Kilometerstanden er høy.

to be

Breakdown of Kilometerstanden er høy.

• høy: high
• kilometerstanden: the odometer reading

Questions & Answers about Kilometerstanden er høy.

What does kilometerstanden mean exactly?

It means the mileage or odometer reading. In everyday use, it usually refers to how many kilometers a vehicle has been driven.

So Kilometerstanden er høy means that the vehicle has a lot of kilometers on it.

Why does kilometerstanden end in -en?

The ending -en is the Norwegian definite article for many singular nouns. Instead of putting a separate word like the in front, Norwegian often adds the definite article to the end of the noun.

• kilometerstand = mileage / odometer reading
• kilometerstanden = the mileage / the odometer reading

So kilometerstanden already includes the idea of the.

Is kilometerstanden one word because Norwegian likes compounds?

Yes. Norwegian very often combines nouns into one compound word.

Here:

• kilometer = kilometer
• stand = standing, level, reading, position

Together, kilometerstand means something like kilometer reading, which is why it is understood as mileage or odometer reading.

This kind of compound is very common in Norwegian.

Why is it er?