De skal avlese strømmåleren.

At the beginning of a sentence, De can look ambiguous, because both de (they) and formal De (you) are capitalized there.

So you have to use the translation or the context to know which one it is.

A useful note:

• de = they
• De = very formal/polite you

In modern everyday Norwegian, formal De is uncommon, so de = they is usually the more common reading unless the context is clearly formal.

It follows a very common Norwegian pattern:

Subject + finite verb + infinitive + object

So here:

• De = subject
• skal = finite verb / modal verb
• avlese = infinitive
• strømmåleren = object

This is quite close to English word order in a simple main clause.

Skal often means something like:

• will
• shall
• are going to
• are supposed to
• must or need to, depending on context

In a sentence like this, it usually suggests a planned action or an instruction. So the feeling is often something like are going to read the meter or are supposed to read the meter.

Because skal is a modal verb, and after modal verbs in Norwegian you normally use the bare infinitive.

So:

• De skal avlese strømmåleren. = correct
• De skal å avlese strømmåleren. = incorrect

The same thing happens with other modal verbs:

• kan lese
• vil lese
• må lese
• bør lese

Avlese means to read off or to take a reading from something like a meter, gauge, or display.

So it is more specific than plain lese, which usually means to read in the general sense, especially reading text.

Compare:

• lese en bok = read a book
• avlese en måler = read a meter / take a meter reading

So avlese is the natural verb here because a meter is being checked for its numerical reading.

Here strøm means electricity or electrical power.

Literally, strøm can also mean current or flow, but in everyday Norwegian it is very commonly used for household electricity.

So:

• strømmåler = literally something like electricity-meter
• natural English meaning = electricity meter

It has three parts:

• strøm = electricity
• måler = meter / measuring device
• -en = the

So:

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

This kind of word-building is extremely common in Norwegian.

Because Norwegian usually marks definiteness by adding an ending to the noun.

So instead of a separate word like English the, Norwegian often uses a suffix:

• en måler = a meter
• måleren = the meter

And with the compound:

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

This is one of the big differences between English and Norwegian nouns.

Because Norwegian normally writes compound nouns as one word.

So:

• strøm + måler = strømmåler

English often uses two words where Norwegian uses one:

• electricity meter in English
• strømmåler in Norwegian

This is very standard Norwegian spelling.

Because the compound keeps the end of strøm and the beginning of måler:

• strøm ends in m
• måler begins with m

So when they join, both letters stay:

• strøm + måler = strømmåler

This is normal in Norwegian compounds.

There is no perfect English equivalent, but a good trick is:

1. Start with the vowel sound of bed
2. Keep your tongue in a similar position
3. Round your lips

That gets you closer to Norwegian ø.

For strømmåleren, a rough guide is: STRØM-moh-le-ren

The main stress is on the first syllable: STRØM.

It will take practice, because ø is one of the vowels English speakers usually need time to get comfortable with.