Siktemerket ligger foran strikelommen.

Norwegian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun.

• siktemerke = aiming mark / target mark
• siktemerket = the aiming mark

And:

• lomme = pocket
• lommen = the pocket

So in this sentence, both nouns are definite:

• Siktemerket = the aiming mark
• strikelommen = the strike pocket

Unlike English, Norwegian often does not use a separate word like the before the noun, because the definiteness is built into the ending.

Siktemerket is a compound noun:

• sikte = to aim
• merke = mark / marker
• siktemerke = aiming mark
• siktemerket = the aiming mark

Compound nouns are very common in Norwegian. English often writes these as two words, but Norwegian often joins them into one.

This is also a compound noun:

• strike = strike
• lomme = pocket
• strikelomme = strike pocket
• strikelommen = the strike pocket

So the word is built as one unit. This is very typical in Norwegian: instead of writing separate words, Norwegian often combines them into one compound noun.

Yes. Norwegian often borrows sports terms from English, and strike is commonly used in bowling.

So in a bowling context, strikelomme is a natural technical word. Even though strike comes from English, the whole compound behaves like a normal Norwegian noun and takes a Norwegian definite ending:

• en strikelomme
• strikelommen

Ligger comes from ligge, which often means:

• to lie
• to be located
• to be situated

In Norwegian, ligge is very often used for the position or location of something, especially something that is physically placed somewhere.

So:

• Siktemerket ligger foran strikelommen = the aiming mark is located in front of the strike pocket

If you used er, the sentence might still be understandable, but ligger sounds more natural when talking about physical placement.

Ligger is the present tense of ligge.

Here are some basic forms:

• å ligge = to lie / to be located
• ligger = lies / is lying / is located
• lå = lay / was located
• har ligget = has lain / has been located

In this sentence, ligger is used because the sentence describes where something is.

Foran means in front of or before, depending on context.

Here it tells you the position of siktemerket relative to strikelommen:

• foran strikelommen = in front of the strike pocket

So the structure is:

• Siktemerket = subject
• ligger = verb
• foran strikelommen = location phrase

Because Norwegian does not need one there.

In English, you say:

• in front of the strike pocket

In Norwegian, the equivalent structure is simply:

• foran strikelommen

So foran already works as the preposition, and the noun after it does not need a separate word like of.

Yes, it is the normal word order for a main clause.

The pattern is:

• Siktemerket = subject
• ligger = verb
• foran strikelommen = adverbial phrase of place

So this is a straightforward subject + verb + place expression sentence.

Norwegian main clauses usually put the finite verb in the second position, and that is exactly what happens here.

Yes. That is also grammatical.

When you move the location phrase to the front, Norwegian still keeps the finite verb in second position:

• Foran strikelommen ligger siktemerket

This structure may sound a bit more descriptive or stylistically marked, but it is perfectly normal.

Compare:

• Siktemerket ligger foran strikelommen.
• Foran strikelommen ligger siktemerket.

Both are correct; the difference is mainly what you want to emphasize first.

Because Norwegian usually writes compound nouns as one word.

So:

• siktemerke, not sikte merke
• strikelomme, not strike lomme

This is one of the most common spelling differences between English and Norwegian. English often uses two words where Norwegian uses one compound word.

Traditionally, lomme is feminine:

• ei lomme
• lomma

But in Bokmål, many feminine nouns can also be treated as masculine:

• en lomme
• lommen

That is why strikelommen is normal and correct. In many kinds of Bokmål, masculine forms are very common, even for nouns that can also be feminine.

A careful approximate pronunciation would be something like:

• SIK-te-mer-ke ligger for-AN STRAIK-lom-men

A few notes:

• sikte starts with a clear s
• merket has a short e sound
• ligger has a hard g sound in standard pronunciation
• foran has stress on the second syllable: for-AN
• strike is pronounced much like the English word strike
• lommen has a short o

The exact pronunciation can vary a bit by dialect, but this is a good starting point.

It sounds like a technical or instructional sentence, probably from bowling.

Words like siktemerket and strikelommen suggest a context where someone is explaining:

• where to aim
• lane markings
• bowling technique
• how to hit the pocket for a strike

So this is not especially everyday vocabulary, but the grammar is completely ordinary and useful to learn.