Musikk hjelper meg å roe ned om kvelden.

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Breakdown of Musikk hjelper meg å roe ned om kvelden.

• musikken: the music
• kvelden: the evening
• meg: me

Questions & Answers about Musikk hjelper meg å roe ned om kvelden.

Why is there no article before musikk? Why not en musikk or musikken?

In Norwegian, mass/uncountable nouns used in a general sense normally do not take an article, just like in English.

• Musikk hjelper meg … = Music helps me … (music in general)
• Not: En musikk – that would sound like “a music”, which is wrong in English too.
• Musikken would mean “the music” (some specific music already known in the context).

So musikk without an article is the natural way to talk about music in general.

What does å do in å roe ned?

Å is the infinitive marker in Norwegian, like “to” before a verb in English.

• roe = the verb “calm” / “soothe” in its infinitive form
• å roe = “to calm”
• å roe ned = “to calm down” / “to relax”

So hjelper meg å roe ned literally is “helps me to calm down.”

What exactly does roe ned mean, and why is ned there?