Jeg liker sølvfargen på sykkelen.

I like the silver color on the bicycle.

Breakdown of Jeg liker sølvfargen på sykkelen.

• jeg: I
• like: to like
• på: on
• sykkelen: the bicycle
• sølvfargen: the silver color

Questions & Answers about Jeg liker sølvfargen på sykkelen.

Why is sølvfargen written as a single word instead of two words like sølv farge?

In Norwegian you form compound nouns by joining words together without spaces. Here sølv (silver) + farge (color) → sølvfarge (silver color). When you make that compound definite, you add -n at the end: sølvfargen (the silver color).

Why do both sølvfargen and sykkelen appear in their definite forms?

We’re talking about a specific color and a specific bike, so each noun is in the definite form. In Norwegian the definite article is a suffix:
• farge (a color) → fargen (the color)
• sykkel (a bicycle) → sykkelen (the bicycle)

Why is the preposition på used here instead of, say, av or i?

på indicates that the color is “on” the surface of the bike.
• av would suggest “made of” (e.g. “laget av stål” = made of steel).
• i would be “in” something.
So fargen på sykkelen literally means “the color on the bike.”

How is the verb liker conjugated—does it change for different persons?

liker is the present tense of å like (to like). Regular -er verbs in Norwegian have the same form for all subjects in the present tense:
• jeg liker, du liker, han liker, vi liker, dere liker, de liker.

Why is the word order Subject-Verb-Object (Jeg liker sølvfargen …)?

Norwegian main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb must be in the second position. With the subject jeg first, the verb liker comes second, then the object sølvfargen and finally the prepositional phrase på sykkelen.

Could I instead say sykkelens sølvfarge (the bike’s silver color)?

Yes, sykkelens is the genitive (“the bike’s”) form of sykkel. So sykkelens sølvfarge is correct and means the same thing. However, the construction fargen på sykkelen is more common in everyday Norwegian, especially in speech.

How do I pronounce sølvfargen på sykkelen, especially the ø and å sounds?

Approximate pronunciation (using IPA):
• sølvfargen /ˈsølvˌfɑrɡən/ – ø is a rounded vowel (like the “u” in “hurt” for many British speakers), stress on SØLV.
• på /poː/ – å is like the “o” in British “more” or “aw.”
• sykkelen /ˈsʏkˌkeːlən/ – y is like the German ü, kk is a long [kː], stress on SYK.