Personheisen går opp.

The passenger lift goes up.

Breakdown of Personheisen går opp.

• gå: to go
• opp: up
• personheisen: the passenger lift

Questions & Answers about Personheisen går opp.

What does personheisen break down into?

Personheisen is a compound noun:

• person = person
• heis = elevator / lift
• -en = the (definite singular ending for a masculine noun)

So personheisen literally means the person-elevator, i.e. the passenger elevator / the lift for people.

This is very common in Norwegian: instead of using separate words, Norwegian often combines them into one compound noun.

Why is it personheisen and not person heisen as two words?

Because Norwegian normally writes compound nouns as one word.

So:

• personheis = passenger elevator
• personheisen = the passenger elevator

Writing person heisen would look wrong in standard Norwegian. English often uses separate words where Norwegian prefers compounds.

Why does the word end in -en?

The ending -en marks the noun as definite singular, meaning the.

Here is the pattern:

• en personheis = a passenger elevator
• personheisen = the passenger elevator

This is a very important feature of Norwegian: instead of always putting a separate word for the before the noun, Norwegian often adds the definite ending to the noun itself.

What does går mean here? Does it literally mean ?