Sørgemyggen kommer fra plantejorden.

Because -en is the usual definite ending for many singular masculine/feminine/common-gender nouns in Norwegian Bokmål.

• sørgemygg = a fungus gnat
• sørgemyggen = the fungus gnat

So Norwegian often puts the at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word before it.

For the same reason: plantejorden means the potting soil or the plant soil.

• plantejord = potting soil / plant soil
• plantejorden = the potting soil

In Norwegian, it is very common to use the definite form where English might also use the, especially when talking about something specific or something understood from the context.

Yes. Norwegian very often forms nouns by joining words together into one compound.

Here:

• sørge relates to mourning/grief
• mygg = midge / mosquito-like insect

Together, sørgemygg is the standard Norwegian word for fungus gnat.

This is very common in Norwegian, so learners should get used to seeing long single-word nouns.

kommer fra means comes from.

• kommer = comes / is coming
• fra = from

In this sentence, kommer fra is not mainly about physically walking from a place. It can also mean originates from or has its source in.

So the idea is that the fungus gnat comes from, or originates in, the potting soil.

Norwegian often uses the present tense for general facts, habits, and typical situations, just like English.

So Sørgemyggen kommer fra plantejorden can express a general truth: The fungus gnat comes from the potting soil / Fungus gnats come from potting soil.

The present tense is formed very simply in Bokmål:

• å komme = to come
• kommer = come/comes

Notice that Norwegian verbs do not change depending on I/you/he/we/they.

Because in Norwegian, definiteness is usually marked by an ending on the noun itself.

Compare:

• en mygg = a gnat

• myggen = the gnat

• en jord would not be natural here, but:
• plantejord = potting soil
• plantejorden = the potting soil

So instead of saying a separate word like English the, Norwegian often adds -en, -a, or -et to the noun.

This is the normal word order for a Norwegian statement:

Subject + verb + other information

• Sørgemyggen = subject
• kommer = verb
• fra plantejorden = prepositional phrase

So the sentence is structured very naturally: The fungus gnat comes from the potting soil.

If you changed the order to Kommer sørgemyggen fra plantejorden?, that would sound like a yes/no question: Does the fungus gnat come from the potting soil?

Because fra is the normal preposition for from when talking about origin, source, or starting point.

• fra = from
• av often means of / by / made of, depending on context

Here the meaning is source or origin, so fra is the natural choice.

The base form is plantejord.

This is another compound noun:

• plante = plant
• jord = soil / earth

So plantejord means plant soil or more naturally potting soil.

Then the definite form is:

• plantejorden = the potting soil

These are two vowels that English speakers often find difficult.

• ø is a rounded vowel that does not exist in standard English. It is somewhat similar to the vowel in French peur or German ö.
• y is also rounded and is similar to German ü.

So sørgemyggen contains two vowels that may take practice.

A useful tip:

• For y, try saying ee while rounding your lips.
• For ø, try saying something like eh while keeping the lips rounded.

Even if your pronunciation is not perfect at first, Norwegian speakers will usually still understand you from context.

Yes, very possibly. Even though the sentence is grammatically singular and definite, Norwegian often uses the singular definite form to talk about a species or a type of thing in a general sense.

So depending on context, Sørgemyggen kommer fra plantejorden may mean:

• The fungus gnat comes from the potting soil
• or more naturally in English, Fungus gnats come from potting soil

English and Norwegian do not always make these general statements in exactly the same way, so a very literal translation is not always the most natural one.

Not as the most natural version of this exact sentence.

If you remove the definite endings, the sentence becomes more bare and less specific. Norwegian often prefers the definite form in statements like this, especially when referring to something known, typical, or being discussed as a category.

So:

• sørgemyggen = the fungus gnat
• plantejorden = the potting soil

Using the definite forms makes the sentence sound more natural in many contexts. However, in other contexts, indefinite or plural forms could also be possible. It depends on exactly what you want to say.