Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Mindretallet er ofte uenig, men vi respekterer hverandres mening. - The minority often disagrees, but we respect each other's opinion.

In this sentence we are talking about a specific, known minority in a situation (e.g. in a group, in a vote), so Norwegian uses the definite form mindretallet, just like English uses “the minority”, not “minority” alone.

Bare mindretall without an article would sound incomplete or very abstract here; you normally need either et or the definite ending -et.

Why is it mindretallet er ofte uenig and not mindretallet er ofte uenige?

Grammatically, mindretallet is singular (one minority), so the adjective is also singular: uenig.

mindretallet er uenig = the minority (as one unit) is in disagreement

You can hear Norwegians say mindretallet er uenige, focusing on the people inside the minority (they are many, so plural). That is semantic agreement (agreeing with the meaning, not the grammar).

Both forms occur in real life, but uenig is the straightforward, grammatically regular choice when you see mindretallet as one group.

Why is the adverb ofte placed as er ofte uenig and not somewhere else?

In a normal main clause, the typical word order is:

Subject – Verb – (Adverb) – Rest

So:

Mindretallet (subject)
er (verb)
ofte (adverb)
uenig (rest / predicative adjective)

You could move ofte a bit in speech for emphasis, but Mindretallet er ofte uenig is the neutral, standard order.

Placing it at the end (Mindretallet er uenig ofte) sounds marked or foreign, and putting it in front (Ofte er mindretallet uenig) gives special emphasis to ofte (“Often, the minority is in disagreement”).

What exactly does hverandres mean, and how is it related to hverandre?

hverandre means “each other”.
- Vi respekterer hverandre. – We respect each other.
hverandres is the possessive/genitive form: “each other’s”.
- Vi respekterer hverandres mening. – We respect each other’s opinion.

So you use:

hverandre when it is an object (each other)
hverandres when something belongs to “each other” (each other’s + noun)

Why is it hverandres mening (singular) and not hverandres meninger (plural)?

Both are possible, but they sound slightly different:

hverandres mening – literally “each other’s opinion” (singular), but understood as “each other’s opinion(s)”.
hverandres meninger – “each other’s opinions” (explicit plural).

Norwegian often uses a singular noun after hverandres (and also after alles, begges, etc.) even when we logically mean more than one. It sounds very natural and idiomatic.

So hverandres mening is the most common, neutral choice here; hverandres meninger is grammatically fine but a bit more concrete or stressed.

Why is there no definite article on mening? Why not hverandres meningen?

In Norwegian, possessives like min, din, vår, hverandres usually mean that something is already definite/owned, so you normally do not add the definite ending as well.

Compare:

meningen – the opinion / the meaning
min mening – my opinion (not min meningen)
hverandres mening – each other’s opinion (not hverandres meningen)

So hverandres mening is correct; adding the definite ending (meningen) after hverandres is ungrammatical.

What is the difference between enig and uenig?

enig = in agreement, of the same opinion (“agreeing”).
- Vi er enige. – We agree / We are of one opinion.
uenig = not in agreement (“disagreeing”). The prefix u- works like English un- or dis-.
- Mindretallet er ofte uenig. – The minority often disagrees.

So uenig is just the opposite of enig.

Could I say Vi respekterer hverandre sine meninger instead of vi respekterer hverandres mening?

You will hear forms like hverandre sine meninger in some dialects and in informal speech, but in standard written Bokmål it is not considered good style.

The recommended, standard way to express “each other’s X” is:

hverandres + noun

So in correct, neutral written Norwegian you should say:

Vi respekterer hverandres mening.

Does mening mean “opinion” or “meaning”? I’ve seen both.

The noun mening has two related uses:

opinion / view
- Hva er din mening? – What is your opinion?
meaning / sense / point
- Det gir ingen mening. – That makes no sense / That doesn’t mean anything.

In hverandres mening, the context clearly points to the “opinion” sense: “each other’s opinion.”

Are there any tricky pronunciation points in Mindretallet er ofte uenig, men vi respekterer hverandres mening?

A few details that often trip up English speakers:

Mindretallet: the d in mindre- is usually silent; it sounds like something close to “minre-tallet”.
ofte: the f is pronounced; t can be a bit soft or almost disappeared in fast speech, but it’s there in careful pronunciation.
uenig: pronounce it as u-enig, two vowel sounds (u as in German “U”, then e). Don’t reduce it to something like “wenig”.
hverandres: the hv is typically pronounced like v in modern Norwegian, so it sounds like starting with ver-.

The rhythm of the sentence is quite smooth; try to say it in one or two natural “chunks” rather than word-by-word.