Tidsnedtellingen begynner når startknappen trykkes.

to begin

Breakdown of Tidsnedtellingen begynner når startknappen trykkes.

• når: when
• trykke: to press
• tidsnedtellingen: the countdown

Questions & Answers about Tidsnedtellingen begynner når startknappen trykkes.

Why are tidsnedtellingen and startknappen written as single words?

Because Norwegian very often forms compound nouns by joining words together into one word.

• tid = time
• nedtelling = countdown
  So tidsnedtelling = time countdown / countdown timer depending on context.

And:

• start = start
• knapp = button
  So startknapp = start button.

This is much more common in Norwegian than in English. Where English often uses two separate words, Norwegian usually prefers one compound word.

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Why do the nouns end in -en: tidsnedtellingen and startknappen?

The ending -en is the definite article for many masculine nouns in Norwegian. Instead of putting the in front, Norwegian often adds the definiteness to the end of the noun.

• en knapp = a button

• knappen = the button

• en tidsnedtelling = a countdown
• tidsnedtellingen = the countdown

So Norwegian often expresses the as a suffix rather than as a separate word.

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Why is there no separate word for the in the sentence?