Ansvaret føles som en byrde.

The responsibility feels like a burden.

Breakdown of Ansvaret føles som en byrde.

• en: a
• føle: to feel
• ansvaret: the responsibility
• som: like

Questions & Answers about Ansvaret føles som en byrde.

Why does ansvaret end in -et?

Because -et is the definite ending for many neuter nouns in Norwegian.

• et ansvar = a responsibility
• ansvaret = the responsibility

So instead of putting a separate word like the before the noun, Norwegian usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun.

Why is it føles and not føler?

Here, føles means feels in the sense of seems / is experienced as.

This is a very common Norwegian pattern:

• Det føles bra = it feels good
• Det føles rart = it feels strange
• Ansvaret føles som en byrde = the responsibility feels like a burden

By contrast, føler is often used when someone actively feels something:

• Jeg føler meg trøtt = I feel tired
• Jeg føler sorg = I feel sorrow

So in this sentence, føles is the natural choice because the subject is the thing being described.

Is føles a passive form?

It looks like one, because -s forms in Norwegian can be passive, but here it is better understood as an s-verb or middle-style form.

So although it resembles a passive, in this sentence it simply means something like:

• feels
• seems
• comes across as

In other words, Ansvaret føles som en byrde is not really about someone actively doing the feeling to it. It describes how the responsibility is experienced.