Bildekket er stengt.

Because Norwegian usually writes compound nouns as a single word.

Here, the idea is:

• bil = car
• dekk = deck
• bildekk = car deck
• bildekket = the car deck

This is very normal in Norwegian. English often writes these as two words, but Norwegian usually joins them.

The ending -et is the definite singular ending for a neuter noun.

So:

• et dekk = a deck
• dekket = the deck

And in the compound:

• et bildekk = a car deck
• bildekket = the car deck

So Norwegian often puts the at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word.

Because Norwegian usually adds definiteness directly to the noun.

Compare:

• English: the car deck
• Norwegian: bildekket

That final -et already includes the idea of the. So you do not need a separate article here.

Er is the present tense of å være = to be.

Stengt is the past participle of å stenge = to close / to shut.

Together, er stengt means is closed. It describes the current state of the car deck.

So the structure is:

• bildekket = the car deck
• er = is
• stengt = closed

This is very similar to English.

It comes from a verb, but here it behaves much like an adjective describing a state.

In other words:

• å stenge = to close
• stengt = closed

In Bildekket er stengt, the focus is on the result or condition: the car deck is in a closed state.

This is similar to English The door is closed.

Yes, but it means something slightly different.

• Bildekket er stengt = the car deck is closed
  
  • focuses on the current state
• Bildekket stenges = the car deck is being closed / gets closed
  
  • focuses more on the action or process

So if you simply want to describe the situation right now, er stengt is the more natural choice.

Both can often be translated as closed, but they are not always used in exactly the same way.

• stengt is very common when something is not open for access or use
• lukket often suggests something is shut in a more physical sense

For places, roads, decks, shops, and entrances, stengt is extremely common. So Bildekket er stengt sounds very natural.

Yes, and this is a very useful thing to notice.

The word dekk in Norwegian can mean both:

• deck
• tire

So bildekk can also mean car tire, and bildekket could in another context mean the car tire.

But in this sentence, stengt makes it clear that the intended meaning is the car deck, because a deck can be closed, while that would not normally be said about a tire.

So context is what tells you which meaning is correct.

The word order is straightforward:

• Bildekket = subject
• er = verb
• stengt = complement

So it follows a simple pattern:

subject + verb + description

This is very close to English:

• The car deck is closed
• Bildekket er stengt

A useful learner-friendly way to think of it is:

• stress the first part: BIL-
• dekk has a short vowel sound
• the kk is pronounced clearly
• the final -et is unstressed

So the rhythm is roughly:

BIL-dekket

You do not pronounce it like separate English words. It should sound like one smooth compound noun.

No. Norwegian nouns are not capitalized just because they are nouns.

So:

• bildekket is lowercase in normal writing

It only starts with a capital letter here because it is the first word of the sentence:

• Bildekket er stengt.