Advokaten leser dokumentet.

In Norwegian, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun.

So:

• advokat = a lawyer
• advokaten = the lawyer
• dokument = a document
• dokumentet = the document

That is why the sentence uses advokaten and dokumentet rather than separate words for the.

Because the two nouns belong to different grammatical genders.

In Bokmål, nouns are commonly grouped like this:

• common gender: often takes -en in the definite singular
• neuter: often takes -et in the definite singular

Here:

• en advokat → advokaten
• et dokument → dokumentet

So the ending changes depending on the noun’s gender.

It would be:

En advokat leser et dokument.

Compare:

• En advokat = a lawyer
• Advokaten = the lawyer
• Et dokument = a document
• Dokumentet = the document

This is a very common pattern in Norwegian, so it is worth learning early.

Because Norwegian usually marks definiteness by adding an ending to the noun instead of using a separate article like English the.

So:

• English: the lawyer

• Norwegian: advokaten

• English: the document
• Norwegian: dokumentet

There are some situations in Norwegian where an extra determiner appears too, but in a simple sentence like this, the ending on the noun is enough.

Leser is the present tense of lese (to read).

So:

• å lese = to read
• leser = reads / is reading

In this sentence, leser can mean either:

• The lawyer reads the document
• The lawyer is reading the document

Norwegian often uses the simple present where English might use either reads or is reading.

No. In Norwegian, verbs do not change for person in the present tense.

So you get:

• jeg leser = I read / am reading
• du leser = you read / are reading
• han/hun leser = he/she reads / is reading
• vi leser = we read / are reading

That makes Norwegian verb conjugation simpler than English in this area.

This is the normal word order for a basic statement:

Subject + Verb + Object

So:

• Advokaten = subject
• leser = verb
• dokumentet = object

That gives:

Advokaten leser dokumentet.

This is the standard pattern in many simple Norwegian sentences.

Yes. Norwegian is a verb-second language in main clauses. That means the finite verb often stays in the second position.

For example:

• Advokaten leser dokumentet.
  The lawyer reads the document.

• Nå leser advokaten dokumentet.
  Now the lawyer is reading the document.

When Nå comes first, the verb leser still stays in second position, so the subject moves after the verb.

That is a very important Norwegian pattern to notice.

Here, advokaten is singular definite: the lawyer.

The plural forms are different:

• en advokat = a lawyer
• advokaten = the lawyer
• advokater = lawyers
• advokatene = the lawyers

So the ending -en here tells you it is singular definite, not plural.

Here, dokumentet is also singular definite: the document.

Typical forms are:

• et dokument = a document
• dokumentet = the document
• dokumenter = documents
• dokumentene = the documents

So -et here marks singular definite for this neuter noun.

A rough pronunciation is LEH-ser.

A few useful notes:

• The e in the first syllable is long.
• The final -er is usually not stressed.
• Pronunciation varies somewhat by dialect.

So if you say something close to LEH-ser, you will be understood well.

Yes, they are very recognizable for English speakers.

• advokat is related to advocate and means lawyer
• dokument is clearly related to document

This is common in Norwegian, especially with more formal or international vocabulary. It can make reading easier for English speakers.

No, not this exact sentence.

Advokaten leser dokumentet refers to a specific document because dokumentet means the document.

If you wanted a more general meaning, you might say:

• Advokaten leser dokumenter = The lawyer reads documents
• En advokat leser dokumenter = A lawyer reads documents

So the definite ending on dokumentet makes it specific.