Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Læreren forklarer planen i detalj i møtet. - The teacher explains the plan in detail in the meeting.

So Læreren forklarer … means The teacher explains …
If you said En lærer forklarer planen …, that would mean A teacher explains the plan …

2. Why is planen in the definite form? Could I say en plan or plan?

planen is also in the definite form:

en plan = a plan
plan (without article, in practice) = usually plan in general (like an abstract concept, or in set phrases)
planen = the plan

In this sentence, the teacher is explaining a specific plan that both speaker and listener presumably know about, so the definite form is natural:

Læreren forklarer planen …
→ The teacher explains *the plan …*

You could say:

Læreren forklarer en plan i detalj i møtet.
→ The teacher explains *a plan in detail in the meeting.*

…but that changes the meaning: we now introduce an unspecified plan, not one already known in the context.

3. Why is the verb forklarer in the simple present, when in English we might say “is explaining”?

Norwegian doesn’t have a separate “-ing form” like English (present continuous). The present tense is used for both:

Læreren forklarer planen i detalj i møtet.
can mean:
- The teacher explains the plan in detail in the meeting. (habitual/general)
- The teacher is explaining the plan in detail in the meeting. (right now / scheduled)

Context usually makes it clear whether it’s a general habit or something happening right now. If you really want to emphasize that it is going on right now, you can add a time expression:

Akkurat nå forklarer læreren planen i detalj i møtet.
→ Right now the teacher is explaining the plan in detail in the meeting.

4. What does i detalj mean exactly, and is it a fixed expression?

i detalj literally means in detail, and yes, it’s a very common, almost fixed phrase:

forklare noe i detalj = to explain something in detail
gå gjennom noe i detalj = to go through something in detail

You might also see i detaljer (plural) in some contexts, but i detalj (singular) is very common and completely natural. For most learners, treating i detalj as a chunk/phrase is a good idea.

5. Why is it i detalj and not med detalj or some other preposition?

Norwegian often uses i (in) with nouns to express the manner or level of detail:

i detalj = in detail
i dybden = in depth
i korte trekk = in broad strokes / briefly

Using med detalj would be unidiomatic here. Prepositions are often idiomatic and don’t always match English one-to-one, so you usually need to learn combinations like i detalj as fixed patterns.

6. Why is it i møtet and not på møtet? Are both possible?

Both i møtet and på møtet are used in Norwegian, and both can translate as in the meeting / at the meeting, but there are slight tendencies:

i møtet
- Focus a bit more on inside the actual event as an ongoing situation.
- Feels more “inside the process”.
på møtet
- More neutral and very common in spoken language.
- Often used like at the meeting (being present at that gathering).

In your sentence, i møtet is perfectly good Bokmål and doesn’t sound strange. This alternative is also natural:

Læreren forklarer planen i detalj på møtet.

Many native speakers would spontaneously say på møtet in everyday speech, but i møtet is not wrong; it’s often slightly more formal or textlike.

7. What exactly does møtet mean here, grammatically speaking?

møte (a meeting) is a neuter noun:

et møte = a meeting (indefinite)
møtet = the meeting (definite, singular)

So:

i møtet = in the meeting / in the meeting (that we know about)

You could also say:

i et møte = in a meeting (in some meeting, unspecified)
i dette møtet = in this meeting

8. Can I change the word order of i detalj and i møtet?

Yes, you have some flexibility. The original:

Læreren forklarer planen i detalj i møtet.

Other perfectly acceptable variants:

Læreren forklarer planen i møtet i detalj.
I møtet forklarer læreren planen i detalj.
I detalj forklarer læreren planen i møtet. (more marked/emphatic; less typical)

The most natural variations in everyday language would be the first two:

Læreren forklarer planen i detalj i møtet.
I møtet forklarer læreren planen i detalj.

Norwegian generally keeps subject – verb – object (SVO), and then adverbials (like time, place, manner) can move around for emphasis or style.

9. What are the genders of lærer, plan, møte, and detalj, and how do the definite forms work?

In Bokmål:

lærer – masculine (can also be common gender)
- en lærer → læreren
plan – feminine or masculine (in practical Bokmål, often treated as masculine)
- en plan → planen
- (If using feminine: ei plan → plana, but planen is more usual.)
møte – neuter
- et møte → møtet
detalj – masculine
- en detalj → detaljen

The definite singular ending is:

-en for masculine
-a or -en for feminine (depending on style)
-et for neuter

So in your sentence:

Læreren = the teacher
planen = the plan
møtet = the meeting

10. Is forklarer always used without a preposition? Could I say forklarer planen til noen?

forklare is a transitive verb and can take:

Just a direct object:
- Læreren forklarer planen.
  → The teacher explains the plan.
A direct object + an indirect object with til or for:
- Læreren forklarer planen til elevene.
- Læreren forklarer planen for elevene.
  → The teacher explains the plan to the students.

In your sentence, the indirect object (who the plan is explained to) is not mentioned, which is totally fine:

Læreren forklarer planen i detalj i møtet.
→ The teacher explains the plan in detail in the meeting.
(we understand from context who is listening)

11. How would this sentence look in Nynorsk?

In Nynorsk, many definite forms change, especially for masculine nouns. A typical Nynorsk version would be:

Læraren forklarer planen i detalj i møtet.

Changes:

Læreren (Bokmål) → Læraren (Nynorsk)
- masculine definite singular often ends in -en/-en in Bokmål but -en/-en vs -en/-en; for this word specifically: læraren is the Nynorsk normal form.
planen, detalj, møtet and forklarer are the same here in both standards.

So if you see Læreren …, it’s Bokmål; Læraren … strongly suggests Nynorsk.

12. How do you pronounce tricky parts like æ, å, and j in this sentence?

A rough pronunciation guide (standard Eastern Norwegian):

Læreren – [ˈlæːrərən]
- æ like the a in “cat”, but longer: læː
- -eren sounds like “error-en” (but shorter and lighter)
forklarer – [fʊrˈklɑːrər] (approx.)
- for- a bit like “for” in reduced English
- -klar- with a like in “father”
- final -er is a light, unstressed “er”
planen – [ˈplɑːnən]
- a like in “father”; long
detalj – [deˈtɑlj]
- j = consonant y-sound, like English “y” in “yes”
- syllable break: de–TALJ
møtet – [ˈmøːtət]
- ø like French eu in “deux” or German ö in “schön”

Putting it all together (very roughly in English-ish spelling):
Læreren forklarer planen i detalj i møtet.
≈ LAIR-uh-ren for-KLAR-er PLAH-nen ee deh-TAHLY ee MØH-teh