gjen

Gjen is a native Norwegian bound morpheme that functions as a productive prefix. It conveys notions of return, repetition, or restoration and is used to form verbs and nouns that describe doing something again, reviving, or bringing something back to a previous state. In practice, gjen combines with a wide range of bases to create new words, such as gjenopplive (to revive), gjenoppbygging (reconstruction), and gjenbruk (reuse).

Examples of gjen- in use include gjenoppdagelse (rediscovery), gjeninnføre (to reintroduce), and gjenopprettelse (restoration). The sense of the prefix is similar to the English re- in many contexts, but as a native Norwegian morpheme it participates in characteristic Norwegian word formation and phonology.

Orthography and variants are a notable feature of gjen. In modern Norwegian, the prefix is generally written as gjen-, but a few common compounds use the variant gjenn-, reflecting historical pronunciation and assimilation. Examples include gjennomsnitt (average) and gjennomsiktig (transparent). These forms are established spellings in contemporary Norwegian and illustrate how the prefix can appear with slightly different orthography depending on the following elements.

Gjen is predominantly a bound morpheme and is not typically used as a free-standing word in contemporary Norwegian. Its function remains primarily morphological, serving to modify the meaning of the base to express repetition, restoration, or a return to an earlier state within compound words.