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Questions & Answers about Du hører melodien på radioen.
What does hører mean and how is it conjugated in the present tense?
hører is the present tense of å høre (to hear). The present-tense conjugation is identical for all persons:
jeg hører
du hører
han/hun/det hører
vi hører
dere hører
de hører
Why is melodien used instead of melodi?
melodien is the definite form (the melody). In Bokmål, you form the definite singular of a masculine/feminine noun by adding -en to the end of the word: melodi → melodien.
Why does radioen have an -en ending?
Just like melodien, radioen is the definite form of en/ei radio, so it means “the radio” rather than “a radio.”
Why is the preposition på used before radioen? Could I use i instead?
With media and broadcast channels, Norwegian uses på: på radioen, på TV, på internett. Using i radioen would literally mean “inside the radio device.”
Can I say hører på instead of hører? What’s the difference?
å høre means “to hear” (a sound reaches your ears), while å høre på means “to listen to” (actively attending to something). You might høre thunder in the distance, but you hører på a song.
How would I say “you listen to the melody on the radio” using å lytte?
You can say Du lytter til melodien på radioen. å lytte til also means “to listen to”, often implying more focus or intention.
How is the vowel ø in hører pronounced?
The ø sound is similar to the vowel in French bleu or German schön, represented in IPA as [ø]. Round your lips and voice a sound between e and o.
Why is the sentence order Subject–Verb–Object–Prepositional phrase? Can it change?
The default word order in Norwegian Bokmål is SVOA (Subject–Verb–Object–Adverbial). If you start with a time or place expression, you invert verb and subject. For example:
I går hørte du melodien på radioen. (Yesterday you heard the melody on the radio.)