Fuglen åpner vingene.

Because fuglen is the definite singular form of fugl (bird).

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

• fugl = bird
• fuglen = the bird

So the -en here works like English the.

In Norwegian, definiteness is usually marked by a suffix on the noun.

So instead of:

• English: the bird
• Norwegian: fuglen

And instead of:

• English: the wings
• Norwegian: vingene

This is one of the first big differences English speakers notice in Norwegian.

Åpner is the present tense of the verb å åpne (to open).

So:

• å åpne = to open
• åpner = opens / is opening

In Norwegian, the present tense is often made by adding -r to the infinitive:

• snakke → snakker
• kjøpe → kjøper
• åpne → åpner

Because vingene means the wings — plural definite.

The base noun is:

• vinge = wing

Its common forms are:

• en vinge = a wing
• vinger = wings
• vingene = the wings

Since a bird normally has two wings, the plural is natural here.

Norwegian often uses the definite form where English uses a possessive, especially with body parts or things closely connected to the subject.

So Norwegian commonly says:

• Fuglen åpner vingene.

Where English more naturally says:

• The bird opens its wings.

Literally, Norwegian looks like The bird opens the wings, but the meaning is normally understood as its own wings.

Yes, grammatically you can, but it is usually less natural in a simple sentence like this.

• Fuglen åpner vingene is the normal, idiomatic choice.
• Fuglen åpner sine vinger sounds more marked, literary, or contrastive.

Using sine can make the possession more explicit, but in everyday Norwegian it is often unnecessary when it is obvious whose wings they are.

The dictionary forms are:

• fugl = bird
• å åpne = to open
• vinge = wing

The sentence uses inflected forms:

• fuglen = definite singular of fugl
• åpner = present tense of å åpne
• vingene = definite plural of vinge

No, this is a very basic subject–verb–object sentence, just like in English.

• Fuglen = subject
• åpner = verb
• vingene = object

So the structure is:

• The bird
  • opens
    • the/its wings

This makes the sentence a good beginner example because the order is straightforward.

The letter å is pronounced roughly like the vowel in English more or law, though the exact sound depends on accent and dialect.

So åpner begins with a rounded aw/oh-like sound.

A rough beginner-friendly approximation is:

• åpner ≈ OP-ner or AWP-ner

But it is better to hear native audio if possible, because Norwegian vowels are important and can be tricky.

Because vingene is plural definite: the wings.

The singular forms would be:

• vingen = the wing
  or, in feminine style Bokmål:
• vinga = the wing

But this sentence needs the plural, so:

• vingene = the wings

In Bokmål, many nouns can be treated as either masculine or feminine in the singular, but the definite plural here is still vingene.

Usually, yes.

Out of context, most people will understand it as the bird opening its own wings. That is the most natural reading.

In theory, context could make it mean some other wings, but without extra information, native speakers will normally assume the wings belong to the bird.

Yes.

The Norwegian present tense åpner can correspond to both:

• opens
• is opening

Which one sounds best in English depends on context. Norwegian does not require a separate progressive form the way English often does.