Rettssaken begynner i dag.

Because Norwegian usually writes compound nouns as one word, where English often uses two words.

Here, rettssaken comes from:

• rett = law / court / justice-related
• linking -s-
• sak = case

So the base noun is rettssak = court case / trial.

Then Norwegian adds the definite ending -en, giving rettssaken = the trial / the court case.

In Norwegian, definiteness is usually added to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.

So:

• en rettssak = a trial
• rettssaken = the trial

That final -en is doing the job that the does in English.

The dictionary form is en rettssak.

That is the indefinite singular form, the form you would normally look up in a dictionary.

Forms:

• en rettssak = a trial
• rettssaken = the trial
• rettssaker = trials
• rettssakene = the trials

That comes from the way the compound is built.

The word is based on rettssak, which contains a linking -s- before sak. Since sak itself starts with s, you get ss in the spelling.

So this is normal Norwegian compound spelling, not a typo.

Begynner is the present tense of begynne = to begin.

So literally it is begins.

However, Norwegian present tense is also very often used for things happening now or for scheduled future events. That is why Rettssaken begynner i dag naturally means something like The trial begins today or The trial is starting today.

Because Norwegian, like English, often uses the present tense for scheduled or planned events.

So Rettssaken begynner i dag is perfectly natural if the trial is set to start later today.

This is similar to English sentences like:

• The meeting starts at 10.
• My flight leaves tonight.

In Norwegian, i dag is the normal expression for today.

Literally, i often means in, but in fixed time expressions you should usually learn the whole phrase as a unit:

• i dag = today
• i morgen = tomorrow
• i kveld = tonight / this evening

So here, i dag is just the standard adverbial phrase meaning today.

Because this is the normal word order in a simple Norwegian main clause:

• subject + verb + time expression

So:

• Rettssaken = subject
• begynner = verb
• i dag = time expression

That makes the sentence very straightforward and neutral.

Yes, absolutely.

I dag begynner rettssaken is also correct and means the same thing.

The difference is mostly focus:

• Rettssaken begynner i dag = neutral statement
• I dag begynner rettssaken = stronger emphasis on today

When a time expression comes first in a Norwegian main clause, the verb still has to stay in second position. That is why it becomes:

• I dag begynner rettssaken

  not

• I dag rettssaken begynner

This is because Norwegian is a V2 language in main clauses. That means the finite verb must come in the second position.

So if you start with I dag, the verb must come next:

• I dag
  • begynner
    • rettssaken

This is a very important Norwegian word-order rule.

Yes, in many contexts you could say:

• Rettssaken starter i dag

That would also sound natural.

In general:

• begynner = begins
• starter = starts

Both are common, and in a sentence like this the difference is small. Begynner often sounds slightly more neutral or formal, which fits well with rettssaken.

You would move the verb before the subject:

• Begynner rettssaken i dag? = Does the trial begin today?

That is the normal yes/no question pattern in Norwegian.

Statement:

• Rettssaken begynner i dag.

Question:

• Begynner rettssaken i dag?

You would put ikke after the verb:

• Rettssaken begynner ikke i dag.

That is the normal placement of ikke in a main clause.

So the pattern is:

• subject + verb + ikke + ...

A simple approximation for an English speaker is:

• RETT-sah-ken

A few helpful points:

• rett has a short vowel, because of the double tt
• the middle ss is a real s sound
• a in sak is broad, somewhat like a in father
• the final -en is usually unstressed

You do not need to pronounce every written consonant as a separate beat; just aim for a smooth retts-saken.