Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Han er fortsatt litt flau fordi han glemte en replikk på scenen. - He is still a little embarrassed because he forgot a line on stage.

Han er fortsatt litt flau = He is still a little embarrassed (state that continues).
Han blir litt flau = He becomes / is getting a little embarrassed (the embarrassment is starting or increasing now).

In your sentence, the focus is on the ongoing result of something that already happened (forgetting the line), so the continuing state er is natural. If you said:

Han blir litt flau når han snakker om det.
He gets a bit embarrassed when he talks about it.

— here blir fits, because it’s about repeatedly becoming embarrassed.

What exactly does fortsatt mean here, and how is it different from enda or masse?

Fortsatt means still / continuing to be. It says that the situation has not changed.

Han er fortsatt litt flau = He is still a bit embarrassed (he has been embarrassed up to now).

Compare:

enda can also mean still, but often with a nuance of even or yet more:
- enda mer flau = even more embarrassed
- Er han ikke ferdig enda? = Isn’t he done yet?
masse or veldig would mean a lot / very:
- Han er veldig flau = He is very embarrassed
- Han er fortsatt veldig flau = He is still very embarrassed

So fortsatt talks about time/continuation, not about how strong the feeling is.

Why is it litt flau and not litt flaut or litt flaue?

Adjectives in Norwegian agree with gender, number and definiteness of the noun (or pronoun) they describe.

han is masculine singular and indefinite.
The base form of the adjective for masculine singular is flau.

Main patterns:

Masculine/feminine singular indefinite: flau
- Han er flau.
Neuter singular indefinite: flaut
- Det var flaut. (That was embarrassing.)
Plural (all genders) and definite forms: flaue
- De er flaue. (They are embarrassed.)
- Den flaue gutten (the embarrassed boy)

So:

Han er litt flau. (correct for han)
Det var litt flaut. (correct for det as a neuter “situation”)
De er litt flaue. (plural)

Is flau closer to embarrassed or ashamed in English?

In everyday Norwegian, flau usually means embarrassed, often in a mild or social sense:

Jeg er flau. = I’m embarrassed. (about something awkward I did)

For ashamed in a moral or serious sense, Norwegians are more likely to use:

skamfull – literally full of shame
Jeg er skamfull over det jeg gjorde. = I’m ashamed of what I did.

Context matters, but in your sentence (forgetting a line on stage), flau is clearly the “social embarrassment” meaning, not deep moral shame.

What does fordi do in this sentence, and why is the word order han glemte and not glemte han?

Fordi means because and introduces a subordinate clause (a dependent clause).

The structure is:

Han er fortsatt litt flau – main clause (independent)
fordi han glemte en replikk på scenen – subordinate clause (dependent on “because”)

In Norwegian subordinate clauses, the normal word order is Subject – Verb – ...:

han glemte en replikk (subject han, verb glemte)

You would only use glemte han ...? in a yes/no question in a main clause:

Glemte han en replikk? = Did he forget a line?

So after fordi, you keep the standard subordinate word order: fordi han glemte …, not fordi glemte han ….

Why is han repeated: Han er ... fordi han glemte ...? Could I just say fordi glemte en replikk?

You must repeat the subject han in the second clause. Subordinate clauses need their own subject.

✅ Han er fortsatt litt flau fordi han glemte en replikk på scenen.
❌ Han er fortsatt litt flau fordi glemte en replikk på scenen.

Without han in the second clause, Norwegian speakers will feel that something is missing or ungrammatical. Each finite verb (er, glemte) should have a subject (here: han, han).

How is glemte formed, and is å glemme a regular verb?

Yes, å glemme (to forget) is a regular (weak) verb.

Main forms:

Infinitive: å glemme – to forget
Present: glemmer – forget(s)
- Han glemmer ofte navn.
Past (preterite): glemte – forgot
- Han glemte en replikk.
Past participle: glemt – forgotten
- Han har glemt replikkene sine.

So han glemte is simply the regular past tense: -e → -te pattern.

What exactly does en replikk mean here? Is it the same as an English line in a play?

Yes. In a theatre or film context, en replikk means a spoken line / a line of dialogue.

å ha mange replikker = to have many lines (to say)
Han glemte en replikk på scenen. = He forgot a line on stage.

Other uses of replikk:

A reply / remark in a conversation:
- Han kom med en frekk replikk. = He made a rude remark.

But in your sentence, because of på scenen, it is clearly “a line (of dialogue)” in a performance.

Why is it en replikk (indefinite) and not replikken (definite)? Would Han glemte replikken also be possible?

Both are grammatically correct, but the nuance is different:

Han glemte en replikk på scenen.
= He forgot a line on stage. (one of his lines; not specified which, more general)
Han glemte replikken på scenen.
= He forgot the line on stage. (a particular line that you and the listener both know about)

In teaching examples, the indefinite form en replikk is common because the specific line is not important; it’s just the fact that he forgot a line that matters.

Why is it på scenen and not i scenen? How do I know which preposition to use?

In this context, på scenen is the natural choice:

på scenen = on the stage / onstage, as a performance area or platform
- Han stod på scenen. = He stood on the stage.
- Hun opptrådte på scenen. = She performed onstage.

I scenen would typically mean in the scene (as in a scene of a film or a play, not the physical stage):

i scenen = in that part of the story / in that scene
- I den scenen gråter hun. = In that scene she cries.

So, forgetting a line while performing physically happens på scenen (on stage).

Why does scenen have -en at the end? How is the definite form formed here?

Norwegian usually adds the definite article as a suffix instead of using a separate word like English the.

en scene = a stage (indefinite, common gender)
scenen = the stage (definite singular)

Pattern for common-gender nouns (most nouns with en in the dictionary):

Indefinite singular: en scene
Definite singular: scen
- en = scenen

So på scenen literally is on stage-the, i.e. on the stage.

Where does fortsatt normally go in the sentence? Could I say Han er litt fortsatt flau or Han fortsatt er litt flau?

The natural position for fortsatt (like many adverbs) is in the “midfield” of the main clause, after the verb er:

✅ Han er fortsatt litt flau.

Other versions you suggested are not natural:

❌ Han er litt fortsatt flau. – sounds wrong.
❌ Han fortsatt er litt flau. – also sounds wrong in standard Norwegian.

Typical pattern:

Subject – Verb – Adverb – (rest)
- Han er fortsatt litt flau.
- Han er vanligvis rolig. (He is usually calm.)

If you really want to emphasize fortsatt, you could move it to the very beginning:

Fortsatt er han litt flau. – Still, he is a bit embarrassed. (more literary/marked, with emphasis)

Could I leave out litt and just say Han er fortsatt flau? How does that change the meaning?

Yes, both are correct, but litt softens the statement.

Han er fortsatt flau.
= He is still embarrassed. (neutral; could sound fairly strong depending on context)
Han er fortsatt litt flau.
= He is still a little bit embarrassed. (makes it sound milder, more like a small lingering feeling)

So litt adds the nuance that it’s not a huge or overwhelming embarrassment, just a mild one.