Forretningsmannen møter kunden.

Because both nouns are in the definite singular form in Bokmål.

• en forretningsmann = a businessman
• forretningsmannen = the businessman
• en kunde = a customer
• kunden = the customer

In Norwegian, the definite article is usually added as a suffix to the noun instead of being a separate word like English the.

It is a compound noun:

• forretning = business
• mann = man

So:

• forretningsmann = businessman
• forretningsmannen = the businessman

The -s- in the middle is a linking sound often used in compounds.

Møter is the present tense of the verb å møte = to meet.

So:

• å møte = to meet
• møter = meets / is meeting / meet

In Norwegian, the present tense can often cover both simple present and present progressive, depending on context. So this sentence could mean:

• The businessman meets the customer
• The businessman is meeting the customer

In this sentence, word order tells you that.

• Forretningsmannen comes first, so it is the subject: the one doing the action.
• kunden comes after the verb, so it is the object: the one being met.

So the sentence means:

• The businessman meets the customer

not

• The customer meets the businessman

Norwegian usually relies on word order much more than English learners may expect, because nouns generally do not change form for subject/object in sentences like this.

No, not in this sentence.

Modern Norwegian does not usually mark nouns for nominative or accusative case the way German does. Both forretningsmannen and kunden just appear in their normal definite singular forms.

That means word order is very important:

• Forretningsmannen møter kunden = The businessman meets the customer
• Kunden møter forretningsmannen = The customer meets the businessman

Same words, different order, different meaning.

Because Norwegian usually expresses the by attaching it to the noun.

Compare:

• en kunde = a customer

• kunden = the customer

• en forretningsmann = a businessman
• forretningsmannen = the businessman

This is one of the biggest structural differences from English.

The letter ø is a vowel that does not exist in standard English. It is pronounced somewhat like the vowel in French deux or German schön.

Roughly:

• møter sounds something like MUR-ter or MEU-ter, but neither English spelling is exact.
• The first syllable has that special ø sound.

A helpful tip: keep your lips rounded while trying to say a vowel somewhat between uh and er.

The dictionary forms are:

• forretningsmann = businessman
• kunde = customer
• å møte = to meet

The sentence uses inflected forms:

• forretningsmannen = definite singular
• kunden = definite singular
• møter = present tense

So when looking words up, you would usually search for forretningsmann, kunde, and møte.

Yes, in many contexts that would also work.

• å møte often means to meet
• å treffe can also mean to meet

But they are not always identical in every context. Å møte can sound a bit more neutral or formal in some cases, while å treffe is very common in everyday speech for meeting someone.

So:

• Forretningsmannen møter kunden = The businessman meets the customer
• Forretningsmannen treffer kunden = The businessman meets the customer

Both are possible, but møter is perfectly correct here.

Forretningsmann specifically means businessman, so it refers to a man.

If you want a more gender-neutral expression, you might use another noun depending on context, such as:

• forretningsperson = businessperson
• selger = salesperson / seller
• representant = representative

So this sentence is fine if the person is male, but Norwegian also has other options if you want to avoid specifying gender.