Breakdown of Jeg har flaks når bussen kommer tidlig.
Questions & Answers about Jeg har flaks når bussen kommer tidlig.
In Norwegian you typically say har flaks (“have luck”) to describe a fortunate event or circumstance. Er heldig (“am lucky”) exists, but it emphasizes a general trait or state of being. So when you react to a specific situation—like catching an early bus—you’d use har flaks.
Flaks is a noun meaning “luck” in the sense of chance or fortune. It’s uncountable, so you don’t say en flaks or to flakser—just har flaks.
Når is a conjunction meaning “when” for general or habitual events (present and future). Here it introduces a recurring circumstance (“when the bus arrives early”). If you were talking about a one‐time past event, you’d use da instead.
- Når = “when,” implying you know it will happen repeatedly or certainly.
- Om = “if” or “in (time),” more conditional or less certain.
Saying om bussen kommer tidlig would mean “if the bus arrives early,” implying it might not. Når signals a habitual scenario.
In Norwegian subordinate clauses (those introduced by a conjunction like når), the finite verb moves to the end. So you get: subject bussen + verb kommer + adverb tidlig.
Bussen is the definite form (“the bus”). Norwegian marks definiteness by adding a suffix to the noun (buss → bussen). Here you’re talking about a specific bus (e.g. the one you regularly catch), so you use the definite form.
Yes, tidlig is an adverb meaning “early.” In Norwegian, adverbs of time usually follow the verb (and any object). In our subordinate clause, you have kommer tidlig = “arrives early.”
If you start with når you have a subordinate clause first. The main clause that follows must obey the V2 rule (verb in second position), which means you invert subject and verb in the main clause. So you’d say:
Når bussen kommer tidlig, har jeg flaks.