Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Vinneren av konkurransen får en liten premie. - The winner of the competition gets a small prize.

Here we are talking about a specific, known winner (the one from this competition), so Norwegian uses the definite form vinneren, just like English uses the winner.

What does av konkurransen mean, and why is it av and not i?

konkurransen is the definite form of konkurranse (competition), so konkurransen = the competition.

av in this context means of, so:

vinneren av konkurransen ≈ the winner of the competition

Using i konkurransen would literally be in the competition. That describes someone who is taking part, not the winner:

Hun er med i konkurransen. = She is in the competition / taking part.
Hun er vinneren av konkurransen. = She is the winner of the competition.

So av is the natural preposition with vinneren here.

Why is it får and not something like skal få or vil få for the future?

Norwegian often uses the simple present tense to talk about the future when the situation is regular, planned, or conditional, especially in rules and descriptions:

Vinneren av konkurransen får en liten premie.
= The winner (whenever that happens) gets a small prize.

Using skal få or vil få is also possible:

Vinneren av konkurransen skal få en liten premie.
Vinneren av konkurransen vil få en liten premie.

These sound a bit more like a specific, one‑time future event or a promise. In general statements (rules, game descriptions, instructions), the plain present får is most natural.

Why is the word order Vinneren av konkurransen får en liten premie and not something like Vinneren av konkurransen en liten premie får?

Norwegian main clauses normally follow S–V–O word order (subject–verb–object):

Vinneren av konkurransen = subject
får = verb
en liten premie = object

So the natural order is:

[Subject] Vinneren av konkurransen
[Verb] får
[Object] en liten premie

Putting the verb at the end (… en liten premie får) is not correct in Norwegian declarative main clauses. Norwegian also has the "verb in second position" rule (V2), and here the subject fills the first slot, so the verb must come right after it.

What is the difference between konkurranse and konkurransen?

They are different forms of the same noun:

konkurranse = a competition (indefinite singular)
konkurransen = the competition (definite singular)

Norwegian usually adds the definite article as an ending:

en konkurranse = a competition
konkurransen = the competition

In this sentence, we are talking about a specific competition (one that speaker and listener know about), so the definite form konkurransen is used, just like English uses the competition.

Why is it en liten premie and not et lite premie or something else?

Two things are going on: noun gender and adjective agreement.

Noun gender and article

premie is a masculine noun in Bokmål:

en premie = a prize (masculine)
premien = the prize

So the correct indefinite article is en, not et (neuter).

Adjective agreement

The adjective liten (small) changes form depending on gender and number:

masculine/feminine singular indefinite: liten
neuter singular indefinite: lite
definite singular: lille
plural: små

Since premie is masculine, you use:

en liten premie = a small prize

If it were a neuter noun, you’d say for example:

et lite hus = a small house

Are there other forms of liten I should know, like lita?

Yes. The basic pattern in Bokmål is:

liten – masc./fem. singular indefinite
lite – neuter singular indefinite
lille – definite singular
små – plural

In more feminine‑friendly Bokmål and in many dialects, you can also see:

ei lita bok (a small book – feminine form lita)

But premie is masculine, so in Bokmål you normally say:

en liten premie, not ei lita premie.

How is this sentence pronounced?

Approximate pronunciation (East Norwegian, IPA and rough English hints):

Vinneren – /ˈvɪnːərən/
- vinn like vin in vinyl but shorter
- double n = longer /n/ sound
- ending -eren like eh-rehn
av – /ɑː/ or /ɑv/
- like a long ah; the v is often weak or almost gone in casual speech
konkurransen – /kɔŋkʉˈrɑnsən/
- konk ≈ konk in conk, with ng sound /ŋ/
- u in kur is like German ü or French u in lune
- stress on -ran-: kon-kur-RAN-sen
får – /foːr/
- å like aw in law, but more closed, like a long o in for (British)
en – /en/
liten – /ˈliːtən/
- li like lee
- ten like ten but with schwa at the end: tee-tən
premie – /ˈpreːmiə/ or /ˈpreːmje/
- pre like English pray
- mie like mee-eh or myeh

Overall stress pattern: VÍN-ner-en av kon-kur-RÁN-sen får ÉN LÍ-ten PRÉ-mie (main stressed syllables in caps).

What is the difference between premie and belønning? Could I say belønning instead?

Both can be translated as reward, but they are used a bit differently:

premie
- a prize in a game, competition, lottery, contest, etc.
- usually something you win according to rules.
belønning
- a reward more generally: for good behavior, hard work, helping someone, etc.
- also used for things like a reward for finding a lost dog.

In a competition context, premie is the natural choice.
Saying Vinneren av konkurransen får en liten belønning is understandable, but it sounds less like a formal competition prize and more like a personal reward.

How would the sentence change if there are several winners?

You need plural forms for vinneren and probably for premie:

Vinnerne av konkurransen får en liten premie hver.
= The winners of the competition get a small prize each.

Changes:

vinneren (the winner) → vinnerne (the winners)
often you add hver (each) to make it clear that each winner gets their own prize.

If there is one shared prize, you could say:

Vinnerne av konkurransen får en liten premie
(context would then decide whether it’s shared or one each).