Leselampen står ved sovesofaen.

Because Norwegian forms compound nouns very freely, and they are usually written as one word.

• leselampe = lese (to read) + lampe (lamp)
• sovesofa = sove (to sleep) + sofa (sofa)

Then the definite ending is added:

• leselampen = the reading lamp
• sovesofaen = the sofa bed

This is different from English, which often uses separate words, such as reading lamp and sofa bed.

The ending -en marks the definite form for many Norwegian nouns, especially common gender nouns in Bokmål.

So:

• en leselampe = a reading lamp
• leselampen = the reading lamp

and

• en sovesofa = a sofa bed
• sovesofaen = the sofa bed

In this sentence, both objects are specific, so the definite form is used.

In Norwegian, the idea of the is often built into the noun itself as a suffix.

Compare:

• English: the lamp
• Norwegian: lampen

So instead of using a separate article before the noun, Norwegian often attaches definiteness to the end of the noun.

That is why you get:

• leselampen = the reading lamp
• sovesofaen = the sofa bed

står is the present tense of stå, meaning stand.

Norwegian often uses position verbs where English would simply use is:

• står = stands / is standing
• ligger = lies / is lying
• sitter = sits / is sitting

So Leselampen står ved sovesofaen is literally The reading lamp stands by the sofa bed, but in natural English it usually means The reading lamp is by the sofa bed.

A lamp is thought of as something upright, so står sounds natural.

These verbs are very common in Norwegian and can be tricky for English speakers.

A very simple guide:

• står is used for things that are upright or placed vertically
  
  • a lamp, a bottle, a chair, a house
• ligger is used for things that are lying down or spread out
  
  • a book on a table, a city by the sea, clothes on the floor
• sitter is used for people or things in a sitting/attached position
  
  • a person on a chair, a picture on the wall, a button on a shirt

So a lamp typically står.

ved usually means by, next to, beside, or near, depending on context.

In this sentence, ved sovesofaen means that the lamp is located close to the sofa bed.

It does not mean:

• on the sofa bed
• in the sofa bed
• necessarily touching the sofa bed

It just places the lamp near it.

Yes. That is also correct Norwegian.

Norwegian is a V2 language, which means the verb usually comes second in main clauses. So if you move Ved sovesofaen to the front, the verb still has to stay in second position:

• Leselampen står ved sovesofaen.
• Ved sovesofaen står leselampen.

Both are grammatical, but the emphasis changes a little:

• Leselampen står ved sovesofaen. = neutral statement
• Ved sovesofaen står leselampen. = more emphasis on location

It actually can be Leselampen er ved sovesofaen, and that is understandable and grammatical.

But står is often more natural because Norwegian likes to describe how something is positioned. Since a lamp normally stands upright, står gives a more idiomatic description.

So:

• er ved = is by
• står ved = is standing by / is positioned by

In many everyday situations, Norwegian prefers står here.

Both leselampe and sovesofa are normally treated as common gender nouns in Bokmål, so they take:

• indefinite article en
• definite ending -en

That gives:

• en leselampe → leselampen
• en sovesofa → sovesofaen

For a learner, it is safest to learn them this way.

Sometimes, yes. In Bokmål, many feminine nouns can appear either with the feminine ending -a or the common-gender ending -en, depending on style and preference.

For example, some speakers may say:

• leselampa

while others say:

• leselampen

However, leselampen is a very safe choice for learners. If you are early in your Norwegian studies, using -en forms consistently in Bokmål is often easiest.

A possible indefinite version would be:

• En leselampe står ved en sovesofa.

That means A reading lamp is standing by a sofa bed.

Compare:

• Leselampen står ved sovesofaen. = the lamp, the sofa bed
• En leselampe står ved en sovesofa. = a lamp, a sofa bed

So the original sentence talks about specific items already known in the context.

No. In Norwegian, common nouns are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence.

So:

• leselampen
• sovesofaen

are written in lowercase.

This is different from German, where all nouns are capitalized.

A rough guide for an English speaker would be something like:

• LEH-seh-lam-pen stor vehd SOH-veh-so-fa-en

A few useful notes:

• å in står is a deeper vowel, somewhat like the vowel in British law
• v in ved is pronounced normally as v
• compound words are usually pronounced as one unit
• the stress is often strongest near the beginning of each compound:
  • LESelampen
  • SOvesofaen

Exact pronunciation varies by dialect, but this will get you close.