Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Hun er syk i dag, og skulderen gjør vondt, så hun venter på venterommet. - She is sick today, and the shoulder hurts, so she waits in the waiting room.

Norwegian uses the set expression å gjøre vondt to mean “to hurt/ache.” Literally “to do hurt,” it’s the natural way to say something causes pain:

Det gjør vondt. = It hurts.
Skulderen gjør vondt. = The shoulder hurts.

Using er vondt would describe a permanent quality (“is painful”) rather than an experience of pain, and føles vondt is possible but usually sounds more evaluative (“feels bad/painful”), not the default for aches.

Note the form vondt is the neuter of the adjective vond used adverbially in this construction.

Could I also say Hun har vondt i skulderen?

Yes, and many would find that even more idiomatic for body-part pain. Two very natural options are:

Hun har vondt i skulderen.
Det gjør vondt i skulderen.

Your sentence’s Skulderen gjør vondt is understandable and acceptable, but “har vondt i …” is extremely common in everyday speech.

Why is it just skulderen and not skulderen hennes (“her shoulder”)?

With body parts, Norwegian often uses the definite form without a possessive when the owner is clear from context:

Hun har vondt i skulderen. (not necessarily “her shoulder” stated, but understood)

If you add a possessive, prefer the reflexive when the possessor is the subject:

Hun holdt skulderen sin. = She held her (own) shoulder.

Use hennes when the possessor is someone else or when you want to emphasize non-reflexive possession:

Hun så at mannen skadet skulderen hennes. = She saw that the man injured her shoulder (someone else’s perspective).

Why på venterommet and not i venterommet?

Some locations in Norwegian naturally take på even though English would use “in/at.” Common examples: på skolen (at school), på jobben (at work), på sykehuset (at the hospital), på venterommet (in the/at the waiting room). You’ll also hear i venterommet, but på venterommet is very idiomatic and common.

Does venter på venterommet mean “waits for the waiting room”?

No. Here på venterommet is a place phrase (“in/at the waiting room”), not the object of “wait for.” While å vente på does mean “to wait for” (e.g., vente på bussen), native speakers won’t read this as “waiting for the waiting room” because venterommet is a location. If you want to stress “wait for,” follow på with a person/thing/event: Hun venter på legen.

Why are there commas before og and så?

Norwegian typically puts a comma between coordinated main clauses:

Hun er syk i dag, og skulderen gjør vondt, så hun venter på venterommet.

Both og and så connect independent clauses here, so commas are expected by the standard comma rules. (Writers sometimes omit the first comma in informal texts, but it’s recommended.)

Why is it så hun venter and not så venter hun?

There are two relevant uses of så:

As a coordinating conjunction meaning “so/therefore,” it doesn’t trigger inversion: …, så hun venter …
As a sentence-initial adverb meaning “then/so,” it does trigger V2 inversion: Hun er syk. Så venter hun på venterommet.

Your sentence uses the coordinating conjunction, so the subject comes right after så.

Where does i dag go, and is it two words?

It’s standardly written as two words: i dag (also i morgen, i går).
Neutral placement is after the predicate: Hun er syk i dag.
You can also front it for emphasis, keeping verb-second order: I dag er hun syk.

What gender is skulder, and why skulderen?

In Bokmål, skulder is usually masculine:

en skulder – skulderen – skuldre/skuldrer – skuldrene

There is also an accepted feminine form in Bokmål (more common in Nynorsk and some dialects):

ei skulder – skuldra – skuldrer – skuldrene

So both skulderen (masc. definite singular) and skuldra (fem. definite singular) can be correct, depending on your variety.

What’s the plural of skulder?

Indefinite plural: skuldre (most common) or skuldrer (also accepted)
Definite plural: skuldrene

How is the compound venterommet formed, and what’s its base form?

The base noun is et venterom (“a waiting room”): rom (room) + the verb stem vente (to wait). In the definite singular, the article is suffixed to the last element: venterommet (“the waiting room”). A somewhat older synonym is (et) venteværelse.

Is it okay to repeat venter in hun venter på venterommet?

Yes, it’s fine and natural. If you want to avoid the repetition stylistically, you could say:

Hun sitter på venterommet og venter.
Hun oppholder seg på venterommet mens hun venter.

Is there any nuance between syk and dårlig here?

syk = ill/sick (a clear statement of being ill)
dårlig = unwell/bad (broader, could mean “feeling bad,” not necessarily ill)

So Hun er syk i dag is stronger/more clinical than Hun er dårlig i dag. For specific symptoms, you’d use words like forkjølet (has a cold), kvalm (nauseous), svimmel (dizzy), etc.

Any pronunciation tips for tricky parts like skulderen and vondt?

skulderen: The sk is pronounced like plain “sk” (not “sh”), because it’s before a back vowel. The stress is on the first syllable: SKUL-deren.
vondt: The written dt reflects the historical spelling; many dialects realize this as a final “t” sound, roughly “vont.” The vowel is short.