When to choose between the Danish words ’nogen’ or ’nogle’?

The Danish words ‘nogen’ or ‘nogle’ are often pronounced in the same way; you simply cannot hear the difference. So when to use ‘nogen’ and when to use ‘nogle’?

Photo: Prateek Katyal, Pexels

The main rule

’Nogen’ means any or anyone at all:

  • Har nogen glemt at skrue ned for varmen? (Did anyone forget to turn down the heat?)
  • Han havde ikke nogen madpakke med på arbejde. (He didn’t bring any lunch to work.)

’Nogle’ means a few or some.

  • De studerende fik nogle rigtig gode karakterer. (The students received some good marks.)
  • Hun havde nogle søde kollegaer. (She had some nice colleagues.)

Rule of thumb

‘Nogen’ is often equivalent to ’any’; ’nogle’ is often equivalent to ’some’. If in doubt, try translating the sentence into English to see what sounds right.

  • Hun havde ikke brug for nogen hjælp til opgaven.
  • She didn’t need any help with the assignment.
  • Du må gerne tage nogle rundstykker med til dine kollegaer.
  • Feel free to bring some bread rolls for your colleagues.

More than one meaning

In some cases, you can use both ’nogen’ and 'nogle', but their meanings are quite different.

  • De kunne ikke svare på nogen af spørgsmålene. (They couldn’t answer any of the questions.)
  • De kunne ikke svare på nogle af spørgsmålene. (They couldn’t answer some of the questions.)

In the first sentence, they couldn’t answer any questions at all (not even one). In the second sentence, they could answer a few or some of the questions. Which of the two words you use therefore depends on the context.

Test your knowledge here (in Danish): https://sproget.dk/leg-og-ler/quizzer-og-ovelser/nogen-eller-nogle/nogen-eller-nogle/examfolder.2007-07-12.2853234603.