounce it?
/²jɛntə/
Did you know?
- The word jente is actually a distant relative of the word for 'joke' or 'foolery', as it derives from the Old Norse word gant.
- In some traditional contexts, pike was specifically used to refer to a girl who worked as a domestic servant.
- The word pike is a loanword from the Danish pige, showing the deep historical influence of Danish on the Norwegian language.
Examples in context
- Jeg er en jente.I am a girl.This sentence is useful for practicing the indefinite form jente.Tatoeba #10941240 by Mayk, translation #2363944 by kerbear407
- Jenta har ei mus.The girl has a mouse.This sentence is useful for practicing the definite form jenta.Tatoeba #12475925 by Just_Some_Guy, translation #3218076 by Dreamk33
- Jenta drikk te no.The girl is drinking tea now.Tatoeba #13019810 by Just_Some_Guy, translation #3550232 by turkishlearner
- Kari er ei jente fra Oslo.Kari is a girl from Oslo.
- Lillebroren min er en søt jentenisse.My little brother is a cute girl elf.
- Piken spilte piano på konserten.The girl played the piano at the concert.
- Vi har mange jentunger som naboer i nabolaget.We have many girls as neighbors in the neighborhood.
- 55 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nora and Andreas are talking about a new neighbor.
- NoraHvem er den jente der?Who is that girl there?
- AndreasDet er den nye naboen.That is the new neighbor.
- NoraEr hun en snill jente?Is she a kind girl?
- AndreasJa, hun virker veldig hyggelig.Yes, she seems very pleasant.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “girl” translations and entries jente, pike, jenta, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries jenta, jente, pike, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
Tusen takk! I’m learning Norwegian and had only learned jenta for girl. Then I purchased a Norwegian word search book to help me increase my vocabulary in a fun way and was confused when I saw pike for girl. It’s explained so well here, better than other places I tried.