Han sover naken.

Sover is the present tense form of the verb å sove (to sleep).

• å sove = to sleep
• sover = sleep / is sleeping

Norwegian does not usually use a separate form like English is sleeping here. A simple present-tense verb often covers both general and current meaning, depending on context.

So:

• Han sover = He sleeps / He is sleeping

In this sentence, Norwegian does not need a separate auxiliary verb like English is.

English often uses:

• He is sleeping

Norwegian commonly just uses the present tense:

• Han sover

That can mean either:

• He sleeps (habitually), or
• He is sleeping (right now)

The context tells you which meaning is intended.

Here, naken is being used as a predicative adjective describing the subject han.

After verbs like være (to be), sove (to sleep), ligge (to lie), or gå (to walk/go around), Norwegian often uses an adjective to describe the subject’s state:

• Han er naken = He is naked
• Han sover naken = He sleeps naked

Because the subject is a common-gender singular person (han), the basic form naken is used.

Because han refers to a masculine/common-gender singular person, and the adjective agrees with that.

Compare:

• Han er naken = He is naked
• Hun er naken = She is naked
• Det er nakent = It is naked / bare

The -t form (nakent) is usually used with neuter singular nouns or pronouns like det, not with han.

In Norwegian, words like naken stay adjectival in this kind of sentence. They describe the subject’s condition while the action happens.

So in:

• Han sover naken

naken describes han, not the verb by itself. It means that he is in a naked state while sleeping.

This is similar to English in meaning, but Norwegian grammar treats it clearly as an adjective.

This is the normal main-clause word order in Norwegian:

• Subject + verb + other information

So:

• Han = subject
• sover = verb
• naken = description of the subject

That gives:

• Han sover naken

This is the most natural neutral order for a simple statement.

Yes, but it is marked and much less neutral.

Naken sover han puts special emphasis on naken, almost like:

• He sleeps naked
• It is naked that he sleeps

This kind of fronting is possible, but for ordinary everyday usage, Han sover naken is the best choice.

A simple learner-friendly approximation is:

• Han ≈ hahn
• sover ≈ SOO-ver
• naken ≈ NAH-ken

A few helpful notes:

• sover has stress on the first syllable: SO-ver
• naken also has stress on the first syllable: NA-ken
• The exact vowel sounds vary by dialect, but those approximations are good enough to start

Yes. The Norwegian present tense can express either:

• a current action: He is sleeping naked
• a habitual action: He sleeps naked

Context decides which one is meant.

If you wanted to make the habitual meaning clearer, you could add something like:

• Han pleier å sove naken = He usually sleeps naked

Yes, it is completely natural.

It is short, idiomatic, and grammatically normal. Norwegian often expresses this kind of idea very directly:

• Hun går barbeint = She walks barefoot
• Barnet sover rolig = The child sleeps calmly
• Han sover naken = He sleeps naked / He is sleeping naked

So this is exactly the kind of sentence a native speaker might say.

The verb is å sove.

In dictionaries, Norwegian verbs are usually listed with å:

• å sove = to sleep

So the sentence breaks down as:

• Han = he
• sover = sleeps / is sleeping
• naken = naked

Yes. You can change the subject and keep the same structure:

• Hun sover naken = She sleeps naked
• De sover nakne = They sleep naked
• Barnet sover nakent = The child sleeps naked

Notice that the adjective changes depending on the subject:

• naken for singular common gender / people like han or hun
• nakent for neuter singular
• nakne for plural

So adjective agreement still matters.