Breakdown of Jobben er vanskelig; til gjengjeld er lønnen god.
være
to be
god
good
vanskelig
difficult
jobben
the job
Questions & Answers about Jobben er vanskelig; til gjengjeld er lønnen god.
Why are jobben and lønnen ending in -en?
Because they are in the definite singular form.
- en jobb = a job
- jobben = the job
and
- en lønn = a salary / pay
- lønnen = the salary / the pay
In this sentence, Norwegian is talking about a specific job and its pay, so the definite forms are used.
Why is it lønnen with two ns?
The noun is lønn. It already ends in -nn, and the definite ending is -en. So:
- lønn
- -en → lønnen
This is completely normal in Norwegian spelling. It is similar to how English sometimes keeps all the letters when adding an ending.
What does til gjengjeld mean here?
Til gjengjeld means something like:
- in return
- in compensation
- on the other hand
- but as a trade-off
In this sentence, it means that although the job is difficult, there is a compensating positive fact: the pay is good.
So the logic is:
The job is difficult; in return / on the other hand, the pay is good.
Why does the second part say til gjengjeld er lønnen god and not ?