Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Tryggheten i familien gjør barna glade. - The sense of safety in the family makes the children happy.

In this sentence, we are talking about a specific, known kind of security: the security in the family. That is why it is tryggheten with the definite ending -en.

What is the difference between trygg, trygghet, and tryggheten?

They are related, but belong to different word classes:

trygg – adjective: safe, secure
- et trygt hjem = a safe home
trygghet – noun: security, safety, sense of security
- jeg trenger trygghet = I need security
tryggheten – definite noun: the security / the sense of security
- tryggheten i familien = the security in the family

So the sentence uses the noun in definite form, not the adjective.

Why is it i familien and not something like for familien?

The preposition i literally means in, and here it expresses the idea of security that exists inside the family as an environment or context:

tryggheten i familien ≈ the security in the family, within the family setting

If you said for familien (for the family), it would sound like the security is something intended for the benefit of the family, which is a different idea.

So i is used because we are talking about security as a characteristic of the family environment.

Why is it familien and not en familie?

familie = family
en familie = a family
familien = the family

In the sentence, we are talking about a specific family that both speaker and listener know about (for example, their family). That calls for the definite form:

i familien = in the family (the specific one we have in mind)

If you said i en familie, it would be more general:

trygghet i en familie gjør barna glade ≈ security in a family makes children happy (in a family in general, not a particular one)

What exactly does gjør mean here?

gjør is the present tense of the verb å gjøre (to do, to make).

In this sentence, gjør has the meaning makes:

gjøre noen glade = to make someone happy

So:

Tryggheten i familien gjør barna glade
≈ The security in the family makes the children happy.

It is not do in the English sense here, but make.

What is the grammatical role of gjør in the sentence?

The structure is:

Tryggheten i familien – subject
gjør – verb (predicate)
barna – object
glade – object complement (describing the state of the object)

So gjør links the subject and the new state of the object:

Subject (tryggheten i familien)
- Verb (gjør)
- Object (barna)
- Complement (glade)

This is similar to English sentences like:

The news made her happy.
The weather makes me tired.

Why is it barna and not barn or barner?

The noun barn (child) is a bit irregular:

Singular indefinite: et barn = a child
Singular definite: barnet = the child
Plural indefinite: barn = children
Plural definite: barna = the children

So:

barn can mean either a child (in context) or children (plural, indefinite)
barna = the children (plural, definite)

In the sentence, we are talking about specific children (the children in that family), so we use barna.

Why is it glade and not glad?

Adjectives in Norwegian agree with the noun they describe in number and definiteness.

The base form is glad (happy). The plural (and definite) form is glade.

Since barna is plural definite, the adjective must match that:

Singular:
- barnet er glad = the child is happy
Plural:
- barna er glade = the children are happy

In this sentence, glade functions as a complement to barna, so it has to be in the plural definite form: glade.

Could the sentence also be Tryggheten i familien gjør at barna blir glade? What is the difference?

Yes, that is also correct Norwegian:

Tryggheten i familien gjør barna glade
Tryggheten i familien gjør at barna blir glade

Difference in nuance:

gjør barna glade is a bit more direct and compact:
- the security in the family makes the children happy
gjør at barna blir glade literally:
- the security in the family makes it so that the children become happy

The second version explicitly includes at (that) and blir (become), so it can sound slightly more explanatory or formal, but both are natural.

Can I change the word order to put barna first, like Barna gjør tryggheten i familien glade?

No, that would change the meaning and sound wrong.

Tryggheten i familien gjør barna glade = The security in the family makes the children happy.
Subject = tryggheten i familien

If you say:

Barna gjør tryggheten i familien glade

then barna becomes the subject, and tryggheten i familien becomes the object, so it would mean something like:

The children make the security in the family happy.

That is not a meaningful or natural sentence. To keep the meaning, you have to keep tryggheten i familien as the subject.

How would I say the security in a family makes children happy (more general, not a specific family and not specific children)?

You would make both the family and the children indefinite:

Trygghet i en familie gjør barn glade.

Pieces:

trygghet – security (indefinite, more general)
i en familie – in a family (any family)
gjør – makes
barn – children (plural indefinite)
glade – happy (plural form of the adjective)

So the original sentence is more specific (the security in the family, the children). This new version is more general.

How do you pronounce gjør, tryggheten, and barna?

A rough guide using English-like hints:

gjør
- The gj is like a soft y sound.
- It sounds similar to yur in English your, but with more of an ø (German ö) vowel:
- Approx: yøør.
tryggheten
- trygg ≈ trygg with a short y like German ü (lips rounded)
- he ≈ English heh
- ten ≈ ten (unstressed, almost tn)
- Stress is on the first syllable: TRYGG-he-ten.
barna
- bar like English bar, but with a slightly rolled or tapped r
- na like nah
- Stress on the first syllable: BAR-na.