Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Vi vil bygge et hus sammen. - We want to build a house together.

hus (house) is a neuter noun.
The indefinite article for neuter nouns is et.
The indefinite article for masculine nouns is en, and for feminine ei (in many dialects and in Nynorsk; in Bokmål, en is often used for feminine too).

So you say:

et hus = a house (neuter)
en bil = a car (masculine)
ei/en bok = a book (feminine/masculine in Bokmål)

Because hus is neuter, et is the only correct choice here: et hus.

Why is it hus and not huset?

Norwegian uses a suffix to mark definiteness instead of a separate word like the:

et hus = a house (indefinite, singular)
huset = the house (definite, singular)
hus (no article, plural context or mass-like) / husene = the houses (definite plural)

In Vi vil bygge et hus sammen, we are talking about a house, not a specific one that both speaker and listener already know about. So the indefinite form et hus is the natural choice.

If you said:

Vi vil bygge huset sammen, it would mean We want to build the house together (a particular, known house).

Why is there no å before bygge?

The base (infinitive) form of the verb is å bygge = to build.

However, after modal verbs like:

vil (will / want to)
skal (shall / going to)
kan (can)
må (must / have to)
bør (should)

you drop å and use the bare infinitive:

Vi vil bygge et hus.
Vi skal bygge et hus.
Vi kan bygge et hus.

So Vi vil bygge is correct, while Vi vil å bygge is wrong in standard Norwegian.

What exactly does vil mean here: “will” or “want to”?

Vil can express both:

Desire / wish / want:
- Vi vil bygge et hus sammen.
  → We want to build a house together.
Future intention / prediction (similar to English will):
- Hun vil sikkert komme senere.
  → She will probably come later.

In this sentence, context usually makes it sound like We want to build a house together (a shared wish or plan). Norwegian doesn’t have a separate, pure future tense like English will, so vil often covers both meanings. If you want to be very clear about desire, you can also say:

Vi har lyst til å bygge et hus sammen.
(We feel like / have the desire to build a house together.)

What is the difference between vil and skal in this kind of sentence?

Both can refer to the future, but they feel different:

Vi vil bygge et hus sammen.
– Focus on wanting or willingness.
– Often: this is something we want (and probably plan) to do.
Vi skal bygge et hus sammen.
– Focus on plan, arrangement, or sometimes obligation.
– Often: this is something we are going to do, it is decided/fixed.

So:

vil = emphasizes desire/intention
skal = emphasizes a set plan, obligation, or scheduled future action

Both can be translated with English future forms depending on context.

What is the grammatical role of sammen here, and where can it go in the sentence?

Sammen is an adverb meaning together.

In Vi vil bygge et hus sammen, it modifies the way the action bygge et hus is done: they will build the house together.

Typical positions for sammen in a sentence like this:

Vi vil bygge et hus sammen. (very natural, default)
Vi vil sammen bygge et hus. (also correct; sammen is closer to the verb)

What is not natural is:

Vi vil bygge sammen et hus.
This word order is very unusual and basically wrong in standard Norwegian.

So you can usually place sammen:

after the verb phrase: bygge et hus sammen
or right after the first verb: vil sammen bygge et hus (slightly more formal/emphatic)

Could sammen also mean “with each other” here? How is it different from med hverandre?

Yes. In this sentence, sammen implies with each other: they are not building separately; they are doing it jointly.

Vi vil bygge et hus sammen.
→ We want to build a house together / with each other.

You could also say:

Vi vil bygge et hus med hverandre.

But med hverandre sounds heavier and is used more when you want to stress the mutual relationship or action between people (e.g. De snakker med hverandre = They talk with each other). Sammen is shorter and more natural for doing an activity together (build, travel, live, etc.).

How do I pronounce Vi vil bygge et hus sammen?

Pronunciation varies by dialect, but a common Oslo/Bokmål-like pronunciation is:

Vi – [viː] (like English vee)
vil – [vɪl] (short i as in English sit, final l is pronounced)
bygge – [ˈbʏɡːə]
- y is a rounded front vowel: say ee but with rounded lips
- double gg = long /g/ sound
et – [et] (short, clear e, pronounced ett)
hus – [hʉːs] or [hʉs]
- u is often like a rounded version of ee (front rounded vowel)
sammen – [ˈsɑmːən]
- double mm = long m
- final -en often reduced, almost like sam-men with a short second syllable

Spoken quickly, the sentence flows something like: vi vil bʏɡːə et hʉːs ˈsɑmːən.

Is bygge a regular verb, and how does it conjugate?

Yes, å bygge is a regular verb in Bokmål (a typical -e verb).

Main forms:

infinitive: å bygge
present: bygger – Vi bygger et hus. (We are building a house.)
past: bygde – Vi bygde et hus i fjor. (We built a house last year.)
past participle: bygd / bygget (both forms exist; bygd is very common)
- Huset er bygd. (The house is built.)

So the pattern is regular and you can apply it to many other -e verbs.

Why is the verb form vil and not ville?

Vil is the present tense of the modal verb:

å ville = to want (to) / will

Conjugation (Bokmål):

present: vil – Vi vil bygge et hus.
past: ville – Vi ville bygge et hus. (We wanted to build a house.)
past participle: villet – mostly used in more formal/complex structures.

So in a normal, present-time statement We want to / will build, you use vil, not ville.

How would I say “We are building a house together (right now)” instead?

To describe an action that is in progress now, Norwegian usually uses the simple present, not a special continuous form:

Vi bygger et hus sammen.
→ We are building a house together (now / these days).

Compare:

Vi vil bygge et hus sammen.
→ We want to build / We will build a house together (future desire/plan).
Vi skal bygge et hus sammen.
→ We are going to build a house together (future plan/arrangement).
Vi bygger et hus sammen.
→ We are in the process of building a house together.

Can the subject vi be omitted like in Spanish or Italian?

No. Norwegian is not a “pro-drop” language; you almost always must include the subject pronoun.

Vi vil bygge et hus sammen. ✅
Vil bygge et hus sammen. ❌ (sounds incomplete, like “Will build a house together” without we)

Even if the subject is obvious from context, you still use vi in standard Norwegian.

What is the difference between et hus and et hjem?

et hus = a house, the physical building, structure.
et hjem = a home, the place where you live, with emotional meaning.

So:

Vi vil bygge et hus sammen.
→ We want to build a house together (the building).

If you say:

Vi vil skape et hjem sammen.
→ We want to create a home together (a life together, a shared home in the emotional sense).

They can refer to the same physical place, but hus is concrete and architectural; hjem is about living and belonging.