Vekselpengene ligger i kontantkassen.

Because vekselpengene is the definite form, meaning the change rather than just change in a general sense.

• vekselpenger = change / small money / change money
• vekselpengene = the change

In Norwegian, definiteness is often added to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like the.

Here, -ne shows that the noun is definite plural.

Norwegian often treats penger (money) as a plural noun in form, even when English uses a singular or uncountable word.

So:

• penger = money
• vekselpenger = change

Even though English says the change is, Norwegian uses a plural noun form here, which is why the verb can look plural in older or more formal language patterns. In modern Norwegian, the same verb form is used for all persons and numbers anyway, so ligger works naturally here.

Ligge literally means to lie or to be lying, but in Norwegian it is very commonly used for things that are located somewhere.

So ligger here means something like:

• is located
• is lying
• is in

Norwegian often prefers a more specific verb of position where English just uses is.

For example:

• Boken ligger på bordet. = The book is on the table.
• Nøklene ligger i skuffen. = The keys are in the drawer.

So in this sentence, ligger sounds very natural because the change is physically sitting in the cash box.

Because i means in, and a cash box is something with an inside. The change is inside it, not on top of it.

• i = in
• på = on

So:

• i kontantkassen = in the cash box
• på kontantkassen = on the cash box

English speakers often need to pay close attention to Norwegian prepositions, because they do not always match English one-to-one.

Kontantkassen is the definite singular form of kontantkasse.

This noun is made up of:

• kontant = cash
• kasse = box / register / till

So kontantkassen means the cash box or the cash register/till, depending on context.

The ending -en is the common definite ending for many masculine nouns:

• en kontantkasse = a cash box
• kontantkassen = the cash box

Yes. Both vekselpenger and kontantkasse are compound nouns.

Norwegian makes compound nouns very freely, often by joining words together into one single word.

Examples from the sentence:

• veksel + penger → vekselpenger
• kontant + kasse → kontantkasse

This is very common in Norwegian, and English speakers often wrongly want to separate them into two words. In Norwegian, they are usually written as one word.

Yes, you can say both.

The basic sentence:

• Vekselpengene ligger i kontantkassen.

A more location-first version:

• I kontantkassen ligger vekselpengene.

Both are grammatical, but the emphasis changes.

• Starting with Vekselpengene focuses first on the change
• Starting with I kontantkassen focuses first on where it is

This is a common feature of Norwegian word order: you can move elements for emphasis, but the verb still has to stay in the second position in main clauses.

Because this is a simple main clause, and Norwegian and English often look quite similar in basic statements.

Structure:

• Vekselpengene = subject
• ligger = verb
• i kontantkassen = prepositional phrase showing location

So it follows a familiar pattern:

• Subject + Verb + Place

That said, Norwegian word order becomes more noticeably different in other sentence types, especially when adverbs, questions, or subordinate clauses are involved.

A rough English-friendly guide would be:

VEK-sel-peng-eh-neh LIG-er ee kon-TANT-kas-en

A few helpful notes:

• kj, sj, and similar sounds are often tricky in Norwegian, but this sentence does not contain the hardest ones.
• g in ligger is pronounced clearly.
• The r sound varies by dialect; do not worry too much about getting it perfect at first.
• Stress is usually strongest early in the word:
  • VEKselpengene
  • LIGger
  • konTANTkassen

Listening to native audio is the best way to learn the rhythm.

Yes, it sounds perfectly natural.

It is a straightforward sentence you might hear in a shop or while talking about a till or cash box. It is neither especially formal nor especially informal.

Depending on context, a speaker might also say something slightly shorter or more conversational, but this sentence itself is completely normal Norwegian.

Yes. In real usage, it can refer to the place where cash is kept in a shop, so the till, cash register, or cash box may all be possible translations depending on context.

This is a good reminder that Norwegian words often do not line up with exactly one English word. The best translation depends on the situation, even when the grammar stays the same.