Øregangen er ren.

Because -en is the definite singular ending for many common-gender nouns in Norwegian.

• en øregang = an ear canal
• øregangen = the ear canal

So Norwegian often puts the at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English does.

The base form is øregang.

This noun is made up of:

• øre = ear
• gang = passage / canal / corridor

So øregang literally means something like ear passage, which in natural English is ear canal.

In Norwegian, definiteness is usually built into the noun itself.

Compare:

• en øregang = an ear canal
• øregangen = the ear canal

So in this sentence, øregangen er ren, the idea of the is already included in øregangen.

Because adjectives in Norwegian often agree with the noun in gender and number, even when they come after er.

Here, øregangen is:

• singular
• common gender

So the correct form is ren.

Compare:

• En øregang er ren = singular common gender
• Et rom er rent = singular neuter
• Øregangene er rene = plural

So ren matches øregangen correctly.

Usually, yes. Ren means clean, but like English clean, its exact nuance depends on context.

In a sentence like Øregangen er ren, it usually means the ear canal is:

• free of dirt
• free of wax buildup
• not contaminated

In a medical context, it can sound a bit clinical, just like The ear canal is clean in English.

This is the normal Norwegian word order for a simple statement:

• subject: Øregangen
• verb: er
• complement/adjective: ren

So it follows the basic pattern:

Subject + verb + adjective

Very similar to English:

• The ear canal is clean

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

So:

• er = is / are / am, depending on context

In this sentence:

• Øregangen er ren = The ear canal is clean

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• ø: a rounded vowel that does not exist in standard English; it is somewhat like the vowel in French deux or German schön
• øre sounds roughly like Ø-reh
• gangen sounds roughly like GAHNG-en

A very rough English-style approximation might be:

UR-eh-gang-en

But that is only approximate, especially because ø is hard to represent with English spelling.

It is normally treated as a common-gender noun, so you use en:

• en øregang
• øregangen

In Bokmål, many nouns that are historically masculine or feminine are grouped under common gender in everyday grammar.

Yes, grammatically you can.

• En øregang er ren = An ear canal is clean / An ear canal is clean
• Øregangen er ren = The ear canal is clean

The difference is that en øregang is indefinite, while øregangen is definite.

In real-life use, the definite form often sounds more natural if you are talking about a specific person’s ear canal, especially in a medical or descriptive context.

The plural forms are:

• øreganger = ear canals
• øregangene = the ear canals

And the adjective changes too:

• Øregangene er rene = The ear canals are clean

So you can see the pattern:

• singular common gender: ren
• plural: rene

Yes, especially in a medical, health, or hygiene context.

It sounds like something a doctor, nurse, or examiner might say after looking into someone’s ear:

• Øregangen er ren

In everyday casual conversation, people might be less likely to say exactly this unless they are talking specifically about ear health. But grammatically and naturally, it is completely fine.