Word
Uansett om sjøgangen er sterk eller rolig, går bilfergen i kveld.
Meaning
Regardless of whether the swell is strong or calm, the ferry runs tonight.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Uansett om sjøgangen er sterk eller rolig, går bilfergen i kveld.
være
to be
gå
to go
sterk
strong
rolig
calm
Questions & Answers about Uansett om sjøgangen er sterk eller rolig, går bilfergen i kveld.
What does uansett om mean, and how is it used?
Uansett om means regardless of whether or whether or not.
In this sentence, it introduces a condition that does not affect the result:
- Uansett om sjøgangen er sterk eller rolig = Regardless of whether the sea is rough or calm
It is a very useful pattern in Norwegian:
- Uansett om det regner, går vi ut.
Whether or not it rains, we’re going out.
So here, the ferry is going tonight no matter what the sea conditions are.
Why is it sjøgangen and not just sjøgang?
Because sjøgangen is the definite singular form of sjøgang.
- sjøgang = sea motion / swell / sea conditions
- sjøgangen = the sea motion / the sea conditions
Norwegian often uses the definite form where English might use a more general expression. In this sentence, sjøgangen refers to the sea conditions in the relevant situation.
The ending -en marks masculine definite singular:
- en sjøgang = a sea state / sea motion
- sjøgangen = the sea state / the sea motion
What exactly does sjøgang mean?