Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Det er vanskelig å sovne uten musikk. - It is difficult to fall asleep without music.

sovne is the infinitive form of the verb å sovne, meaning to fall asleep. It’s not conjugated here; it expresses the general action of falling asleep.

Why is there an å before sovne?

In Norwegian, when you describe the difficulty, ability or intention of doing something, you use the infinitive marker å (like English to). After an adjective such as vanskelig, you need å + infinitive. So vanskelig å sovne = difficult to fall asleep.

Why does the sentence start with Det er? Can’t we just say Vanskelig å sovne uten musikk?

Det er is an impersonal subject construction meaning it is. Norwegian grammatically requires a subject, so Det er fills that slot. In notes or headlines you might drop it, but in normal speech or writing you say Det er vanskelig å sovne uten musikk.

Why is there no article before musikk in uten musikk?

Here musikk is an uncountable noun talking about music in general, so it doesn’t take an indefinite article (en). And since we mean “without music” generally, you also don’t use the definite form (musikken). Hence simply uten musikk.

What is the role of uten, and how does it combine with nouns?

uten is a preposition meaning without. It’s directly followed by the noun in its basic (indefinite) form. Example: uten musikk = without music, uten sukker = without sugar, etc.

Can we rearrange the sentence to Å sovne uten musikk er vanskelig?

Yes. You can make the infinitive phrase the subject. The verb still sits in second position, so Å sovne uten musikk er vanskelig is perfectly correct and means the same thing, though it puts more emphasis on the act of falling asleep.

How would you ask Is it difficult to fall asleep without music? in Norwegian?

Invert the verb and the impersonal subject:
Er det vanskelig å sovne uten musikk?