Datomerkingen viser en best før-dato.

Datomerkingen is a compound noun:

• dato = date
• merking = marking / labeling
• datomerking = date marking / date labeling
• datomerkingen = the date marking / the date label information

The ending -en makes it definite singular, so it means the date marking, not just a date marking.

In food-related contexts, datomerking usually refers to the date information printed on packaging, such as best before or use by information.

Because Norwegian often adds the definite article to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like the.

So:

• en datomerking = a date marking
• datomerkingen = the date marking

This is very common in Norwegian. The ending changes depending on the noun’s gender and number, but here -en shows definite singular for a common-gender noun.

Viser is the present tense of the verb å vise, which means to show, to indicate, or to display.

So:

• å vise = to show
• viser = shows / is showing

In this sentence, Datomerkingen viser ... means The date marking shows ... or The date labeling indicates ...

Many Norwegian verbs form the present tense with -r, and vise → viser is a standard example.

Because the main noun in the compound is dato, and dato is a common-gender noun:

• en dato
• therefore en best før-dato

In Norwegian compounds, the last part usually decides the grammatical gender of the whole word. Since dato takes en, the full compound does too.

The hyphen is used because best før is a multiword expression attached to dato to make a compound-like unit.

So:

• best før = best before
• dato = date
• best før-dato = best-before date / best before date

The hyphen makes the structure clearer and easier to read. This is especially common when the first part of a compound is more than one word.

Not exactly.

Best før-dato corresponds more closely to best before date, not use-by date.

The usual distinction is:

• best før = the product is expected to be at its best quality before this date
• siste forbruksdag = use by / last day for safe consumption

So if a learner sees best før-dato, they should not automatically assume the stricter meaning of use-by date.

Because Norwegian strongly prefers compound nouns.

English often uses separate words, but Norwegian frequently joins related ideas into one noun expression. The last element is the main noun, and what comes before it describes it.

So:

• dato = the main noun
• best før- = tells you what kind of date it is

This is a very common pattern in Norwegian, and learners will see it everywhere.

The structure is:

• Datomerkingen = subject
• viser = verb
• en best før-dato = object

So it follows a normal Norwegian main-clause pattern:

Subject + verb + object

That is the most basic word order in Norwegian statements.

Yes. In this sentence, viser can be understood as:

• shows
• displays
• indicates

When talking about information printed on packaging, viser often has the sense of indicates or states, not only visually shows in a literal sense.

Yes. Grammatically, it is singular.

Norwegian often uses a singular noun for something that functions as one overall label or one category of information. So datomerkingen can mean the date marking as a single feature on the package, even if that marking contains more than one piece of information.

Yes. This sentence is a good example of two important compound patterns:

• dato + merking → datomerking
• best før + dato → best før-dato

Useful rules to notice:

• Norwegian very often combines nouns into compounds.
• The last element is the main word.
• The last element usually determines the gender.
• If the first part is a whole phrase, a hyphen is often used.

This makes compounds a very important reading skill in Norwegian.