Questions & Answers about Hun er følsom for støy.
What does følsom for mean as a phrase?
It is a very common pattern meaning sensitive to or easily affected by something.
So følsom for støy means that noise affects her strongly, bothers her easily, or is hard for her to tolerate. It does not have to mean a medical condition; it can also just describe a personal trait.
Why does Norwegian use for here instead of to?
Because Norwegian and English do not always match prepositions.
With følsom, Norwegian normally uses for:
- følsom for støy
- følsom for lys
- følsom for kritikk
So this is something you mostly have to learn as a set pattern: følsom for + noun.
Why is there no article before støy?
Because støy is usually an uncountable noun, like English noise.
In a general statement, Norwegian often uses the noun without an article:
- følsom for støy = sensitive to noise in general
If you mean a specific noise, you can make it definite:
- Hun er følsom for støyen fra trafikken.
What is the difference between støy and lyd?