lekene

Lekene is a Norwegian word that refers to toys or playthings. It is the definite plural form of the noun leke, meaning a toy; the indefinite plural is leker. In typical usage, lekene denotes the collection of toys that children use during play. The term appears frequently in everyday speech, parenting guidance, and education contexts when talking about play, storage, or care of toys.

In sentences, lekene can be used to talk about specific toy sets, for example, “Lekene ligger i esken” (The toys are in the box), or more generally as in “Lekene er viktige for utviklingen” (Toys are important for development). The word can also appear in compound phrases such as “barnelekene” (children’s toys) or “lekene i barnehagen” (the toys in the kindergarten).

Etymology and related forms: lekene derives from leke, the verb meaning to play. The concept is closely tied to play and childhood development, reflecting how objects used for play are categorized and discussed. In other Scandinavian languages, there are different words for toys: Danish legetøj and Swedish leksaker, illustrating a shared cultural emphasis on play but with distinct lexical forms.

See also: Leke, leker, legetøy, leksaker.