Breakdown of Ektefellen min kommer hjem tidlig i kveld.
Questions & Answers about Ektefellen min kommer hjem tidlig i kveld.
Ektefellen means “the spouse”. It is gender‑neutral: it can refer to either a husband or a wife.
More specific (and more common in everyday speech) would be:
- mannen min – my husband
- kona mi – my wife
Ektefellen min sounds a bit more formal or neutral, and is often used in writing, official contexts, or when you simply don’t want to specify gender.
Norwegian allows possessives both after and before the noun, but the form of the noun changes:
ektefellen min = the spouse my → “my spouse”
- noun in definite form (ektefellen)
- possessive after the noun (min)
min ektefelle = my spouse
- noun in indefinite form (ektefelle)
- possessive before the noun (min)
In everyday Norwegian, noun + -en/-a/-et + possessive (like ektefellen min) is the most neutral, common way:
ektefellen min, bilen min, huset mitt, boka mi
Min ektefelle is possible, but it sounds more formal, emphatic, or stylistic (for example in speeches or written texts: “Min ektefelle og jeg …”).
The ending -en is the definite singular ending for most en‑words (common gender nouns).
- en ektefelle – a spouse
- ektefellen – the spouse
So ektefellen min literally reads as “the spouse of mine”, which is how Norwegian usually forms “my X” when the possessive comes after the noun.
You cannot say ektefelle min; it must be either:
- ektefellen min
- min ektefelle
Norwegian possessives agree with the grammatical gender (and number) of the noun:
- min – for masculine/common gender singular nouns
- mi – for feminine singular nouns (in dialects/forms that distinguish feminine)
- mitt – for neuter singular nouns
- mine – for plural nouns
Ektefelle is an en‑word (common gender), so the correct possessive is min:
- ektefellen min – my spouse
If you see mi or mitt, it will be with other nouns:
- kona mi – my wife (feminine)
- huset mitt – my house (neuter)
Norwegian very often uses the present tense to talk about the near future, especially for planned or expected events:
- Jeg drar til Oslo i morgen. – I’m going to Oslo tomorrow.
- Vi spiser senere. – We’ll eat later.
So Ektefellen min kommer hjem tidlig i kveld is naturally understood as:
“My spouse is coming home early tonight.”
You could also use a future construction like skal komme, but in this sentence it would sound less natural and a bit stiff. The simple present kommer is the normal choice.
- hjem = home as a direction (“to home”)
- hjemme = at home as a location (“located at home”)
So:
- Jeg kommer hjem. – I’m coming (to) home.
- Jeg er hjemme. – I am at home.
Because the verb kommer expresses movement, you need the directional form hjem, not hjemme.
You could, but it means something slightly different:
- går hjem – “goes home” (focus on the act of walking/going home, from the speaker’s perspective)
- kommer hjem – “comes home” (focus on arriving at home, typically from the listener/speaker’s point of view at home)
In your sentence, kommer hjem fits best, because the point is that the spouse will arrive home earlier than usual.
Tidlig i kveld means “early this evening” or “early tonight” (in the part of the day we call kveld).
It does not mean “earlier this evening” (that would be tidligere i kveld).
So:
- tidlig i kveld – sometime in the early part of the evening (e.g., 17–19:00, depending on context)
- tidligere i kveld – earlier this evening (relative to some other time this evening)
- i kveld means “this evening / tonight” (the upcoming or current evening of today).
- på kvelden / om kvelden means “in the evening(s)” in a more general or habitual sense.
Examples:
- Han kommer hjem tidlig i kveld. – He’s coming home early this evening (today).
- Han kommer alltid hjem sent om kvelden. – He always comes home late in the evenings (as a habit).
In your sentence, you’re talking about today’s evening, so i kveld is the correct phrase.
Yes, Norwegian word order for adverbs is somewhat flexible, and both are grammatically correct:
- Ektefellen min kommer hjem tidlig i kveld.
- Ektefellen min kommer tidlig hjem i kveld.
They’re both understood as “My spouse is coming home early tonight.”
Subtle tendency:
- kommer hjem tidlig i kveld slightly groups hjem more tightly with kommer (“comes home”) and then adds the time information.
- kommer tidlig hjem i kveld can feel like a bit more emphasis on “early” relative to “home tonight”.
In everyday speech, both versions are fine and natural.
The basic meaning is the same: “My spouse is coming home early tonight.”
The difference is mostly style and emphasis:
- Ektefellen min … – neutral, everyday, very typical spoken Bokmål.
- Min ektefelle … – more formal or emphatic, often used in written language, speeches, or when you contrast with someone else’s spouse, etc.
So in casual conversation, Ektefellen min … is more likely.
A natural Nynorsk version would be:
Ektefellen min kjem heim tidleg i kveld.
Changes:
- kommer → kjem
- tidlig → tidleg
Heim (without j) is already the standard Nynorsk form (and also a valid Bokmål variant), while hjem is Bokmål only.
Approximate pronunciation in a fairly standard Eastern Norwegian accent (written in rough English-like sounds):
- Ektefellen – “EHK-teh-feh-len”
- min – “min” (like English min in mint without the t)
- kommer – “KÅM-mer” (like kom-mer, with short o as in cot)
- hjem – “yem” or “jem” (the h is often very light or silent)
- tidlig – “TEE-dlee” (the d is soft, almost like a quick flap)
- i – “ee”
- kveld – “kvel” (the d is often very soft or almost dropped: “kvel”)
Said smoothly:
EHK-teh-feh-len min KÅM-mer yem TEE-dlee ee kvel.
(There is variation by region, but this gives a usable guide.)