Plantene spirer nå.

Plantene is the definite plural form of plante (plant).

• en plante = a plant
• planten = the plant
• planter = plants
• plantene = the plants

So Plantene spirer nå specifically means the plants are sprouting now, not just plants are sprouting now in a general sense.

In Norwegian, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word before it.

So instead of saying:

• the plants

Norwegian says:

• plantene

This is very common in Norwegian:

• boken = the book
• huset = the house
• bilene = the cars

Spirer is the present tense of the verb å spire, which means to sprout, to germinate, or to begin to grow.

Examples:

• å spire = to sprout
• spirer = sprouts / is sprouting / are sprouting

In Norwegian, the present tense is often formed by adding -r to the infinitive:

• å komme → kommer
• å vokse → vokser
• å spire → spirer

Not exactly.

• å spire means to sprout, to germinate, or to start growing
• å vokse means to grow

So Plantene spirer nå suggests the plants are just beginning to come up or sprout, rather than simply growing in a general sense.

Nå means now, and putting it at the end is very natural in Norwegian.

• Plantene spirer nå. = The plants are sprouting now.

Norwegian often places time words like nå after the verb or toward the end of the sentence in simple statements.

You can also sometimes move it for emphasis, but the version here is the most straightforward and natural.

It is grammatically present tense, but Norwegian present tense often covers both:

• English sprout
• English are sprouting

So spirer can mean:

• sprout
• are sprouting

Norwegian does have ways to emphasize an ongoing action, but in many ordinary sentences the simple present is enough.

Norwegian main clauses usually follow the V2 rule, which means the finite verb comes in the second position.

In this sentence:

• Plantene = first element
• spirer = second element
• nå = after that

So the word order is completely normal.

You can see the same pattern in:

• Barna leker ute.
• Jeg kommer snart.
• Solen skinner i dag.

That would be:

• En plante spirer nå.

Comparison:

• En plante = a plant
• Planten = the plant
• Planter = plants
• Plantene = the plants

So the original sentence is plural and definite, while En plante spirer nå is singular and indefinite.

A careful approximate pronunciation is:

• plantene ≈ PLAHN-teh-neh

A few helpful points:

• the a is broad, like ah
• the final e sounds are usually light, like eh or a weak vowel
• the stress is on the first syllable: PLAN-

Exact pronunciation varies a bit by dialect, but this approximation will help.

A rough pronunciation is:

• spirer ≈ SPEE-rer

Helpful notes:

• spi- sounds like spee
• the r is pronounced, but Norwegian r varies by dialect
• stress is usually on the first syllable: SPI-

So the full sentence sounds roughly like:

• PLAHN-teh-neh SPEE-rer noh

Yes. Å spire is often used for seeds and plants that are just beginning to grow, but in context plantene spirer nå can refer broadly to plants that are now sprouting or emerging.

It often suggests:

• springtime growth
• new shoots appearing
• early-stage growth

So it has a slightly more specific sense than just growing.

Yes, that is also correct.

• Plantene spirer nå.
• Nå spirer plantene.

Both are grammatical, but the emphasis is slightly different:

• Plantene spirer nå focuses first on the plants
• Nå spirer plantene gives a little more emphasis to now

Because Norwegian uses the V2 rule, when nå comes first, the verb still stays in second position:

• Nå = first element
• spirer = second element
• plantene = after the verb

More or less, yes:

• Plantene = the plants
• spirer = sprout / are sprouting
• nå = now

So the structure is quite close to English, even though Norwegian handles definiteness differently by attaching the to the noun.