Breakdown of Treningssenteret ligger nær en lang tursti i skogen.
Questions & Answers about Treningssenteret ligger nær en lang tursti i skogen.
The base word is treningssenter (gym, fitness center).
- Treningssenteret = the gym / the fitness center
- -et is the neuter definite singular ending.
So:
- et treningssenter = a gym
- treningssenteret = the gym
That tells you treningssenter is treated as a neuter noun in Norwegian (like et hus – huset).
It’s a compound:
- trening = training, exercise
- trening + s + senter → treningssenter
The extra s is a common linking sound in Norwegian compounds (like English sports car).
So treningssenter literally means something like “training center”, i.e. gym / fitness center.
In Norwegian, you often use ligge (ligger) for the location of things/buildings on a map, especially when they don’t move:
- Huset ligger ved elva. – The house is (located) by the river.
- Oslo ligger i Norge. – Oslo is (located) in Norway.
Er is more neutral “is”, but ligger emphasizes where something is situated.
Using “Treningssenteret ligger …” sounds very natural when describing where a gym is.
In this sentence, nær is a preposition meaning “near / close to”:
- ligger nær en lang tursti = is (located) near a long hiking path / walking trail
Typical patterns:
- nær noe – near something
- nær huset, nær stasjonen, nær sentrum
You might also hear:
- i nærheten av – in the vicinity of / close to
- Treningssenteret ligger i nærheten av en lang tursti.
Nær is shorter and very common in spoken and written Norwegian.
Because tursti is treated as a masculine noun, so the indefinite article is en:
- en tursti – a hiking path / walking trail
- turstien – the hiking path
Articles with gender:
- en – masculine (en tursti, en bil, en skole)
- ei – feminine (used in many dialects, but “en” is also accepted for feminine)
- et – neuter (et hus, et treningssenter)
So en lang tursti is the standard masculine form: “a long hiking path.”
- sti = path, track (a small path, could be in a garden, park, forest, etc.)
- tursti = specifically a path used for walks/hikes, often a marked trail in nature
So tursti adds the idea of going for a walk/hike (tur), not just any little path.
Examples:
- Det går en sti gjennom hagen. – There is a path through the garden.
- Vi gikk en tur på turstien i skogen. – We went for a walk on the hiking trail in the forest.
In Norwegian, like in English, the adjective normally comes before the noun in the indefinite form:
- en lang tursti – a long hiking path
- et stort hus – a big house
- en gammel bil – an old car
Agreement:
- en lang tursti (masculine, indefinite)
- den lange turstien (masculine, definite: the long hiking path)
- lange turstier (plural: long paths)
So lang is in its basic form because it’s singular, indefinite and in front of the noun.
For being inside a forest, Norwegian uses i (“in”):
- i skogen – in the forest
- i huset – in the house
- i byen – in the city
På is used with some other types of places:
- på fjellet – in the mountains/on the mountain
- på skolen – at school
- på jobben – at work
So i skogen is the natural choice for in the forest.
Skog is indefinite; skogen is definite:
- en skog – a forest
- skogen – the forest
In the sentence, i skogen means “in the forest” (some particular forest that is known in the context).
Compare:
- i en skog – in a forest (any forest, not specified)
- i skogen – in the forest (the one we have in mind / nearby, etc.)
Both are possible:
- Treningssenteret ligger nær en lang tursti i skogen.
- Treningssenteret ligger i skogen nær en lang tursti.
Meaning is almost the same. The difference is focus:
- Original: first focuses on being near a long hiking path, then adds that this is in the forest.
- Second: first tells you it is in the forest, then adds that it is near a long hiking path.
Norwegian word order is fairly flexible with multiple location phrases, but the most “important” or new information often comes later in the sentence.
Yes. Nær as a preposition can come after the noun it belongs to:
- en tursti nær treningssenteret – a hiking path near the gym
- en kafé nær stasjonen – a café near the station
In your original sentence, nær is tied to “en lang tursti”:
- Treningssenteret ligger nær en lang tursti i skogen.
If you turn it around:
- En lang tursti i skogen ligger nær treningssenteret. – A long hiking path in the forest is near the gym.
So both patterns are allowed; you just have to keep nær right next to the thing it’s describing.
Approximate pronunciation (East Norwegian, written in a loose English-friendly way):
Treningssenteret ≈ TREH-ning-sen-te-ret
- tre like English tray but shorter
- -nings- like nings (the g is usually soft or almost gone)
- -senter like SEN-ter
- -et like a short e (like eh)
ligger ≈ LIG-ger
- double g = a short, strong g sound
nær ≈ nair (like English nair or near with an a-ish vowel)
en ≈ en (short, like pen without the p)
lang ≈ lung with an a like in British “luck”, and ng as in sing
tursti ≈ TOOR-stee
- tur like English tour (but shorter)
- sti like stee
i ≈ ee (like see)
skogen ≈ SKOO-gen or SKO-gən
- sko- like skoo
- -gen often pronounced with a soft g
- a schwa sound (-gən).
Spoken quickly, many vowels get shorter and less clear, but this gives you a good starting point.