Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Etter suppen er jeg mett, men hun er fortsatt sulten. - After the soup I am full, but she is still hungry.

Because you’re referring to a specific course/event: the soup that was just served. Norwegian typically uses the definite form for such “time anchors.”

Natural: Etter suppen/suppa … (“After the soup course …”)
Unnatural: Etter suppe … (sounds off) Alternatives:
Etter at vi spiste suppe … (“after we ate soup”)
Etter å ha spist suppe … (“after having eaten soup”) Note: With meal names used generically, both definite and indefinite occur with a nuance:
etter middag (after dinner, in general)
etter middagen (after that specific dinner)

Is suppe masculine or feminine? Why do I see both suppen and suppa?

In Bokmål, many nouns can be masculine or feminine. Suppe can be:

Indefinite singular: en suppe (masc) / ei suppe (fem)
Definite singular: suppen (masc) / suppa (fem)
Indefinite plural: supper
Definite plural: suppene Both suppen and suppa are correct in Bokmål; suppa is common in speech, suppen looks a bit more formal. (In Nynorsk, it’s feminine: suppe – suppa.)

Why is the word order er jeg after Etter suppen?

Norwegian main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb must be in second position. When you front an element like Etter suppen, the verb comes next:

Correct: Etter suppen er jeg mett.
Wrong: Etter suppen jeg er mett. More examples:
I dag er jeg trøtt.
I går var hun sulten.

Do I need a comma after Etter suppen? Why is there a comma before men?

No comma is needed after a short fronted adverbial like Etter suppen. A comma can be used after a long/complex fronted phrase for readability.
You do put a comma before men (“but”) when it links two main clauses: …, men …

What’s the difference between er mett and blir mett?

er mett = “am/is full” (a state/result)
blir mett = “becomes/gets full” (a change of state) Examples:
Under måltidet blir jeg mett. Nå er jeg mett.
Jeg ble mett til slutt.

Do the adjectives mett and sulten change with gender/number?

Predicatively (after “to be”), there’s no gender change in the singular, but the plural takes -e:

Singular: jeg er mett, hun er sulten
Plural: vi er mette, de er sultne Attributively (before a noun):
mett: en mett mann, ei mett jente, et mett barn, mette barn
sulten: en sulten mann, ei sulten jente, et sultent barn, sultne barn

Can I say Jeg er full to mean “I’m full (of food)”?

No. Jeg er full means “I’m drunk.” Use:

Jeg er mett. (I’m full)
Polite when refusing more food: Nei takk, jeg er forsynt. Intensifier:
Jeg er stappmett. (“stuffed”)

Can I replace fortsatt with something else (like “still” vs “yet”)?

Yes:

fortsatt and fremdeles both mean “still”: Hun er fortsatt/fremdeles sulten.
ennå can also mean “still/yet” in time expressions (a bit formal/literary): Hun er ennå sulten.
In the negative, use ikke … lenger/mer: Hun er ikke sulten lenger. Avoid using stadig as a direct “still”; it usually means “continually/frequently” (different nuance). Enda is mainly “even” (comparative), not standard for “still.”

Where should fortsatt go in the sentence?

In a main clause, place it after the finite verb:

Neutral: Hun er fortsatt sulten.
End placement is possible but marked/emphatic: Hun er sulten fortsatt.
Don’t say: Hun fortsatt er sulten in a main clause (violates V2). In a subordinate clause, you can have: … fordi hun fortsatt er sulten.

Why is it hun and not henne?

Hun is the subject form; henne is the object form.

Subject: Hun er sulten. (“She is hungry.”)
Object: Jeg ser henne. (“I see her.”) Possessive: hennes (“her/hers”): maten hennes There’s also a gender-neutral pronoun hen.

Can I say Etterpå or Etter det instead of Etter suppen?

Yes, but they’re structured differently:

Etterpå (adverb, no object): Etterpå er jeg mett.
Etter det (preposition + pronoun): Etter det er jeg mett.
Etter needs an object if you specify what comes after: Etter suppen … (not “etterpå suppe”)

Why isn’t jeg capitalized?

Norwegian does not capitalize the first-person singular pronoun in the middle of a sentence. You write jeg (not “Jeg”) unless it starts the sentence. Only English capitalizes “I.”

Any quick pronunciation tips for the tricky words?

Approximate guides (varies by dialect):

jeg ≈ “yai/yei”
hun ≈ “hyoon” (u like German “ü”)
sulten ≈ “SUL-ten” (short u/ʉ)
er ≈ “ehr”
mett ≈ “met”
men ≈ “men”
fortsatt ≈ “FORT-satt” (in many dialects the r+t merge to a single retroflex t)

Does men mean “men” like the plural of “man”?

No. men means “but.” The plural of “mann” is menn (with double n). So:

men = but
menn = men (adult males)