Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Fordelen er tydelig, men ulempen er skjult. - The advantage is clear, but the disadvantage is hidden.

en fordel → fordelen (the advantage)
en ulempe → ulempen (the disadvantage) You don’t add a separate “the” in front unless there’s an adjective before the noun (see next question).

Can I say Den fordelen er tydelig?

Not for the general meaning “the advantage is clear.” Den fordelen means “that advantage” (a specific one). With an adjective, you use “double definiteness”:

General definite without adjective: Fordelen er tydelig.
With adjective: Den tydelige fordelen er … (the clear advantage)

What genders are fordel and ulempe? What are their forms?

fordel is masculine in Bokmål:
- en fordel, fordelen, fordeler, fordelene
ulempe is usually treated as masculine in Bokmål:
- en ulempe, ulempen, ulemper, ulempene Many speakers also use feminine forms (ei ulempe/ulempa) in Bokmål, but stick to one system consistently.

Why is it tydelig and not tydelige or tydeligt?

It’s a predicate adjective agreeing with a singular, common‑gender subject, so the base form is used: tydelig.

Plural takes -e: tydelige (e.g., Fordelene er tydelige.)
Neuter usually takes -t, but adjectives ending in -ig, -sk, -som do not: et tydelig tegn (not tydeligt).

Why is it skjult and not skjulte?

Skjult is a past participle used adjectivally; in singular it stays skjult. The plural is skjulte:

Ulempen er skjult.
Ulempene er skjulte.

Is skjult an adjective or a verb form here?

It’s the past participle of å skjule (to hide), used as an adjective meaning “hidden/concealed.”

Verb: Han skjuler noe. (He is hiding something.)
Past participle/adjective: Noe er skjult. (Something is hidden.)

Could I say Fordelen er klar/åpenbar/synlig instead of tydelig? What’s the nuance?

tydelig: clear, evident (often about how easy something is to perceive/understand).
klar: clear/obvious; also means “ready,” but works well here.
åpenbar / opplagt: obvious, even stronger than tydelig.
synlig: visible (you can see it), not necessarily “clear” in the sense of “unambiguous.” All are possible; choose based on strength and nuance.

What’s the difference between skjult, gjemt, and hemmelig?

skjult: hidden/concealed (not apparent), often abstract or intentional concealment.
gjemt: stashed/put away (typically physical hiding of objects).
hemmelig: secret (information deliberately kept from others). In this sentence, skjult fits best.

Why is there a comma before men?

Norwegian places a comma before coordinating conjunctions like men when they join two main clauses. Both parts here are full clauses, so the comma is required.

Could I use mens instead of men?

mens means “while,” often highlighting simultaneity or contrast over time:

Fordelen er tydelig, mens ulempen er skjult is possible and a bit more formal/contrastive. men is the neutral “but.”

What word order rule is being used? Is the verb in second position?

Yes. In main clauses Norwegian is V2 (the finite verb in second position).

Clause 1: Subject (Fordelen) + Verb (er) + Complement (tydelig)
Clause 2 after men: Subject (ulempen) + Verb (er) + Complement (skjult)

Can I replace ulempen with a pronoun: … men den er skjult?

Not here. den would most naturally refer back to fordelen, making the meaning wrong. You need to name ulempen to keep the contrast clear.

How would I say this in the plural?

Fordelene er tydelige, men ulempene er skjulte. Note the plural -e on adjectives: tydelige, skjulte.

Is there any difference between er skjult and blir skjult / skjules?

er skjult: a state (“is hidden”).
blir skjult: becomes/gets hidden (onset of the state) or passive (“is being hidden”).
skjules: passive form (“is hidden/gets hidden”), focusing on the action rather than the resulting state.

Any pronunciation tips for the tricky bits?

fordelen: in many dialects, rd merges to a retroflex sound; think “for-delen” with a single hard d-like sound.
tydelig: y is like German/French ü; final -ig is often pronounced “-i” (tyde-li).
skjult: skj is an “sh”-like sound; u is also like ü; one syllable: roughly “shyoolt” but with rounded front vowels.
ulempe(n): stress on the second syllable: u-LEM-pe(n).

Is fordeler og ulemper a common pairing?

Yes. fordeler og ulemper means “pros and cons.” Your sentence contrasts one pro and one con in a very natural way.