Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Laget føler glede når dommeren blåser sluttsignalet. - The team feels joy when the referee blows the final whistle.

laget is the definite singular form of lag, meaning team. In Norwegian you don’t use a separate word for “the” in front of the noun; instead you attach -et (the neuter singular definite ending) to the noun:
• lag (a team) → laget (the team)

What does føler glede mean, and how is it different from er glad?

• føler glede literally means feel joy and highlights the action or experience of feeling joy.
• er glad means are happy, stating a static condition or state of being.
In the sentence, føler glede emphasizes that the team actively experiences joy at the moment the referee blows the whistle.

Why is there no reflexive pronoun when you say føler glede?

In Norwegian, føler (to feel) is typically transitive when expressing an emotion or sensation: you feel something (direct object). Here, glede is that direct object. A reflexive construction like føler seg focuses on feeling oneself a certain way (e.g. føler seg glad = “feel oneself happy”). With føler glede, you simply feel joy—no reflexive needed.

What is the function of når, and how does it affect the word order?

når means when and introduces a subordinate (subordinate) temporal clause. In Norwegian subordinate clauses, the word order is Subject-Verb-Object (SVO), just as in main clauses:
når (dommeren) (subject) blåser (verb) sluttsignalet (object)

What does dommeren mean, and why is there no separate word for “the”?

dommer = referee or judge. By adding the masculine/feminine singular definite ending -en, it becomes dommeren = the referee. Norwegian typically adds the definite article as a suffix rather than using a separate “the.”

What is sluttsignalet, and how is it formed?

sluttsignalet = the end signal or idiomatically the final whistle. It’s formed by compounding and then making it definite:
• slutt (end) + signal (signal) → sluttsignal (end signal)
• add -et (neuter singular definite) → sluttsignalet (the end signal/the final whistle)

What is the verb blåser, and what is its infinitive form?

blåser is the present tense (3rd person singular) of å blåse, which means to blow. In this context, dommeren blåser means the referee blows (the whistle).

How would you pronounce glede and sluttsignalet?

• glede: /ˈɡleː.də/ — “GLAY-duh,” with a long e and a soft d
• sluttsignalet: /ˌslʉts.siɡ.nɑˈleː/ — “SLUTS-see-g-NAH-leh,” where u is like the German u in Wunder, and stress falls on the last syllable.