Jeg lærer språk.

The dictionary form is å lære.

In this sentence, lærer is the present tense form:

• å lære = to learn
• lærer = learn / am learning

A very common pattern in Norwegian is that the present tense ends in -r:

• jeg lærer
• du lærer
• vi lærer

No. In Norwegian, the present-tense verb does not change for different persons.

So you get:

• jeg lærer
• du lærer
• han/hun lærer
• vi lærer
• de lærer

That is simpler than English, where you have I learn but he learns.

Because Norwegian usually uses the simple present for both a general present and an ongoing action.

So Jeg lærer språk can be used where English might say:

• I learn languages
• I am learning languages
• I’m learning language

The exact English translation depends on context. Norwegian normally does not need a special progressive form here.

Norwegian often uses a bare noun when speaking in a general sense.

So språk here is being used generally, not as a specific language. That is why there is no et in front of it.

Compare:

• Jeg lærer språk. = general idea: I study/learn language(s)
• Jeg lærer et språk. = I am learning a language
• Jeg lærer språket. = I am learning the language

It can feel general, and the form språk is also the same in the indefinite singular and indefinite plural.

So:

• et språk = a language
• språk = language / languages, depending on context
• språkene = the languages

This means språk by itself can be a little flexible in meaning.

Språk is a neuter noun.

Its forms are:

• et språk = a language
• språket = the language
• språk = languages / language(s) in the indefinite plural
• språkene = the languages

In Jeg lærer språk, you do not see the gender directly because there is no article in front of the noun.

Because this is the normal Norwegian main-clause order:

subject + verb + object

So here:

• Jeg = subject
• lærer = verb
• språk = object

That gives:

• Jeg lærer språk.

This is similar to standard English word order in a basic statement.

Yes. Norwegian is a V2 language, which means the finite verb normally comes in the second position in a main clause.

In this sentence, the subject comes first, so the verb naturally comes second:

• Jeg lærer språk.

You can see the rule more clearly if something else comes first:

• Nå lærer jeg språk. = Now I am learning language(s).

Here nå takes first position, and lærer still stays second.

Yes, it can.

In Norwegian, å lære can mean:

• learn
• sometimes teach

For example:

• Jeg lærer norsk. = I learn Norwegian.
• Han lærte meg norsk. = He taught me Norwegian.

In Jeg lærer språk, the meaning is clearly learn, because jeg is the person doing the learning.

Yes. En lærer means a teacher.

So lærer can be:

• a verb: learn / is learning
• a noun: teacher

In this sentence, it is clearly a verb, because it comes right after the subject jeg and functions as the action in the sentence.

Compare:

• Jeg lærer språk. = lærer is a verb
• Han er lærer. = lærer is a noun

Because Norwegian does not capitalize the first-person singular pronoun in the middle of a sentence.

So Norwegian writes:

• jeg

not:

• Jeg unless it is at the beginning of a sentence

This is different from English, where I is always capitalized.

This sentence is Bokmål.

The clue is jeg. In Nynorsk, you would usually say:

• Eg lærer språk.

So:

• Jeg lærer språk. = Bokmål
• Eg lærer språk. = Nynorsk

Both are written standards of Norwegian.