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Husleien er høy, men leiligheten er lys og stille.

Husleien er høy, men leiligheten er lys og stille.
The rent is high, but the apartment is bright and quiet.

Breakdown of Husleien er høy, men leiligheten er lys og stille.

være
to be
og
and
men
but
stille
quiet
leiligheten
the apartment
høy
high
lys
bright
husleien
the rent
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Questions & Answers about Husleien er høy, men leiligheten er lys og stille.

Why do husleien and leiligheten already include the meaning of “the”? There’s no separate the in the sentence.

Norwegian usually does not use a separate word for the. Instead, it puts a suffix on the noun:

  • en/ei/et = a/an (indefinite)
  • -en / -a / -et = the (definite)

For these words:

  • husleie (rent) → husleien = the rent
  • leilighet (apartment) → leiligheten = the apartment

So the meaning “The rent is high, but the apartment is bright and quiet” is expressed entirely with:

  • husleien (not the husleie)
  • leiligheten (not the leilighet)
Why is it husleien and not husleie in this sentence?

Husleie is the basic (indefinite) form of the noun: rent (in general).
Husleien is the definite form: the rent (a specific, known rent).

You use husleien here because you’re talking about the particular rent for this apartment, which both speaker and listener know about.

Indefinite vs definite:

  • Jeg betaler husleie hver måned. = I pay rent every month. (general idea, any rent)
  • Husleien er høy. = The rent is high. (the specific rent for this place)
Could it also be husleia instead of husleien?

Yes. In Bokmål, some feminine/common-gender nouns can have two definite forms:

  • husleien (more traditionally “masculine” pattern)
  • husleia (more “feminine” pattern)

Both are correct in standard Bokmål:

  • Husleien er høy.
  • Husleia er høy.

You’ll see husleien more in formal/written language, and husleia often in speech and less formal writing, depending on region and personal style.

What does husleie literally mean, and why is it one word?

Husleie is a compound noun:

  • hus = house
  • leie = rent / to rent

Literally it’s house-rent, i.e. the rent you pay for housing → rent.

Norwegian loves compound nouns and usually writes them as one word:

  • husleie (house + rent)
  • leieavtale (leie + avtale = rental agreement)
  • husleiekontrakt (husleie + kontrakt = rental contract)

Writing hus leie as two words would be incorrect here.

What gender is leilighet, and how does that affect leiligheten and the adjectives?

Leilighet is a common gender noun (masculine/feminine merged in Bokmål).

Its main forms:

  • Indefinite singular: en leilighet = an apartment
  • Definite singular: leiligheten = the apartment
    (with optional full form: den leiligheten = that/the apartment)
  • Plural indefinite: leiligheter = apartments
  • Plural definite: leilighetene = the apartments

Gender affects adjectives too, but how depends on position:

  • Before the noun (attributive):

    • en lys leilighet = a bright apartment
    • den lyse leiligheten = the bright apartment

  • After er (predicative), as in the sentence:

    • Leiligheten er lys. = The apartment is bright.
      Here the adjective appears in its basic form (same as masculine/common singular).
Why is it høy and not høyt in husleien er høy?

Both høy and høyt come from the same adjective høy (high/tall), but:

  • høy is the basic form (used for common-gender singular in predicative position).
  • høyt is the neuter singular form, and also used as an adverb in some contexts.

Compare:

  • Husleien er høy. (rent = common gender)
  • Prisnivået er høyt. (prisnivå = et prisnivå, neuter)
  • Huset er høyt. (the house is tall; et hus)

So you use høy here because husleie is a common-gender noun, not neuter.

Could I say dyr instead of høy for the rent? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say both, but they have slightly different nuances:

  • Husleien er høy.
    Literally: The rent is high.
    – Focuses on the level of the rent (a high amount, on the expensive side).

  • Husleien er dyr.
    Literally: The rent is expensive.
    – Emphasizes that it costs a lot, feels expensive to pay.

In practice, both mean that it costs a lot, and both are natural.
You’ll also often hear:

  • Husleien er veldig høy. = The rent is very high.
  • Husleien er ganske dyr. = The rent is quite expensive.
Why is it leiligheten er lys and not leiligheten er lyse or lyst?

This is about adjective agreement in predicative position (after er, blir, etc.).

