Log inSign up

Taxi-sjåføren venter ved flyplassen.

Taxi-sjåføren venter ved flyplassen.
The taxi driver is waiting at the airport.
FromLesson 25inHardcore Norwegian
……

Breakdown of Taxi-sjåføren venter ved flyplassen.

ved
at
vente
to wait
flyplassen
the airport
taxi-sjåføren
the taxi driver
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“What's the best way to learn Norwegian grammar?”
Norwegian grammar becomes intuitive with practice. Focus on understanding the core patterns first — how sentences are structured, how verbs change form, and how words relate to each other. Our course breaks these concepts into small lessons so you can build understanding step by step.

Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor

Start learning Norwegian

Master Norwegian — from Taxi-sjåføren venter ved flyplassen to fluency

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.

  • ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
  • ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
  • ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
  • ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions
Start learning Norwegian freeBrowse the full course

More from this lesson

verdenVerden føles liten når vi snakker med venner på nettet.feriehusetJeg vil reise rundt i verden før jeg kjøper et feriehus.littKan du snakke litt saktere?støttenDet gamle feriehuset vårt trenger ny maling og litt støtte i taket.

Questions & Answers about Taxi-sjåføren venter ved flyplassen.

Why is taxi-sjåføren hyphenated, and what does the -en ending do?

The word taxi-sjåfør is a compound noun made from taxi (borrowed from English) and sjåfør (“driver”). In Norwegian:

  • Compound nouns often combine elements directly, but when the first part is a foreign word, a hyphen is common to clarify the boundary: taxi-sjåfør.
  • Definiteness is shown by a suffix, not a separate article. Common‐gender nouns take -en in the definite singular: • taxi-sjåfør = “(a) taxi driver”
    • taxi-sjåfører = “taxi drivers” (indefinite plural)
    • taxi-sjåføren = “the taxi driver”
How do I know taxi-sjåfør is common‐gender, and why does that matter?

Norwegian has two genders for most nouns: common (sometimes called masculine/feminine) and neuter. You can tell taxi-sjåfør is common‐gender because its definite singular ends in -en (neuter would take -et). Gender affects:

  • The form of the definite suffix
  • Which indefinite article you might use (en for common, et for neuter)
Why is flyplassen used instead of flyplass, and what role does it play?
Flyplass means “airport.” Like taxi-sjåfør, it’s a common‐gender noun. Adding -en makes it definite: flyplassen = “the airport.” Here it’s the object of the preposition ved, so together ved flyplassen = “by/at the airport.”
What’s the difference between ved, på, and i in location phrases with flyplassen?

All three can translate as “at” or “in,” but with nuances:

  • ved flyplassen = “by/near the airport” (just outside or next to it)
  • på flyplassen = “at the airport” (on the premises, inside or just generally there)
  • i flyplassen = “inside the airport” (within the building)
Can I start the sentence with ved flyplassen? How does word order work?

Yes. Norwegian main clauses follow the V2 rule (verb-second position). If you front the prepositional phrase, the verb still must be second: Ved flyplassen venter taxi-sjåføren.
Here venter remains in position two, then comes the subject taxi-sjåføren.

How do I pronounce sjåføren?

Approximate IPA: [ˈʃoːføːrɛn].

  • sj = [ʃ] (like English “sh” in shoe)
  • å = [oː] (like a rounded “aw,” but shorter)
  • ø = [øː] (similar to the “eu” in French peu)
  • -en = [ɛn]
Could I drop the hyphen and write taxisjåføren instead?
Yes, taxisjåføren is also seen in modern Norwegian. The hyphen is optional and often used to aid readability when the first part is a foreign loanword. Both forms are correct.