Strømmåleren står i kjelleren.

Here strøm means electricity / electric current / power, not a stream of water.

So strømmåler means an electricity meter or power meter. Context makes that clear.

Because Norwegian usually writes compound nouns as one word.

strømmåleren can be broken down like this:

• strøm = electricity
• måler = meter, gauge
• -en = the

So:

• en strømmåler = an electricity meter
• strømmåleren = the electricity meter

A useful rule: in Norwegian compounds, the last part is the main noun. Here the main noun is måler, so the whole word is a type of meter.

Because Norwegian often puts the definite article onto the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.

Examples:

• en kjeller = a basement

• kjelleren = the basement

• en strømmåler = an electricity meter
• strømmåleren = the electricity meter

So the sentence contains two definite nouns:

• strømmåleren = the electricity meter
• kjelleren = the basement

The dictionary form is å stå, which means to stand.

står is the present tense form:

• å stå = to stand
• står = stands / is standing

In this sentence, it describes where the meter is located.

This is a very common question. In Norwegian, verbs like stå (stand), ligge (lie), and sitte (sit) are often used for location, where English would often just use is.

So:

• Strømmåleren står i kjelleren = the electricity meter is in the basement

Norwegian uses står because the meter is understood as something that is positioned/installed standing there.

Using er is not always impossible, but står sounds more natural and idiomatic here.

A rough idea:

• er = exists/is
• står = is standing / is positioned upright / is located there in a standing-type way

For objects like cabinets, bottles, machines, and meters, står is very common.

i kjelleren means in the basement.

The preposition i usually means in or inside. Since a basement is an enclosed space, i is the natural choice.

Breakdown:

• i = in
• kjelleren = the basement

So:

• i kjelleren = in the basement

The basic word order is:

Subject + verb + place

So here:

• Strømmåleren = subject
• står = verb
• i kjelleren = place/location

That gives:

Strømmåleren står i kjelleren.

This is the normal word order for a simple statement.

Yes. Norwegian allows that, but then the verb must still stay in second position.

So you can say:

I kjelleren står strømmåleren.

That is still correct. It gives more emphasis to the location: In the basement, the electricity meter is located.

This is part of the Norwegian V2 rule: in main clauses, the finite verb usually comes second.

The base forms are:

• en strømmåler = an electricity meter
• en kjeller = a basement

Both are usually treated as common gender nouns in Bokmål, which is why they take en in the indefinite singular and -en in the definite singular:

• en strømmåler → strømmåleren
• en kjeller → kjelleren

So if you want the dictionary forms, they are:

• strømmåler
• kjeller