Mission—Team—FAQ—Privacy—Terms—Sponsors—Grammar—Typing Course—Donate

© 2026 Elon Automation B.V.

Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Barnet stirrer på heksen. - The child stares at the witch.

Hardcore Norwegian
/Calling a locksmith about a sticking front-door lock
/Barnet stirrer på heksen.

Barnet stirrer på heksen.

Word

Barnet stirrer på heksen.

Meaning

The child stares at the witch.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Norwegian

Lesson

Calling a locksmith about a sticking front-door lock

Breakdown of Barnet stirrer på heksen.

Questions & Answers about Barnet stirrer på heksen.

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

Because Norwegian usually puts the definite article onto the end of the noun instead of using a separate word before it.

So:

barn = child
barnet = the child
heks = witch
heksen = the witch

That is why Barnet stirrer på heksen already includes the idea of the twice, even though there is no separate word like English the.

Why is it barnet but heksen?

The endings are different because the nouns belong to different grammatical genders.

et barn → barnet
barn is a neuter noun.
en heks / ei heks → heksen / heksa
heks can be treated as common gender or feminine in Bokmål.

In this sentence, the writer uses heksen, which is a very normal Bokmål form. So the different endings do not mean different kinds of definiteness; they reflect different noun genders and patterns.

Why is the verb stirrer and not stirre?

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have an entire course teaching Norwegian grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Norwegian now

Because stirrer is the present tense form of the verb å stirre.

å stirre = to stare
stirrer = stares / is staring

So:

Barnet stirrer = The child stares / is staring

This is the normal present-tense form in Bokmål.

Why does stirrer have a double r?

Because the infinitive verb is å stirre, and the present-tense form is built as stirrer.

A useful way to think of it is:

infinitive: stirre
present tense: stirrer

Since the verb already has an r in the stem, the present-tense spelling ends up with rr. This is normal and not something special about this sentence.

Does the verb change depending on the subject, like I stare, she stares, and so on?

No. Norwegian verbs do not change for person or number the way English verbs do.

You say:

jeg stirrer = I stare / am staring
du stirrer = you stare / are staring
barnet stirrer = the child stares / is staring
barna stirrer = the children stare / are staring

So stirrer stays the same.

Why is the preposition på used after stirrer?

Because å stirre på is the normal Norwegian pattern for to stare at someone or something.

So:

stirre på noen = stare at someone
stirre på noe = stare at something

In English, the verb usually goes with at. In Norwegian, the matching preposition here is usually på.

What is the difference between stirre på and se på?

They are related, but stirre på is much stronger.

se på = look at / watch
stirre på = stare at

So Barnet stirrer på heksen suggests that the child is looking very fixedly, intensely, or for a noticeable amount of time. It sounds stronger than just Barnet ser på heksen.

Why is the word order Barnet stirrer på heksen?

This is the normal word order for a simple statement:

Barnet = subject
stirrer = verb
på heksen = prepositional phrase

So it follows the basic pattern subject + verb + rest.

More generally, Norwegian main clauses follow the V2 rule, which means the finite verb normally comes in the second position. In this sentence, the subject comes first, so the verb comes right after it.

For example:

Barnet stirrer på heksen.
Nå stirrer barnet på heksen.

In both cases, the finite verb stirrer is in second position.

Does this sentence refer to a specific child and a specific witch?

Yes. Because both nouns are definite:

barnet = the child
heksen = the witch

That usually means the listener or reader is expected to know which child and which witch are being talked about, or the context has already made them identifiable.

If you wanted it to be indefinite, you would say:

Et barn stirrer på en heks. = A child is staring at a witch.

How is this sentence pronounced?

A rough learner-friendly pronunciation is:

BAR-ne(t) STIR-rer po HEK-sen

A few notes:

barnet: the final -t is often weak or not clearly pronounced in everyday speech
stirrer: the rr is normal spelling; pronunciation varies by dialect
på: has a long vowel
heksen: stress is on the first syllable

Pronunciation varies across Norway, so exact sounds can differ by dialect, but this rough guide will help you recognize the words.

Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io