Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Vi har en skjermfri kveld hver uke for å snakke sammen uten mobil og skjermtid. - We have one screen-free evening every week to talk together without a mobile and screen time.

So vi har en skjermfri kveld literally is we have a screen‑free evening, but idiomatically it means something like we do / we hold / we schedule a screen‑free evening.

Other similar examples:

Vi har et møte hver mandag. – We have a meeting every Monday.
Vi har prøve i morgen. – We have a test tomorrow.

Why is it en skjermfri kveld and not en kveld uten skjerm? Are both correct?

Both are grammatically correct, but they sound a bit different:

en skjermfri kveld – a screen‑free evening (compact, feels like a set concept or rule)
en kveld uten skjerm – an evening without screens (descriptive, more like a one‑time situation)

In this context (a regular weekly habit), en skjermfri kveld sounds more natural and idiomatic, because it presents it as a defined type of evening or “rule” the family has.

Why is skjermfri written as one word?

Norwegian loves compound words. When an adjective and a noun form a fixed concept, they are often written together as one compound, especially with ‑fri:

alkoholfri øl → alkoholfri is also a stand‑alone adjective, but could be part of longer compounds too
sukkerfri tyggegummi
feilfri tekst

Skjermfri is a compound adjective: skjerm (screen) + fri (free from). It’s become a common, almost “technical” word meaning without digital screens.

What gender is kveld, and why is it en kveld and not et kveld or ei kveld?

Kveld is a masculine noun in standard Bokmål, so the indefinite article is en:

en kveld – an evening
kvelden – the evening
kvelder – evenings
kveldene – the evenings

In some dialects you might hear feminine forms (ei natt, ei helg etc.), but kveld is normally treated as masculine.

Why is it hver uke and not hver uken?

Hver always goes with an indefinite singular noun in this meaning (every):

hver dag – every day
hver uke – every week
hver måned – every month

So you do not use the definite form (uken) after hver. Hver uken is ungrammatical in this sense.

Can hver uke be placed somewhere else in the sentence?

Yes. Neutral word order is the original:

Vi har en skjermfri kveld hver uke for å snakke sammen uten mobil og skjermtid.

You can also move hver uke forward for emphasis or style:

Vi har hver uke en skjermfri kveld for å … (less common, but possible)
Hver uke har vi en skjermfri kveld for å … (quite natural, adds emphasis on every week)

The meaning is the same; it’s just a matter of what you highlight.

What does for å mean here, and when do you use that structure?

For å + infinitive expresses purpose, like in order to in English.

for å snakke sammen – in order to talk together
Jeg trener for å bli sterkere. – I work out (in order) to get stronger.
Hun leser for å lære norsk. – She reads to learn Norwegian.

So for å snakke sammen uten mobil og skjermtid explains why they have the screen‑free evening.

Why is it snakke sammen and not snakke med hverandre? Are they the same?

Snakke sammen and snakke med hverandre are very close in meaning:

snakke sammen – talk together
snakke med hverandre – talk with each other

In everyday speech, snakke sammen is shorter and more common. Med hverandre can sound a bit more formal or emphasised. In this context they are effectively interchangeable:

… for å snakke sammen …
… for å snakke med hverandre …

Both are correct; snakke sammen just feels more natural here.

Why do we say uten mobil og skjermtid with no article? Could we say uten mobilen?

After uten (without), Norwegian often uses a bare noun with no article when talking about something in general:

uten mobil – without a mobile phone / phones
uten sukker – without sugar
uten lyd – without sound

Uten mobilen would mean without the (specific) mobile phone, usually a particular one already known from context. That’s possible, but here the idea is without any mobile phones at all, so the bare form uten mobil is better.

Same for uten skjermtid: no article because it’s a general, uncountable concept.

What exactly does skjermtid mean?

Skjermtid is a compound noun: skjerm (screen) + tid (time). It means roughly time spent in front of screens, i.e. phones, tablets, computers, TVs, etc.

It’s usually uncountable and used without an article:

Barn har ofte for mye skjermtid. – Children often have too much screen time.
Jeg prøver å redusere skjermtiden min. – I’m trying to reduce my screen time.

Could you say Vi har en skjermfri kveld i uka instead of hver uke? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say:

Vi har en skjermfri kveld i uka.

This means essentially the same thing: we have one screen‑free evening per week.

Subtle nuances:

hver uke – focuses on repetition: every week.
i uka – focuses a bit more on quantity within a time unit: in the week / per week.

In everyday speech, both are perfectly natural here.

Can the for å‑clause go at the beginning, like: For å snakke sammen uten mobil og skjermtid har vi en skjermfri kveld hver uke?

Yes, that is grammatically correct and quite natural:

For å snakke sammen uten mobil og skjermtid har vi en skjermfri kveld hver uke.

Putting the for å‑clause first emphasizes the purpose more strongly. The original order is more neutral; fronting it sounds a bit more formal or stylistic, but it’s fine.

How do you pronounce skjermfri, especially the skj sound?

In most standard accents:

skj in skjermfri is pronounced like English “sh” in “ship”.
skjerm sounds roughly like “shairm” (with a short e, similar to “bed”).
fri is like English “free”, but with a shorter i.

So skjermfri comes out roughly as “SHAIRM-free”, with the stress on skjerm: SKJERM‑fri.