Hun lengter etter familien.

Because hun is the subject form of she.

In Hun lengter etter familien, hun is doing the action, so Norwegian uses hun.

• hun = she
• henne = her (object form)

Compare:

• Hun lengter etter familien. = She longs for the family.
• Jeg ser henne. = I see her.

Lengter etter means longs for, yearns for, or sometimes misses deeply.

The basic verb is å lengte, and it is very often used with the preposition etter:

• å lengte etter noen/noe = to long for someone/something

So in this sentence:

• Hun lengter etter familien. = She longs for the family.

This expression often sounds a bit stronger or more emotional than just to miss.

Because å lengte normally takes the preposition etter when you say what someone longs for.

So Norwegian does not usually say:

• Hun lengter familien. ❌

Instead, it says:

• Hun lengter etter familien. ✅

This is similar to how some English verbs need a specific preposition, even if the exact wording does not match perfectly.

Not really in a literal time sense.

Yes, etter often means after in other contexts:

• etter middag = after dinner

But in lengter etter, it is part of a fixed verb expression meaning long for. So here you should learn lengte etter as a unit.

Because familien is the definite form of family.

• en familie = a family
• familien = the family

Norwegian usually adds definiteness to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like the.

So:

• familie = family
• familien = the family

Grammatically, it literally means the family.

But in real context, it can sometimes be understood as her family if that is obvious from the situation. Still, if you want to make her family completely clear, Norwegian often says:

• Hun lengter etter familien sin. = She longs for her family.

So:

• familien = the family
• familien sin = her own family

Lengter is present tense.

The verb forms are:

• å lengte = to long
• lengter = longs / is longing

So:

• Hun lengter etter familien. = She longs for the family / She is longing for the family

Norwegian present tense is often used where English might use either simple present or present continuous, depending on context.

This is the normal Norwegian main-clause word order:

• Hun = subject
• lengter = verb
• etter familien = prepositional phrase

So the pattern is basically:

Subject + verb + the rest

That gives:

• Hun lengter etter familien.

If you move another element to the front, Norwegian still keeps the verb in second position:

• Nå lengter hun etter familien. = Now she longs for the family.

Yes, and that is often very natural.

• Hun savner familien. = She misses the family / her family
• Hun lengter etter familien. = She longs for the family

The difference is usually:

• savner = more everyday miss
• lengter etter = stronger, more emotional, more like yearns for or longs for

So both can work, but lengter etter sounds more intense.

The dictionary form is å lengte.

In vocabulary lists, Norwegian verbs are usually given with å:

• å lengte = to long

Then in the present tense:

• jeg lengter
• du lengter
• hun lengter

Unlike English, the present-tense form is the same for all persons.

A common past form is:

• Hun lengtet etter familien. = She longed for the family.

So the key forms are:

• å lengte = infinitive
• lengter = present
• lengtet = past

In spoken and written Norwegian, you may also meet perfect constructions such as:

• Hun har lengtet etter familien. = She has longed for / has been longing for the family

No, -en is not a separate word. It is attached to the noun and marks definiteness.

So:

• familie = base noun
• familien = noun + definite ending

That final -en is part of the word itself, which is one important difference from English. English uses a separate word, the, while Norwegian often adds the definite ending directly to the noun.