Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Vottene tørker på radiatoren etter turen. - The mittens dry on the radiator after the trip.

vott = mitten (indefinite singular)
votten = the mitten (definite singular)
votter = mittens (indefinite plural)
vottene = the mittens (definite plural) Explanation: In Bokmål, the ending -ene is the regular definite plural ending for most masculine and feminine nouns. Vott is a masculine noun (typically with the article en).

What’s the difference between votter, hansker, and vanter?

votter: mittens (one compartment for all fingers, plus the thumb).
hansker: gloves (separate fingers).
vanter: often used for knitted gloves; some speakers use it interchangeably with hansker. You’ll most often hear “et par votter/hansker/vanter.”

Why is it tørker (simple present) instead of an English-style “are drying”?

Norwegian generally uses the simple present to express ongoing actions. So Vottene tørker corresponds to English “The mittens are drying.” To emphasize the ongoing process, you can say:

Vottene ligger og tørker (på radiatoren).
Vottene holder på å tørke.
Vottene driver og tørker.

What’s the difference between Vottene tørker and Jeg tørker vottene?

Vottene tørker = intransitive use: the mittens are drying by themselves (because of heat/air).
Jeg tørker vottene = transitive use: I am drying the mittens (I’m the agent doing it). Related:
å tørke seg = to dry oneself (reflexive), e.g., Jeg tørker meg after a shower.

How do I talk about the process vs. the result with “tørke”?

Ongoing/process (present): Vottene tørker.
Past (process): Vottene tørket/tørka på radiatoren.
Present perfect (completed action): Vottene har tørket/har tørka.
Result (adjective): Vottene er tørre. (They are dry.) Note: Both tørket and tørka are accepted in Bokmål; tørka often feels more colloquial.

Why is the preposition på used in på radiatoren? Could I use i or over?

på = on (a surface). På radiatoren means the mittens are placed on the radiator.
i radiatoren = in/inside the radiator (not intended here).
over radiatoren = above the radiator (e.g., hanging from a rack above it). So på is the natural choice when something is resting on top of a surface.

Why is it radiatoren (definite) and not just radiator? How do I say it in the indefinite?

You use the definite when referring to a specific, known radiator (e.g., the one in the room). Forms:

en radiator (indefinite singular)
radiatoren (definite singular)
radiatorer (indefinite plural)
radiatorene (definite plural) Common alternatives in everyday speech:
ovn/panelovn (electric heater)
element (colloquial in some areas for heater/radiator)

Is the order på radiatoren etter turen okay? Should time come before place?

Yes, it’s fine. A frequent guideline is “time before place,” but both orders are acceptable if the sentence is clear:

Vottene tørker på radiatoren etter turen. (place → time)
Vottene tørker etter turen på radiatoren. (time → place) If you front the time expression, remember Norwegian V2 word order (the verb stays in second position):
Etter turen tørker vottene på radiatoren. You can also front the place:
På radiatoren tørker vottene etter turen.

Does etter turen have to be definite? What about etter tur?

etter turen = after the specific trip/outing you have in mind (hence definite).
etter en tur = after a (non-specific) trip. Avoid etter tur here: it’s a fixed expression meaning “in turn/one after another,” e.g., Elevene snakket etter tur (The pupils spoke in turn). So etter tur does not mean “after a trip.”

Does tur mean “tour” in English?

Usually no. Tur is broad and covers “walk,” “hike,” “outing,” “trip,” etc. Examples:

gå en tur = go for a walk
skitur = ski trip
biltur = car trip For a guided tour, you’d more often say omvisning or specify, e.g., guidet tur.

How do you pronounce tricky letters like ø, å, and the double tt?

ø (in tørker) is a rounded vowel; think of the vowel in British “nurse,” but round your lips.
å (in på) sounds like “aw” in “law.”
u (in turen) is like “oo” in “food,” but usually shorter.
Double tt (in vottene) gives a short vowel before it; the “o” in vott is like the vowel in “pot,” followed by a crisp “t.”
r is typically a tapped or trilled r in many accents.

Can I drop the place phrase and just say Vottene tørker etter turen?

Grammatically yes: it means “The mittens are drying after the trip.” It’s fine if the place is obvious from context. But be careful not to reduce it to Vottene tørker etter tur, which is ambiguous (could be read as “dry in turn”). Including the place (på radiatoren) avoids that ambiguity and sounds more natural in many contexts.

Could I use the passive, Vottene tørkes på radiatoren?

It’s grammatical but changes the meaning: passive suggests an agent is actively drying them (“The mittens are being dried on the radiator”). For a natural, self-occurring process, the intransitive Vottene tørker is better.

Is this Bokmål or Nynorsk? What would it look like in Nynorsk?

The given sentence is Bokmål. In Nynorsk you’d typically write:

Vottane tørkar på radiatoren etter turen. Note the changes: vottene → vottane and tørker → tørkar. Radiatoren and turen look the same here.

What are the full noun paradigms for vott, radiator, and tur?

vott (m): en vott / votten / votter / vottene
radiator (m): en radiator / radiatoren / radiatorer / radiatorene
tur (m): en tur / turen / turer / turene These are standard Bokmål forms.