Vi renser vannet.

Vi means we. It is the subject pronoun used when the speaker is talking about themselves together with one or more other people.

Examples:

• Vi kommer snart. = We are coming soon.
• Vi bor i Norge. = We live in Norway.

Renser is the present tense of å rense, which means to clean, to purify, or to treat/cleanse, depending on context.

So:

• å rense = to clean / to purify
• renser = clean / are cleaning / purify / are purifying

In Norwegian, the present tense often ends in -r.

In Norwegian, verbs do not change form depending on the subject the way they do in English.

So you get:

• jeg renser = I clean
• du renser = you clean
• han renser = he cleans
• vi renser = we clean
• de renser = they clean

The verb stays the same in the present tense for all persons. This is much simpler than English.

Vannet is the definite form of vann, meaning the water.

In Norwegian, instead of usually putting a separate word for the before the noun, you often add the definiteness to the end of the noun.

So:

• vann = water
• vannet = the water

This is very common in Norwegian:

• bok = book
• boka / boken = the book
• hus = house
• huset = the house

Because Norwegian usually marks definiteness by attaching it to the noun itself.

So English the water becomes Norwegian vannet, not usually det vann.

This is one of the big structural differences between English and Norwegian.

The word order is:

subject + verb + object

• Vi = subject
• renser = verb
• vannet = object

This is the normal word order for a simple statement in Norwegian, just like in English:

• We clean the water.

Not exactly.

• å vaske usually means to wash
• å rense usually means to clean out, purify, filter, or remove unwanted substances from

So Vi renser vannet sounds more like:

• We purify the water
• We treat the water
• We clean the water so it becomes pure

It is often used for water, air, wounds, skin, pipes, filters, and similar things.

Yes. Norwegian present tense can often correspond to both:

• We clean the water
• We are cleaning the water

The exact meaning depends on context.

If you need to make the ongoing action especially clear, Norwegian can also use expressions like:

• Vi holder på å rense vannet. = We are in the process of cleaning/purifying the water.

But in many everyday cases, Vi renser vannet is enough.

A rough guide is REN-ser, with the stress on the first syllable.

A few pronunciation notes:

• r is a Norwegian r, which varies by dialect
• e in the first syllable is short
• the final -er in many Norwegian words is often pronounced more like a reduced -er sound, not strongly like English air

A learner-friendly approximation is:

• VI REN-ser VAN-net

But it is best to listen to native audio, because Norwegian vowel sounds are important.

A rough learner-friendly pronunciation is VAN-net, with stress on the first syllable.

Notes:

• a is a short vowel
• the double nn helps show that the vowel before it is short
• -et at the end is pronounced clearly, though not heavily

So it sounds roughly like:

• VAN-net

Again, native audio is very helpful for getting the vowel right.

Usually, yes. Vann often works like water in English and refers to the substance in a general sense.

Examples:

• Vi trenger vann. = We need water.
• Vannet er kaldt. = The water is cold.

But like in English, context matters. You can talk about specific water, such as the water in a tank, river system, or treatment plant, and then the definite form vannet is natural.

Yes, in many dialects and in Nynorsk-style usage, vatnet is common instead of vannet.

• vannet is the usual Bokmål form
• vatnet is common in Nynorsk and many spoken dialects

So:

• Vi renser vannet.
• Vi renser vatnet.

Both can be correct depending on the variety of Norwegian.

The infinitive verb is å rense.

So the sentence in dictionary-style breakdown is:

• vi = we
• å rense = to clean / purify
• vannet = the water

You might also see:

• Vi skal rense vannet. = We are going to clean the water.
• Vi må rense vannet. = We must clean the water.

The past tense of å rense is renset.

So:

• Vi renser vannet. = We clean / are cleaning the water.
• Vi renset vannet. = We cleaned the water.

The perfect tense would be:

• Vi har renset vannet. = We have cleaned the water.

Yes, it is a completely natural and correct Norwegian sentence.

It sounds like something you could say in contexts such as:

• water treatment
• filtering water
• environmental work
• science class
• camping or survival
• industrial cleaning systems

It is short, clear, and idiomatic.