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Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Bilen veier ett tonn. - The car weighs one tonne.

Hardcore Norwegian
/Fishing at a lake with friends
/Bilen veier ett tonn.

Bilen veier ett tonn.

Bilen veier ett tonn.

The car weighs one tonne.

Breakdown of Bilen veier ett tonn.

Questions & Answers about Bilen veier ett tonn.

Why is it bilen and not just bil?

Bilen means the car, while bil means a car / car.

In Norwegian, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun:

en bil = a car
bilen = the car

So Bilen veier ett tonn specifically means The car weighs one ton.

Why is it ett tonn and not en tonn?

Because tonn is a neuter noun in Norwegian.

Norwegian indefinite articles are:

en for common-gender nouns
et/ett for neuter nouns

So:

en bil
ett tonn

You will often see both et and ett for neuter nouns. Ett is commonly used when you want to make the number one a little clearer or more emphatic.

What does veier come from?

Veier is the present tense of the verb å veie, which means to weigh.

So the forms are:

å veie = to weigh
veier = weighs / weigh

In this sentence:

Bilen veier ett tonn = The car weighs one ton

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Why doesn’t Norwegian use a verb like is here, as in The car is one ton?

Because Norwegian, like English, normally uses the verb to weigh for weight.

So:

Bilen veier ett tonn = natural
Bilen er ett tonn = not natural for meaning The car weighs one ton

Using er would sound like you are saying the car somehow is a ton, rather than giving its weight.

Why is there no preposition before ett tonn?

Because after å veie, Norwegian normally gives the weight directly, without a preposition.

So:

Bilen veier ett tonn not
Bilen veier på ett tonn

The weight expression works directly after the verb, just like in English:

The car weighs one ton

Is tonn singular or plural here?

Here it is singular because it is one ton: ett tonn.

A useful thing to know is that after numbers, tonn often stays the same in form:

ett tonn = one ton
to tonn = two tons
tre tonn = three tons

So the noun does not always change the way an English speaker might expect.

What is the basic word order in this sentence?

The sentence has the normal Norwegian main-clause order:

Bilen = subject
veier = verb
ett tonn = weight expression

So it is simply:

Subject + Verb + Complement

That makes it a very standard Norwegian sentence.

Can ett be omitted here?

No, not in this sentence if you want to say one ton.

You need ett because it gives the quantity:

Bilen veier ett tonn = The car weighs one ton

If you removed ett, you would get Bilen veier tonn, which is not correct.

Is ett tonn always exact, or can it be approximate?

It can be either, depending on context.

By itself, Bilen veier ett tonn can mean:

exactly one ton, if the context is precise
about one ton, in ordinary conversation

If you want to make approximation clearer, Norwegian could say something like:

Bilen veier omtrent ett tonn = The car weighs about one ton

How is veier pronounced?

In standard Norwegian, veier is roughly pronounced like VAY-er, though the exact sound depends on accent and dialect.

A simple learner-friendly approximation is:

veier ≈ VAY-er

Also note that ei in Norwegian often sounds somewhat like the English ay in day, though not exactly the same.

Could I also say Bilen veier en tonn in speech?

No, that would be grammatically wrong in standard Norwegian.

Since tonn is a neuter noun, it must take et/ett, not en:

correct: ett tonn
incorrect: en tonn

This is one of those noun-gender details that learners simply need to memorize.

Why is Bilen capitalized?

Because it is the first word of the sentence.

In Norwegian, ordinary nouns are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence. So:

bilen in the middle of a sentence
Bilen at the start of a sentence

This is different from German, where all nouns are capitalized.

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