Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Hun sykler gjennom rundkjøringen, og bilene tar hensyn til henne. - She cycles through the roundabout, and the cars take her into consideration.

✅ Hun sykler gjennom rundkjøringen. = She is cycling / She cycles through the roundabout.
❌ Hun er sykler gjennom rundkjøringen. (ungrammatical)

To emphasize that something is happening right now, you can add a time word:

Hun sykler nå. – She is cycling now.

What is the role of gjennom here, and could you say i rundkjøringen instead?

Gjennom means “through” and focuses on movement from one side to the other of a space or area.

Hun sykler gjennom rundkjøringen
→ She enters the roundabout, goes through it, and exits on the other side.

I rundkjøringen means “in the roundabout”, with no built-in idea of exiting:

Hun sykler i rundkjøringen.
→ She is inside the roundabout (perhaps riding around in it), not necessarily going through to get out.

So you can say i rundkjøringen, but it changes the meaning:

gjennom rundkjøringen – through it (enter → move across → leave)
i rundkjøringen – in it (location inside)

Why is it rundkjøringen and not just rundkjøring? What does the -en ending do?

The noun rundkjøring (roundabout / traffic circle) is a common gender noun.

en rundkjøring – a roundabout (indefinite singular)
rundkjøringen – the roundabout (definite singular)

The -en on rundkjøringen is the definite article: “the”.

So the sentence is talking about a specific, known roundabout:

Hun sykler gjennom rundkjøringen
→ She cycles through the roundabout (the one we both know / can see),
not “through roundabouts in general.”

If you wanted it indefinite, it would be:

Hun sykler gjennom en rundkjøring. – She cycles through a roundabout.

Why is it bilene and not biler? What’s the difference?

Bil (car) is also a common-gender noun.

en bil – a car
bilen – the car
biler – cars (indefinite plural)
bilene – the cars (definite plural) = “the cars”

So:

bilene = the cars
biler = (some) cars / cars in general

In the sentence:

… og bilene tar hensyn til henne.
→ “… and the cars take her into consideration / look out for her.”

This suggests the particular cars that are there in traffic with her, not cars in general as a category.

What does the expression tar hensyn til literally mean, and how is it used?

Ta hensyn til (noen/noe) is a fixed expression meaning:

to take (someone/something) into consideration,
to show consideration for,
to be considerate toward,
to take care not to disturb/endanger them.

Literally:

ta = take
hensyn = consideration / regard
til = to / towards

So tar hensyn til henne is literally “take consideration to her,” which we would phrase in natural English as:

“take her into account,”
“show consideration for her,”
“are considerate of her.”

Other related expressions:

vise hensyn (til) – show consideration (for)
ta hensyn til fotgjengere – take pedestrians into account / be considerate of pedestrians

Why do we need til in tar hensyn til henne? Why not just tar hensyn henne?

In Norwegian, ta hensyn til is a set phrase:

ta hensyn til + [person/thing]

The preposition til is obligatory in this construction; without it, the phrase is ungrammatical.

✅ Bilene tar hensyn til henne.
❌ Bilene tar hensyn henne.

Think of ta hensyn til as one chunk:

“to take consideration to (someone/something)”

You always keep til before the person or thing you are being considerate of.

What’s the difference between Hun and henne, and why is it henne here?

Both hun and henne mean “she/her,” but they are used in different grammatical roles:

hun – subject form (“she”)
henne – object form (“her”)

In the sentence:

Hun sykler gjennom rundkjøringen
– Hun is the subject: Who is cycling? → She.
… og bilene tar hensyn til henne.
– henne is the object of the preposition til: To whom do they show consideration? → to her.

So:

Hun ser henne. – She sees her.
(first hun = subject, second henne = object)

Is the comma before og necessary in …, og bilene tar hensyn til henne?

Yes, according to standard Norwegian comma rules, the comma is correct (and expected) here.

Rule of thumb:
If og connects two main clauses (each with its own subject and verb), you normally use a comma before og.

Hun sykler gjennom rundkjøringen, og bilene tar hensyn til henne.
- Clause 1: Hun sykler gjennom rundkjøringen. (subject Hun, verb sykler)
- Clause 2: bilene tar hensyn til henne. (subject bilene, verb tar)

Because both sides are full clauses, you write a comma before og.

If og connects just two verbs with the same subject, there is no comma:

Hun sykler og synger. – She cycles and sings. (same subject, no comma)

Could I change the word order to Bilene tar hensyn til henne når hun sykler gjennom rundkjøringen? Does it mean the same thing?

Yes, that sentence is perfectly natural and means essentially the same thing, just framed a bit differently.

Original:

Hun sykler gjennom rundkjøringen, og bilene tar hensyn til henne.
→ Two parallel facts:
1. She is cycling through the roundabout.
2. The cars are being considerate of her.

Alternative:

Bilene tar hensyn til henne når hun sykler gjennom rundkjøringen.
→ Emphasizes the cars’ behavior and states when they are considerate: when she cycles through the roundabout.

Both are correct; you just shift the focus slightly:

Original: more neutral / descriptive of two simultaneous actions.
Alternative: more like “The cars are considerate when she cycles through the roundabout.”

Any tips on pronouncing sykler, gjennom, rundkjøringen, and hensyn?

Some key points (approximate English hints; actual sounds are a bit different):

sykler
- sy: like the German “ü” or French “u” in tu (fronted “u” sound).
- kl: as in “cl” in climb.
- Final -er: often sounds like -e(r) with a weak r, depending on dialect.
  Roughly: SY-kler (with a fronted u-sound).
gjennom
- g is silent here.
- j ~ English y in “yes”.
- e like “e” in “bed”.
- nn like “n” in “no”.
- om like “om” in “omnibus” (short “o”).
  Roughly: YEN-nom.
rundkjøringen
- rund:
  - r often tapped or rolled.
  - u like English “oo” in book (not boot).
- kjø: kj is a voiceless palatal fricative; similar to the German ich-sound, not like English “sh”. The ø is like French deux or German schön.
- ringen: “ree-ngen” (short i, weak -en).
  Roughly: RUUND-kjØR-ingen (with Norwegian vowels).
hensyn
- hen: “hen” like English “hen”.
- syn: sy with that fronted u/ü sound again, and final n.
  Roughly: HEN-sy-n, with the second syllable using that ü-like vowel.

Listening to native audio (e.g., online dictionaries or TTS) is the best way to get a feel for these sounds, especially kj and y/ø/ø vowels.