mannlig

Mannlig is an adjective used in Scandinavian languages, notably Norwegian Bokmål, to denote male gender or masculine characteristics. In practice, it describes the sex of a person or the grammatical gender of a noun. Examples include Norwegian phrases such as mannlig kjønn (the male sex) and mannlig person (a male person). In Swedish, a closely related form is manlig, used in a similar sense, for example manlig kön (the male gender) or en manlig person (a male person). The word inflects for number in both languages: Norwegian mannlig / manlige; Swedish manlig / manliga.

Etymology and cognates

Mannlig derives from the Proto-Germanic word for “man” combined with a common adjectival suffix that yields “having the qualities of.” This pattern is seen across North Germanic languages. Cognates include Norwegian mannlig, Swedish manlig, and Danish mandlig, with minor phonetic differences reflecting each language’s sound system.

Usage notes

As a gendered adjective, mannlig is used primarily in reference to biological sex or masculine grammatical categories. Its exact form changes with number in Norwegian and Swedish, following standard adjective inflection rules. In translation, it often corresponds to the English “male” or “masculine,” depending on context.

See also

Gender (linguistics), Masculine, Feminine (see language-specific equivalents such as kvinnlig in Swedish), and related terms for grammatical gender and sex-based descriptors in Scandinavian languages.