Utekatten ser på matskålen som om den er tom.

Utekatten is a compound noun: utekatt + the definite ending -en.

• ute = outside / outdoors
• katt = cat
• utekatt = an outdoor cat
• utekatten = the outdoor cat

Norwegian very often combines words into one compound where English would use two or more words. So utekatten is completely normal as one word.

In Norwegian, the definite article is often attached to the noun as an ending instead of being a separate word like English the.

So:

• en utekatt = an outdoor cat
• utekatten = the outdoor cat

and

• en matskål = a food bowl
• matskålen = the food bowl

That is why both nouns end in -en here.

Se på means to look at.

• ser alone often means sees
• ser på means looks at / is looking at

So:

• Katten ser fuglen = The cat sees the bird.
• Katten ser på fuglen = The cat is looking at the bird.

In your sentence, the cat is directing its gaze toward the bowl, so ser på is the natural choice.

Matskålen means the food bowl.

It is another compound noun:

• mat = food
• skål = bowl
• matskål = food bowl
• matskålen = the food bowl

This kind of compound is extremely common in Norwegian.

Som om means as if or as though.

It introduces a comparison: something seems to be the case, even if the speaker is not directly stating that it really is true.

So:

• ser på matskålen som om den er tom = looks at the food bowl as if it is empty

This structure is very common in Norwegian.

Den refers back to matskålen.

Since matskål is a common-gender noun (en matskål), the pronoun used is den.

So the grammar is:

• matskålen → den

Even though in English we might think more about whether the bowl is empty or whether there is no food in it, Norwegian still uses den to refer to the noun matskålen.

Because matskål is a common-gender noun, not a neuter noun.

In Norwegian:

• common gender nouns usually take den
• neuter nouns usually take det

Examples:

• en skål → den
• et bord → det

Since it is en matskål, the sentence uses den.

The adjective agrees with the noun or pronoun it describes.

Here it describes den, which refers to matskålen, a common-gender singular noun. So the adjective is:

• tom

Compare:

• en skål er tom = a bowl is empty
• et glass er tomt = a glass is empty

So:

• den er tom = it is empty
• det er tomt = it is empty

The form depends on the gender of what is being described.

Yes, you very often can.

Both are possible, but there is a slight difference in feel:

• som om den er tom = as if it is empty
• som om den var tom = as if it were empty / as if it was empty

Using var can sound a bit more hypothetical or a bit more like English as if it were. Using er is also natural, especially in everyday speech.

So learners may hear both.

Because som om introduces a subordinate clause, and in that clause the normal order here is:

• subject + verb + complement

So:

• den = subject
• er = verb
• tom = adjective/complement

This is different from main-clause word order patterns where Norwegian sometimes puts the verb in second position. After som om, the clause is subordinate, so you do not get inversion here.

Grammatically, utekatten is definite singular, so it literally means the outdoor cat.

In context, that can be:

• a specific outdoor cat already known in the conversation, or
• a more general/categorical use, depending on style and context

But in most ordinary reading, a learner should understand it as the outdoor cat.

Yes.

• ser = present tense of å se
• er = present tense of å være

So the sentence describes what is happening now, or what the cat is like in a current situation.

Yes, very often it can.

Norwegian usually does not need a special progressive form like English is looking. The simple present ser på can cover that meaning.

So:

• Utekatten ser på matskålen can mean
• The outdoor cat looks at the food bowl or
• The outdoor cat is looking at the food bowl

The exact English translation depends on context.

Sometimes, depending on context, yes.

Literally, matskål is food bowl. But if the context is clearly about a pet’s bowl, English might naturally say the cat bowl or the food dish.

Still, the direct meaning of the Norwegian word is specifically built from mat + skål, so food bowl is the most literal translation.

A couple of things may help:

• ser på: the r in ser is pronounced clearly, and på has a long vowel.
• matskålen: remember it is one compound word, so it flows together.
• som om: often said smoothly in connected speech, almost as one chunk.

A learner should also notice the rhythm of the sentence as groups:

• Utekatten | ser på matskålen | som om den er tom

Practicing it in chunks often makes it easier to say naturally.