Breakdown of Solen viser seg gjennom skyene.
solen
the sun
gjennom
through
vise seg
to appear
skyene
the clouds
Questions & Answers about Solen viser seg gjennom skyene.
Why is there no separate word for the before solen?
In Norwegian Bokmål the definite article is attached as a suffix. Since sol (sun) is a common-gender noun, you form the definite singular by adding -en, giving you solen (‘the sun’) rather than using a separate word.
Why is seg used after viser?
Seg is the third-person singular reflexive pronoun. When you use vise with seg, it becomes vise seg, which literally means “show oneself,” but is idiomatically used to mean “appear” or “make an appearance.” Here solen (the sun) “shows itself.”
Does vise seg always mean “to appear”?
Not always. Vise alone means “to show” (something). With the reflexive seg it often means “to show oneself” or “to appear,” but context can affect nuance. For describing something coming into view (like the sun), vise seg is the natural choice.
Why is skyene used instead of skyer?
Skyene is the definite plural of sky (“cloud”). We say “through the clouds,” not “through clouds,” so we use the definite form. In Norwegian, the definite plural of common-gender nouns is formed with -ene: sky → sky-ene.