For most adjectives in Bokmål:

  • Common gender, singular (subject = en/ei …):
    • Leiligheten er lys. (en leilighet)
  • Neuter, singular (subject = et …):
    • Huset er lyst. (et hus)
  • Plural (any gender):
    • Leilighetene er lyse. (leiligheter)
    • Husene er lyse.

So:

  • lys → common singular predicative (our sentence)
  • lyst → neuter singular predicative
  • lyse → plural predicative OR any gender in definite attributive position:
    • den lyse leiligheten, det lyse huset
How would the sentence change if I talked about more apartments, or about a house instead?

Here are a few natural variants:

  1. Plural: several apartments

    • Husleien er høy, men leilighetene er lyse og stille.
      = The rent is high, but the apartments are bright and quiet.

    Notes:

    • leilighetene = the apartments (plural definite)
    • lyse is the plural form of lys
    • stille stays stille (it doesn’t change form)

  2. Neuter noun: house

    • Husleien er høy, men huset er lyst og stille.
      = The rent is high, but the house is bright and quiet.

    Notes:

    • huset = the house
    • lyst is the neuter form (because et hus)
    • again, stille doesn’t change
Why does stille end in -e, and why doesn’t it change form like lys / lyst / lyse?

Stille is one of many adjectives in Norwegian that end in -e in all forms (indeclinable or almost indeclinable adjectives). Rough pattern:

  • en stille leilighet = a quiet apartment
  • et stille hus = a quiet house
  • stille leiligheter = quiet apartments
  • Huset er stille. = The house is quiet.
  • Leiligheten er stille. = The apartment is quiet.

So you don’t say stilt or still for this meaning.

Nuance compared to rolig:

  • stille = quiet, still, not much noise; can sound more about sound level or stillness.
  • rolig = calm, relaxed, peaceful; more about mood/atmosphere or a person’s temperament.

Both can describe a place, but:

  • en stille gate = a quiet street (little noise)
  • en rolig gate = a calm street (not busy, peaceful; often also fairly quiet)
What exactly does men mean here, and could I swap the parts of the sentence?

Men is the coordinating conjunction but.

Your sentence:

  • Husleien er høy, men leiligheten er lys og stille.
    = The rent is high, but the apartment is bright and quiet.

You can absolutely swap the two clauses:

  • Leiligheten er lys og stille, men husleien er høy.
    = The apartment is bright and quiet, but the rent is high.

Notes:

  • men doesn’t change word order the way some other conjunctions do; both sides keep normal subject–verb order:
    • Husleien er … / leiligheten er …
  • Don’t confuse men (but) with menn (men, plural of man).
Could I replace leiligheten with den and say den er lys og stille?

Yes, if it’s clear from context what den refers to.

Natural example:

  • Husleien er høy, men den er lys og stille.
    Literally: The rent is high, but it is bright and quiet.

Here:

  • den is a pronoun referring back to leiligheten (common gender).
  • Common-gender nouns (like leilighet) generally use den as the third-person singular pronoun.

However, if you write it as one standalone sentence, you usually keep the noun:

  • Husleien er høy, men leiligheten er lys og stille.
    If it’s very clear you’re already talking about an apartment, switching to den after mentioning it once is natural in a longer text or conversation.
How do you pronounce husleien, leiligheten, and høy?

Approximate, “English-friendly” descriptions (standard East Norwegian):

  1. husleien

    • Syllables: hus-lei-en
    • Pronunciation: roughly HOOS-lay-en
    • Details:
      • hus: like English hoos (long u as in food)
      • -lei-: like lay
      • -en: a short, light en at the end

  2. leiligheten

    • Syllables: lei-lig-he-ten
    • Pronunciation: roughly LAY-lig-heh-ten
    • Details:
      • First lei: like lay
      • -lig-: lig with a soft g, a bit like lig in ligger
      • he: like heh
      • -ten: short ten

  3. høy

    • Pronunciation: roughly hoy, but with a Norwegian øy sound.
    • øy is a diphthong, somewhat between English “uh” and “ee”, but the easiest trick is:
      • Start with ø (like the vowel in French peu or German schön)
      • Glide toward y (like German ü).

In IPA (approximate):

  • husleien: [ˈhʉːsˌlæɪən] (varies a bit by dialect)
  • leiligheten: [ˈlæɪlɪɡˌheːtn̩]
  • høy: [hœʏ̯]