Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Det å vise hensyn i trafikken er det som gjør byen tryggere. - Showing consideration in traffic is what makes the city safer.

Å vise hensyn i trafikken gjør byen tryggere.
= Showing consideration in traffic makes the city safer.
This is the most neutral, “plain statement” version.
Det å vise hensyn i trafikken er det som gjør byen tryggere.
= It is showing consideration in traffic that makes the city safer.
This version emphasizes the activity itself and presents it as a more concrete “thing”.

«Det å + infinitive» works a bit like saying “the act of doing X” or “the fact that you do X” in English. It often sounds a bit more formal or emphatic than just «å + infinitive».

Why are there two «det»s: «Det å … er det som gjør …»? What does each one do?

They have different functions:

First “det” in «Det å vise hensyn…»
- This det turns the verb phrase (å vise hensyn) into a more noun‑like subject.
- Roughly: “The act of showing consideration…”
Second “det” in «er det som gjør byen tryggere»
- This det is part of a cleft construction (a focus structure):
  Det er X som … = It is X that …
- Here: «er det som gjør byen tryggere» = “is what makes the city safer”.

You could remove the whole cleft structure and say:

Å vise hensyn i trafikken gjør byen tryggere.

That’s simpler and fully correct; it just has less emphasis than «Det å … er det som …».

What exactly does «vise hensyn» mean? Is it literally “show consideration”?

Yes, «vise hensyn» literally means “show consideration” / “show regard”, and idiomatically it’s very close to English “to be considerate”.

Some points:

vise = to show
hensyn = consideration, regard, respect (for others’ needs/situation)

Common related phrases:

å ta hensyn (til noen/noe) – to take someone/something into account
å vise hensyn – to act in a considerate way
hensynsfull – considerate (adjective)

In this sentence, «å vise hensyn i trafikken» means driving/behaving in traffic in a way that takes other people into account (not blocking, not cutting off, slowing down for pedestrians, etc.).

Why is there no article with «hensyn»? Why not «et hensyn»?

«Hensyn» behaves a bit like an abstract, uncountable noun in many expressions:

vise hensyn – show consideration
ta hensyn – show consideration / be mindful
uten hensyn – without regard

In these fixed expressions, you do not use an article. It’s similar to English where you usually don’t say “show a consideration”, but just “show consideration”.

You can see «et hensyn» or «hensynet (til)» in more specific or formal contexts, meaning “a concern / a factor to consider / the consideration”, e.g.:

Vi må ta miljøet som et viktig hensyn. – We have to treat the environment as an important consideration.
Vi må ta hensyn til barna. – We must take the children into consideration. (still article‑less in that idiom)

Why do we say «i trafikken» and not «på trafikken»?

In Norwegian, «i trafikken» is the standard way to say “in traffic” in the sense of within the traffic situation / traffic environment.

i often means “in, inside, within”:
i byen (in the city), i skogen (in the forest), i trafikken (in traffic).

«På trafikken» would sound wrong here; på is used for other patterns like:

på veien – on the road
på bussen – on the bus
på motorveien – on the motorway

So:

i trafikken = in (the world of) traffic
på veien = on the road

What is the role of «som» in «det som gjør byen tryggere»?

Here, «som» is a relative pronoun, similar to English “that / which”.

det som gjør byen tryggere
literally: “that which makes the city safer”
more naturally: “what makes the city safer”

In the structure «Det er X som …», som introduces the clause that describes or completes X:

Det er du som bestemmer. – It’s you who decide.
Det er været som er problemet. – It’s the weather that is the problem.
Det å vise hensyn i trafikken er det som gjør byen tryggere.
– The act of showing consideration in traffic is what makes the city safer.

You cannot drop «som» here; it’s required for the grammar of this kind of relative clause.

Why is it «tryggere» and not «mer trygg»?

«Trygg» forms its comparative in the regular “short-adjective” way:

trygg – safe
tryggere – safer
tryggest – safest

In Norwegian:

Most short, common adjectives form the comparative with -ere:
snill → snillere, billig → billigere, gammel → eldre (irregular stem, but same idea).
«mer + adjective» is mainly used with longer, more complex adjectives:
interessant → mer interessant, komfortabel → mer komfortabel.

«mer trygg» is technically understandable, but it sounds wrong/unnatural in normal speech. Native speakers will say «tryggere».

Why is it «byen» (the city) and not just «en by» (a city)?

Norwegian uses the definite form a lot when talking about a specific, known thing:

byen = the city
en by = a city

In context, «byen» normally means “our city / this city / the city we’re talking about”. The speaker assumes the listener knows which city is meant.

Compare:

Bilbelter gjør en by tryggere. – Seatbelts make a city safer. (general statement)
Bilbelter gjør byen tryggere. – Seatbelts make the city safer. (this particular city)

So «byen» here suggests a specific city context, not just any theoretical city.

Could we say «Å vise hensyn i trafikken gjør byen tryggere» instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, that version is grammatically correct and natural:

Å vise hensyn i trafikken gjør byen tryggere.

Difference in nuance:

Å vise hensyn i trafikken gjør byen tryggere.
→ Simple statement: Showing consideration in traffic makes the city safer.
Det å vise hensyn i trafikken er det som gjør byen tryggere.
→ More emphatic: It is showing consideration in traffic that makes the city safer.
The «det … er det som …» structure focuses on that particular factor.

So the original sentence highlights “showing consideration in traffic” as the key reason, not just one random factor among many.

Can the word order change, like moving «i trafikken» to the front?

Yes, Norwegian word order is fairly flexible as long as the verb stays in 2nd position in main clauses.

For example:

I trafikken er det å vise hensyn det som gjør byen tryggere.
= In traffic, it is showing consideration that makes the city safer.

Here, «i trafikken» is moved to the front for emphasis or to set the scene, but the main structure remains the same:

Fronted element: I trafikken
Verb in 2nd position: er
Rest of the clause: det å vise hensyn det som gjør byen tryggere

So yes, you can move «i trafikken» around, especially to the beginning, without changing the core meaning. The original order is just the most neutral one.