# Norwegian: "my old one"



## Absu

Hello, I am wondering the correct way to use "one" as a noun, but not concerning quantity or number.

I'm describing my new apartment to a friend and I want to say:

"It is another basement apartment, but it is a lot nicer than my old one"

So far my attempt is:

_Den er en annen kjellerleilighet, men den er mange hyggeligere enn den gamle enest min._

I think I have most of it correct except the ending "my old one". My grammar book says when a possessive pronoun is referring to a noun with an adjective (old), it comes last. So "den gamle [one] min" is how it should be written, correct? I just can't figure out how to write "one". Also, I assume since "one" is referring to the basement apartment, which is masculine, that "min" is correct since I can't seem to find any kind of gender for "one" when used in this context.

Also, should _kjellerleilighet _be combined like that, or separated? I know Norwegian has a tendency to combine nouns so I assumed they go together.

Thanks for any help!


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## Havfruen

Hei,

I think you could say this two ways:

Den er en annen kjellerleilighet, men den er *mye* hyggeligere enn _min gamle_. 
Den er en annen kjellerleilighet, men den er *mye* hyggeligere enn _den gamle min_.

_min gamle_ = my old (one)
_den gamle min_ = the old (one) of mine

_kjellerleilighet_ is preferred  (here Google is useful)

Note *mye*=much or many, *mange*=many

I am also learning Norwegian. Vær så snil og rett fejlene mine, takk!


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## Tech12

Kjellerleilighet should definitely be one word, and Havfruen is right that "mye" is correct in this case.

I would use "finere" instead of "hyggeligere". I guess the latter is possible, but as a translation of "nicer" I like "finere" better.

As for "my old one", "den gamle enest min" and "den gamle min" are incorrect. It has to be "min gamle" or "den gamle", but preferably the latter.


_Den er mye finere enn min gamle._ [Sounds quite stilted.]

_Den er mye finere enn den gamle. [Sounds OK.]


_As for the first part, I might be inclined to change it to "det er en kjellerleilighet til" if the intent is to communicate that you're getting another apartment of the same type. The way it is written I interpret it to mean that it is *another *apartment (not x, but y). I might be splitting hairs here though, so let's have another Norwegian look at it.


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## Zluim

The only noun I can think of that fits the bill is _(kjeller)leiligheten_, i.e. _den gamle leiligheten min / min gamle leilighet._ You could also leave it out and just say_ den gamle _(the old one)_. _I don't think_ min gamle_ works well without the noun, though. 

_den gamle _
_den gamle leiligheten min_
_min gamle leilighet_
_(min gamle) _
_*den gamle min __(doesn't work without the noun)_

_den eneste_ = the only one

_Kjeller + leilighet = kjellerleilighet_ (It's a general rule, not just a tendency.)

_Mye_, uncountable: _mye hyggeligere_
_Mange_, countable: _mange hyggelige mennesker_

I think I can see what Tech12 means regarding _hyggeligere _vs. _finere_, but you find _hyggelig hjem as_ an example in Bokmålsordboka, so I wouldn't worry about it. There is a difference in meaning, though; _finere_ suggests a higher standard, while _hyggeligere_ suggests a warmer atmosphere.

The first part of the sentence sounds a bit odd (not wrong, just odd). I would say something like: 

_Den nye leiligheten er også en kjellerleilighet, men den er mye hyggeligere enn den gamle._
_Også dette er en kjellerleilighet, men den er mye hyggeligere enn den gamle leiligheten min._


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## Tech12

Zluim said:


> I think I can see what Tech12 means regarding _hyggeligere _vs. _finere_, but you find _hyggelig hjem as_ an example in Bokmålsordboka, so I wouldn't worry about it. There is a difference in meaning, though; _finere_ suggests a higher standard, while _hyggeligere_ suggests a warmer atmosphere.



Oh, I definitely agree that _hyggeligere_ can be used to describe an apartment, I just don't think that's quite what _nicer_ means.


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## Absu

Havfruen said:


> Hei,
> 
> I think you could say this two ways:
> 
> Den er en annen kjellerleilighet, men den er *mye* hyggeligere enn _min gamle_.
> Den er en annen kjellerleilighet, men den er *mye* hyggeligere enn _den gamle min_.
> 
> _min gamle_ = my old (one)
> _den gamle min_ = the old (one) of mine
> 
> _kjellerleilighet_ is preferred  (here Google is useful)
> 
> Note *mye*=much or many, *mange*=many
> 
> I am also learning Norwegian. Vær så snil og rett fejlene mine, takk!


