Hun snakker italiensk.

Hun means she.

It is the Norwegian subject pronoun used for a female person, just like she in English.

Snakker is the present-tense form of the verb å snakke, which means to speak or to talk.

In Norwegian, verbs do not change according to the subject the way they do in English. So you get:

• jeg snakker = I speak / I am speaking
• du snakker = you speak / you are speaking
• hun snakker = she speaks / she is speaking

So snakker works for all persons in the present tense.

It can mean either one, depending on context.

Norwegian present tense often covers both:

• She speaks Italian
• She is speaking Italian

If there is no extra context, most learners will understand this sentence as She speaks Italian.

Because Norwegian normally says snakke + language directly, without a preposition.

So:

• Hun snakker italiensk = She speaks Italian
• Vi snakker norsk = We speak Norwegian

English sometimes uses in in certain contexts, but when talking about knowing or using a language, Norwegian usually does not.

In Norwegian, names of languages are normally written with a lowercase letter.

So:

• engelsk = English
• norsk = Norwegian
• italiensk = Italian

This is different from English, where language names are capitalized.

Here, italiensk is being used to mean the Italian language.

Norwegian often uses the same form for:

• the adjective: italiensk mat = Italian food
• the language: snakke italiensk = speak Italian

So in this sentence, italiensk functions as the language being spoken.

Yes. This is the normal basic word order in Norwegian:

subject + verb + object/complement

So:

• Hun = subject
• snakker = verb
• italiensk = what she speaks

This is the standard pattern for a simple statement.

You add ikke after the verb:

Hun snakker ikke italiensk. = She does not speak Italian.

That placement is very common in simple Norwegian sentences.

A yes/no question is usually made by putting the verb first:

Snakker hun italiensk? = Does she speak Italian?

This verb-first pattern is very important in Norwegian questions.

A simple learner-friendly guide would be:

hoon SNAK-er ee-ta-lee-ensk

A few helpful notes:

• Hun sounds roughly like hoon
• snakker has a clear k sound in the middle
• italiensk has four syllables: i-ta-li-ensk

Pronunciation varies a bit by dialect, but that approximation is good enough for a beginner.

Yes, in many situations you can.

• snakker = speaks / talks
• prater = talks / chats

But snakker italiensk is the most standard and natural way to say speaks Italian. Prater italiensk may be understood, but snakker is usually the safer choice when talking about languages.

The infinitive is å snakke, which means to speak.

So the forms are:

• å snakke = to speak
• snakker = speak / speaks / am speaking / is speaking

If you are learning verbs, it is useful to memorize them this way:

• å snakke
• snakker
• snakket
• har snakket