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Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Legen behandler sykdommen. - The doctor treats the illness.

Hardcore Norwegian
/Comparing household electricity contracts
/Legen behandler sykdommen.

Legen behandler sykdommen.

Word

Legen behandler sykdommen.

Meaning

The doctor treats the illness.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Norwegian

Lesson

Comparing household electricity contracts

Breakdown of Legen behandler sykdommen.

the illness; disease

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Questions & Answers about Legen behandler sykdommen.

Why do legen and sykdommen end in -en?

The ending -en is the definite singular ending in Bokmål for many nouns.

lege = doctor
legen = the doctor
sykdom = disease / illness
sykdommen = the disease / the illness

So instead of using a separate word like English the, Norwegian often adds the definiteness to the end of the noun.

Why is there no separate word for the in this sentence?

In Norwegian, the definite article is usually attached to the noun as a suffix.

So English:

the doctor
the disease

becomes Norwegian:

legen
sykdommen

This is very normal in Norwegian. A separate article can appear in some other structures, especially with adjectives, but not in this simple sentence.

What form of the verb is behandler?

behandler is the present tense of behandle, which means to treat.

So:

å behandle = to treat
behandler = treats / is treating

In this sentence, Legen behandler sykdommen can often be understood as either:

The doctor treats the disease
The doctor is treating the disease

Norwegian often uses the simple present where English might use either simple present or present continuous.

Does the verb change depending on the subject, like in English I treat vs he treats?

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

For example:

jeg behandler = I treat
du behandler = you treat
han behandler = he treats
legen behandler = the doctor treats

So behandler stays the same no matter who is doing the action.

Is the word order in this sentence the normal Norwegian order?

Yes. This sentence uses the basic word order:

Subject + Verb + Object

Legen = subject
behandler = verb
sykdommen = object

So Legen behandler sykdommen is a very standard Norwegian sentence pattern.

Could this sentence mean both treats and is treating?

Yes. Norwegian present tense often covers both meanings.

So Legen behandler sykdommen can mean:

The doctor treats the disease
The doctor is treating the disease

Context usually tells you which meaning is intended.

What is the indefinite version of this sentence?

If you want to say a doctor treats a disease, you would use the indefinite forms:

en lege = a doctor
en sykdom = a disease

So the sentence would be:

En lege behandler en sykdom.

That said, this exact sentence may sound a bit less natural depending on context, because doctors usually treat patients, conditions, or illnesses in a more specific situation. Grammatically, though, it is correct.

Why is it legen and not legeen?

Because the definite ending is added to the noun in its normal definite form, and the word may change slightly when the ending is attached.

lege
- definite form becomes legen
not legeen

This is just the standard definite form of lege. Many Norwegian nouns behave this way, where the final form is not simply the whole word plus an extra vowel.

Does sykdom mean disease or illness?

It can mean either disease or illness, depending on context.

In many cases:

sykdom = a general illness, disease, or medical condition

So sykdommen could be translated as:

the disease
the illness
sometimes the condition

The best English translation depends on the situation.

How do you pronounce the words in this sentence?

A simple learner-friendly guide would be:

Legen ≈ LAY-ghen
behandler ≈ beh-HAHN-dler
sykdommen ≈ SICK-dom-men

A few helpful notes:

g in legen is pronounced, but softly
y in sykdommen is a Norwegian vowel that does not match English exactly
the r in behandler may sound different depending on the speaker’s dialect

If you want, a more exact pronunciation guide is:

legen /ˈleːɡən/
behandler /bəˈhɑndlər/
sykdommen /ˈsʏkˌdɔmən/

Are Norwegian nouns capitalized like in German?

No. In Norwegian, nouns are not normally capitalized unless they begin the sentence or are part of a proper name.

So in this sentence:

Legen is capitalized only because it is the first word
sykdommen stays lowercase

This is different from German, where all nouns are capitalized.

Is behandle only used for medical treatment?

No. Behandle can also mean handle, deal with, or process, depending on context.

For example, it can be used for:

treating a patient or illness
handling a topic
processing an application
treating someone in a certain way

But in Legen behandler sykdommen, the medical meaning treats is the natural one.

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