Plantelyset står nær potteplanten.

Because Norwegian forms compounds very freely, much more often than English does. What English writes as plant light is normally written as a single word in Norwegian: plantelys.

In your sentence, plantelyset is:

• plantelys = plant light / grow light
• -et = the definite ending for a neuter noun

So:

• et plantelys = a plant light
• plantelyset = the plant light

Norwegian usually prefers one-word compounds where English often uses two words.

Norwegian often uses position verbs where English simply uses is. The verb stå literally means stand, but it is also used to describe where something is placed.

So Plantelyset står nær potteplanten is literally something like:

• The plant light stands near the potted plant

But in natural English, you would usually say:

• The plant light is near the potted plant

This is very common in Norwegian:

• står for things that are upright or positioned in a standing way
• ligger for things lying down
• henger for things hanging

So står is not strange here at all.

Yes. In this sentence, nær means near and functions as a preposition.

So:

• nær potteplanten = near the potted plant

You can think of it much like English near.

A useful thing to know is that nær can also be used in other ways, for example as an adjective in some contexts, but in this sentence it is best understood simply as a preposition.

Because potteplanten is definite: the potted plant.

Norwegian usually marks definiteness by adding the article to the end of the noun.

So:

• en potteplante = a potted plant
• potteplanten = the potted plant

That ending -en is doing the job that the does in English.

Because the two nouns have different grammatical genders.

• et plantelys is a neuter noun, so the definite form is plantelyset
• en potteplante is a common gender noun, so the definite form is potteplanten

Very roughly:

For neuter nouns:

• et hus → huset
• et plantelys → plantelyset

For common gender nouns:

• en bil → bilen
• en potteplante → potteplanten

So the ending changes depending on the noun’s gender.

Because in Norwegian, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun.

Instead of saying:

• the plant light

Norwegian often says:

• plantelyset

And instead of:

• the potted plant

Norwegian says:

• potteplanten

This is one of the biggest structural differences from English. The noun itself carries the meaning of the.

The sentence follows normal Norwegian main-clause word order:

• Plantelyset = subject
• står = verb
• nær potteplanten = prepositional phrase

So the pattern is:

Subject + Verb + Other information

That is the standard order in simple statements:

• Boken ligger på bordet.
• Katten sitter i stolen.
• Lampen står ved vinduet.

Also, Norwegian is a V2 language, which means the finite verb normally comes in the second position in main clauses. In this sentence, the subject comes first, so the verb naturally comes second.

It is a compound noun:

• potte = pot
• plante = plant

So potteplante literally means pot plant or potted plant.

This is another example of how Norwegian often builds meanings through compounds instead of using longer phrases.

This comes from the form plante- used in the compound. Norwegian compounds sometimes use a connecting form between the first and second part.

Here:

• plante
  • lys → plantelys

This is normal and something you will mostly learn by exposure. Some compounds use a linking element, and some do not. In this case, plante- is the expected form.

Yes. Norwegian often uses stå for objects that are placed somewhere, especially if they are upright or thought of as standing in position.

Examples:

• Lampen står på bordet. = The lamp is on the table.
• Flasken står i kjøleskapet. = The bottle is in the fridge.
• Plantelyset står nær potteplanten. = The plant light is near the potted plant.

So even though English often just says is, Norwegian prefers a more specific position verb.

I nærheten av could work, but it is a bit longer and less direct.

Compare:

• Plantelyset står nær potteplanten. = The plant light is near the potted plant.
• Plantelyset står i nærheten av potteplanten. = The plant light is in the vicinity of / near the potted plant.

Both are possible, but nær is shorter and very natural here.

Nærme is different. That is related to approaching or coming closer, not just being near in a static sense. So it would not normally replace nær in this sentence.

Not exactly in standard Bokmål as written here, but this question points to something important: Norwegian has variation, especially with gender forms.

For potteplante, many speakers may use:

• potteplanten with common gender
• potteplanta with feminine gender

Both can be acceptable depending on the variety of Bokmål a person uses.

However, plantelyset is the normal form for the neuter noun plantelys. That part would not become planta or something similar.

So the main possible variation is with potteplante, not with plantelys.

A useful rule is that Norwegian compounds are usually stressed on the first part of the compound.

So you would typically stress:

• PLANTElyset
• POTTEplanten

That first-part stress is very common in Norwegian compound nouns and can help them sound more natural.