Snøen blir tykkere om vinteren.

The snow gets thicker in winter.

Breakdown of Snøen blir tykkere om vinteren.

• bli: to become
• om: in
• vinteren: the winter
• snøen: the snow
• tykkere: thicker

Questions & Answers about Snøen blir tykkere om vinteren.

Why is snøen in the definite form instead of simply snø?

Snøen is the definite singular of snø (snow). In Norwegian you mark definiteness by adding -en (for masculine/feminine nouns). Here the definite form is used to talk about “the snow” as a whole or in general—much like generic statements in English sometimes use “the” (“The snow is cold”).

How do you pronounce the vowel ø in snøen?

The Norwegian ø is a close-mid front rounded vowel, roughly [øː] in IPA. To produce it, round your lips as if saying “oo” but position your tongue forward like an “e.” A rough English approximation is the vowel in British “bird” (non-rhotic), or the French tu. So snøen sounds like [ˈsnøːən], often reduced in casual speech to [ˈsnøːn].

What does blir mean in this context?

Blir is the present tense of the verb bli, which means “to become” or “to get.” In this sentence, blir translates as “becomes”:
Snøen blir tykkere om vinteren.
The snow becomes thicker in winter.

Why is the comparative tykkere used instead of mer tykk?

Tykk (“thick”) is a short adjective in Norwegian, so its comparative is formed by adding -ere, giving tykkere (“thicker”). Longer adjectives (e.g. interessant) use mer + adjective (e.g. mer interessant). Using mer tykk would sound unnatural here.

What does om vinteren mean, and why is vinteren in the definite form? How is it different from i vinter?

• Om vinteren = “in winter” in a general or habitual sense (e.g. every winter).
• Vinteren is definite because Norwegian often uses the definite form of seasons when speaking generically.
• I vinter (without -en) refers to a specific winter—typically “this past winter” or “this coming winter.”

Can I say på vinteren instead of om vinteren?

In many dialects you’ll hear på vinteren, and it’s perfectly understandable. However, in standard Bokmål om vinteren is preferred for general seasonal statements. På is more common with certain fixed expressions (e.g. påskferien).

What happens to word order if I move om vinteren to the beginning of the sentence?

Norwegian follows the V2 rule: the finite verb must be in second position. If you front the time phrase you invert subject and verb:
Om vinteren blir snøen tykkere.
This conveys the same meaning; blir stays in slot 2, and snøen follows as the subject.