Sjøen er rolig i dag.

Breakdown of Sjøen er rolig i dag.

være
to be
i dag
today
rolig
calm
sjøen
the sea
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Questions & Answers about Sjøen er rolig i dag.

What does Sjøen mean?
It means the sea. The base noun sjø means “sea,” and the -en ending marks it as definite (“the sea”).
What is the indefinite form of Sjøen?
The indefinite form is sjø (a sea). You’d say en sjø to mean “a sea.”
How would you say “the seas” (plural definite)?
You’d use sjøene. Take the base sjø, add the plural definite ending -ene, giving sjøene (“the seas”).
Why doesn't the adjective rolig change form here?
Because in Norwegian, adjectives in predicate position (after er) remain in their base form for singular common and neuter. So rolig stays rolig. In definite or plural contexts you’d add -e (e.g. den rolige sjøen, rolige sjøer).
Why is i dag at the end instead of before the verb?
Norwegian main‐clause word order places time adverbials like i dag after the verb. You could also front it—I dag er sjøen rolig—but both orders are acceptable.
Does i dag literally mean “in day”?
Yes. i means “in” and dag means “day.” Together they form the fixed expression i dag, which translates as “today.”
How do I pronounce Sjøen er rolig i dag?

Approximate English guide: SYEH‐en er ROH‐lee ee DAHG
IPA: [ˈɧøːən ɛr ˈruːli i dɑːɡ]

Why is er not capitalized in the middle of the sentence?
Norwegian capitalization rules capitalize only the first word of a sentence and proper nouns. Common verbs like er remain lowercase.