Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Forsikringen min betaler noe av regningen hos tannlegen. - My insurance pays part of the bill at the dentist.

forsikringen min
- Noun in definite form (forsikringen = the insurance), possessive after it.
- This is the most neutral and common pattern in everyday Norwegian.
- It feels like you’re talking about the insurance I have (your usual, known policy).
min forsikring
- Noun in indefinite form (forsikring = an insurance), possessive before it.
- Often gives more emphasis on “my” – for contrast or focus: my insurance (not someone else’s).
- Slightly more formal or marked in many contexts.

In this sentence, the speaker is just talking neutrally about their insurance, so forsikringen min is the most natural choice.

Why is forsikringen in the definite form?

Forsikringen = forsikring (insurance) + -en (definite ending) → the insurance.

Norwegian uses the definite form whenever a specific, identifiable thing is meant. Here it’s not some random insurance, but your particular insurance policy (the one connected to you).

So:

en forsikring = an insurance (policy)
forsikringen = the insurance (policy) → here: my insurance

Is min forsikring betaler noe av regningen also correct?

Yes, that is also correct Norwegian:

Min forsikring betaler noe av regningen hos tannlegen.

The meaning is basically the same, but:

Min forsikring … puts a bit more stress on “my”, as if you are contrasting it with other people’s insurance or with some other payer.
Forsikringen min … is more neutral, everyday style.

So you can say both, but forsikringen min is the more typical wording here.

Why is the verb betaler in the present tense when in English we might say “will pay”?

Norwegian present tense (betaler) can cover both:

English simple present: pays
English future: will pay / is going to pay

Future time is often expressed simply with the present if the situation is general, planned, or usual:

Forsikringen min betaler noe av regningen
= My insurance pays / will pay some of the bill.

If you really want to stress future, you can say:

Forsikringen min kommer til å betale noe av regningen …
Forsikringen min skal betale noe av regningen …

But in normal speech, betaler is enough.

What exactly does noe av mean in noe av regningen?

noe av literally means “some of”:

noe = some, a bit, something
av = of

So noe av regningen = “some of the bill” (not the whole bill).

You cannot say ✗ noe regning to mean some of the bill; you need noe av regningen, or for a bit more “quantity” feeling:

en del av regningen = a part of the bill
mesteparten av regningen = most of the bill

Why is regningen also in the definite form?

regningen = regning (bill) + -en → the bill.

You normally talk about the specific bill from this dentist’s visit, so in both English and Norwegian you would naturally say:

some of *the bill → *noe av regningen

Saying ✗ noe av en regning (some of a bill) would sound odd and very unnatural in this context, unless you are talking in a very abstract way about some part of some bill or other.

What does hos mean in hos tannlegen, and why not på or i?

hos is used for being at a person’s place or practice (home, doctor’s office, dentist’s office, hairdresser’s, etc.):

hos tannlegen = at the dentist’s (practice)
hos legen = at the doctor’s
hos frisøren = at the hairdresser’s

You normally do not say:

✗ på tannlegen – på is for surfaces or many public places (på skolen, på jobb).
✗ i tannlegen – i is “in / inside”, used for rooms, buildings, cities (i huset, i Oslo).

So for professionals you visit (dentist, doctor, etc.), hos + definite noun is the idiomatic choice.

Why is it tannlegen (the dentist) and not en tannlege (a dentist)?

Both are possible, but they mean slightly different things:

hos tannlegen
- Literally “at the dentist”.
- Implies a specific dentist, usually your regular dentist or the one already known from context.
- This is the normal, idiomatic expression.
hos en tannlege
- Literally “at a dentist”.
- Sounds like at some dentist or other, not a particular, familiar one.
- Used if the identity of the dentist doesn’t matter or isn’t known.

In everyday speech about your own appointment, you’d almost always use hos tannlegen.

What are the basic singular and plural forms of forsikring, regning, and tannlege?

All three are common-gender nouns (en-words). In standard Bokmål:

forsikring (insurance)
- Indefinite singular: en forsikring
- Definite singular: forsikringen
- Indefinite plural: forsikringer
- Definite plural: forsikringene
regning (bill)
- Indefinite singular: en regning
- Definite singular: regningen
- Indefinite plural: regninger
- Definite plural: regningene
tannlege (dentist)
- Indefinite singular: en tannlege
- Definite singular: tannlegen
- Indefinite plural: tannleger
- Definite plural: tannlegene

Could you leave out min and just say Forsikringen betaler noe av regningen hos tannlegen?

Yes, that sentence is grammatically correct:

Forsikringen betaler noe av regningen hos tannlegen.

However, without min, it no longer explicitly says “my insurance”. It then depends on context:

If it’s already clear you are talking about your insurance (e.g. in a conversation about your health plan), leaving out min is fine.
If you introduce the idea for the first time, forsikringen min is clearer and more natural.

Is there a more “formal” or alternative way to say noe av regningen?

A very common alternative is:

en del av regningen = a part of the bill, part of the cost

So you might also hear:

Forsikringen min betaler en del av regningen hos tannlegen.

noe av regningen and en del av regningen are very close in meaning; en del can sound a little more neutral or “objective”, while noe is just “some (unspecified amount)”.