Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Beinet gjør vondt hele dagen, men hun går likevel på skolen. - The leg hurts all day, but she still goes to school.

Norwegian usually uses the definite form when both speaker and listener know which body part is meant (often the person’s own leg), so beinet is natural here.
Spelling note: you may also see benet; both bein and ben are accepted forms.

Does bein mean “leg” or “bone” here?

Literally, bein can mean both bone and leg, depending on context.
In everyday speech, when talking about pain and walking/going to school, beinet will normally be understood as the leg rather than the bone.
If you specifically meant “bone” in a medical context, you’d usually make that clear from the context or add more detail.

Why do we say gjør vondt and not er vondt?

The fixed expression for “hurts” in Norwegian is å gjøre vondt (“to do hurt” / “to cause pain”), not å være vondt.
So you say Beinet gjør vondt = “The leg hurts”, or Det gjør vondt = “It hurts”.
Using er vondt would sound wrong in this meaning; er vond is used more like “is evil/bad” in character or moral sense.

Why is vondt written with a -t at the end?

Vond is an adjective meaning “painful / sore / bad”.
Adjectives take -t in the neuter singular: vondt.

Since bein is a neuter noun (et bein, beinet), the adjective agrees with it and appears as vondt.
So: Beinet (neuter) gjør vondt (neuter form of the adjective).

What is the difference between Beinet gjør vondt and Jeg har vondt i beinet?

Both mean “My leg hurts,” but the structure is different:

Beinet gjør vondt. – Literally “The leg hurts.” The leg is the subject.
Jeg har vondt i beinet. – Literally “I have pain in the leg.” I am the subject.

Both are very common and natural. Jeg har vondt i beinet is slightly more common in everyday speech when talking about one’s own pain.

Why is it hele dagen and not just hele dag?

For time expressions like “all day,” Norwegian typically uses hele + the definite form of the time word.
So you say:

hele dagen = “the whole day / all day”
hele uka = “all week”
hele året = “all year”

That’s why it is hele dagen and not hele dag.

Could I say Hele dagen gjør beinet vondt instead of Beinet gjør vondt hele dagen?

You can say Hele dagen gjør beinet vondt, and it is grammatically correct, but it sounds a bit more formal or marked.
The most neutral, everyday word order is Beinet gjør vondt hele dagen.

Putting Hele dagen first adds extra emphasis on the time: “All day long the leg hurts.”

What does likevel mean exactly, and where can it go in the sentence?

Likevel means “nevertheless / anyway / even so.”
In this sentence, it shows contrast with the first clause: the leg hurts, but she still goes.

Common positions in a main clause:

Hun går likevel på skolen. (most natural here)
Likevel går hun på skolen. (more emphasis on “nevertheless”)

Hun likevel går på skolen is not standard word order.

Why is it på skolen and not til skolen?

På skolen literally means “at school,” but å gå på skolen is also an idiomatic expression meaning “to attend school”.
So hun går på skolen means she goes to/attends school in general, not just the physical movement to the building.

If you want to emphasize the movement from home to the building, you’d say hun går til skolen = “she walks to school.”

Why is the verb går in the present tense if this sounds like a repeated or general action?

Norwegian uses the simple present (presens) for both current and habitual actions.
So Hun går likevel på skolen can mean:

“She still goes to school (as a habit, regularly).”
“She still goes to school (today / in this situation).”

You don’t need an extra marker like “does” or “will”; the simple present covers it.

Why is hun (she) required? Could you drop the subject pronoun like in some other languages?

In Norwegian, you normally must include subject pronouns; Norwegian is not a “pro‑drop” language.
So you say Hun går likevel på skolen, not Går likevel på skolen.

Leaving out hun would sound incomplete or like a telegraphic headline.

Could we use selv om instead of men here, and what would change?

Yes, you can rephrase with selv om (“even though / although”), but the structure changes:

Original: Beinet gjør vondt hele dagen, men hun går likevel på skolen.
With selv om: Selv om beinet gjør vondt hele dagen, går hun likevel på skolen.

Men joins two main clauses: “X, but Y.”
Selv om introduces a subordinate clause: “Even though X, (still) Y.”
The meaning is very similar; it’s mainly a stylistic and structural difference.