Yeah, I figured it should be combined, but I try not to rely on Google Translate, even though I do use it quite a bit.  In any case, I take its translations with a grain of salt. And oddly enough when I put in _kjellerleilighet _it translates it to just "basement", but if I split them then it translates it to "basement apartment". Strike one for Google.

And thanks with the "mye". I always mix those up.



Tech12 said:


> As for the first part, I might be inclined to change it to "det er en kjellerleilighet til" if the intent is to communicate that you're getting another apartment of the same type. The way it is written I interpret it to mean that it is *another *apartment (not x, but y). I might be splitting hairs here though, so let's have another Norwegian look at it.


I probably should have mentioned that it's sentence pulled from a paragraph (about the apartment), so I think any confusion about this kind of specificity won't be a problem. 



Zluim said:


> I think I can see what Tech12 means regarding _hyggeligere _vs. _finere_, but you find _hyggelig hjem as_ an example in Bokmålsordboka, so I wouldn't worry about it. There is a difference in meaning, though; _finere_ suggests a higher standard, while _hyggeligere_ suggests a warmer atmosphere.


I definitely do mean a higher standard, so I think I'll change the adjective. Thanks!



Zluim said:


> The first part of the sentence sounds a bit odd (not wrong, just odd). I would say something like:
> 
> _Den nye leiligheten er også en kjellerleilighet, men den er mye hyggeligere enn den gamle._
> _Også dette er en kjellerleilighet, men den er mye hyggeligere enn den gamle leiligheten min._


Again, sorry. I should have mentioned it's a sentence pulled from a paragraph. I've already mentioned that it's a new apartment. I feel like including it here would make it redundant.

How is this for a refined translation:

_Den er annen kjellerleilighet, men den er mye finere enn den gamle_.

Thanks so much everyone for your replies!


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## Havfruen

For the beginning of the sentence it this possible and natural?
_Den er også en kjellerleilighet,

_What if I wanted to say "my old one" in reference to a person, say my old boyfriend?
Would the best translation still be "den gamle"?


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## henbjo

Yes, "den gamle" would still be the correct translation, although about old boyfriends or girlfriends "eksen min" as in "my ex" is commonly used.



Absu said:


> How is this for a refined translation:
> 
> _Den er annen kjellerleilighet, men den er mye finere enn den gamle_.



Remember that "annen" translates to "other" and not "*an*other", so need to add "en" in front of "annen":
_Den er en annen ..._ 

But: "En annen" is not really used in the exact same way that "another" is used in English. "En annen" is strictly used for differentiation. My point is this: even though the sentence is out of context, "Det er en annen kjellerleilighet..." is not the correct construction to say this in Norwegian. Most Norwegians will understand what you mean, but it's not an idiomatic translation. I support Zluims suggestion, just trimmed down a bit:

_Også denne er en kjellerleilighet, men den er mye finere enn den gamle._


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## Absu

henbjo said:


> Remember that "annen" translates to "other" and not "*an*other", so need to add "en" in front of "annen":
> _Den er en annen ..._
> 
> But: "En annen" is not really used in the exact same way that "another" is used in English. "En annen" is strictly used for differentiation.


Ah, okay. Thanks for that clarification.



henbjo said:


> My point is this: even though the sentence is out of context, "Det er en annen kjellerleilighet..." is not the correct construction to say this in Norwegian. Most Norwegians will understand what you mean, but it's not an idiomatic translation. I support Zluims suggestion, just trimmed down a bit:
> 
> _Også denne er en kjellerleilighet, men den er mye finere enn den gamle._


I've reworded the paragraph a bit and made it even more concise:

_Den nye kjellerleilighet_ _min er mye finere enn den gamle._

How does that look?


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## basslop

I have just followed this thread briefly so I would just say: The suggestion "_Den nye kjellerleilighet_ _min er mye finere enn den gamle._" is good daily Norwegian, straight to the point and precise.


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## Absu

basslop said:


> I have just followed this thread briefly so I would just say: The suggestion "_Den nye kjellerleilighet_ _min er mye finere enn den gamle._" is good daily Norwegian, straight to the point and precise.


Awesome, thank you!


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## henbjo

Just remember that "Den" is a definite pronoun, so the noun should be definite too:
_Den nye kjellerleilighet*en* min er mye finere enn den gamle._

Other than that, your sentence is perfect idiomatic Norwegian.


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## Absu

henbjo said:


> Just remember that "Den" is a definite pronoun, so the noun should be definite too:
> _Den nye kjellerleilighet*en* min er mye finere enn den gamle._
> 
> Other than that, your sentence is perfect idiomatic Norwegian.


Oops! Thanks for the correction!


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