Han er edru.

Han means he. It is the masculine third-person singular pronoun, used for a male person.

So:

• Han = he

Example:

• Han er trøtt. = He is tired.

Er means is. It is the present tense of the verb å være, which means to be.

A few common forms are:

• å være = to be
• er = am / is / are (depending on the subject in English)
• var = was / were
• vært = been

In this sentence:

• Han er edru. = He is sober.

Edru usually means sober, especially in the sense of not drunk.

So Han er edru normally means:

• He is sober
• He is not drunk

Depending on context, edru can also have a broader sense like clear-headed, serious, or unemotional, but the alcohol-related meaning is the most common one in a sentence like this.

Because edru is an adjective, not a noun.

In Han er edru, the structure is:

• Han = subject
• er = verb
• edru = adjective describing the subject

This is like English:

• He is sober not
• He is a sober

You would only use a/an with a noun, such as:

• Han er en lærer. = He is a teacher.

Yes, in this basic statement it is very similar to English:

• Han = He
• er = is
• edru = sober

So the pattern is:

subject + verb + adjective

This makes the sentence very straightforward for an English speaker.

You switch the subject and the verb:

• Han er edru. = He is sober.
• Er han edru? = Is he sober?

This is a very common pattern in Norwegian.

Usually, edru stays edru. It does not normally take the usual adjective endings like -t or -e.

For example:

• en edru mann = a sober man
• et edru svar = a sober/clear-headed answer
• edru mennesker = sober people
• Han er edru. = He is sober.

So this is a useful word to remember as an adjective that is often unchanged.

No. Most often, it describes a person's current state: he is not drunk right now.

But depending on context, it can also describe someone's general condition, for example:

• someone who is staying sober
• someone who is alcohol-free
• someone who is speaking or thinking clearly

If you specifically want to say that someone does not drink alcohol at all, context usually makes that clear, or Norwegian might use a fuller expression.

A simple approximation is EH-droo, with the stress on the first syllable.

Very roughly:

• e sounds like the e in bed
• dru sounds somewhat like droo

The exact r sound depends on dialect, so don't worry too much if your r is not perfect at first.

Yes, you could, and it means He is not drunk.

But there is a slight difference in feel:

• Han er edru = He is sober
• Han er ikke full = He is not drunk

Edru is the more direct word for sober, while ikke full expresses the idea by negating drunk. Both are natural, but edru is often the more precise word.