Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Nettkurset bruker korte videomøter i stedet for lange forelesninger. - The online course uses short video meetings instead of long lectures.

In the sentence, we are talking about a specific course (or a course already known from context), so Norwegian uses the definite form: Nettkurset = the online course.

Why is nett attached directly to kurs in nettkurset? Could it be two words?

Norwegian very often creates compound nouns by joining words together, especially when the first word describes what kind of thing the second word is.

nett + kurs → nettkurs (online course)
nett + butikk → nettbutikk (online store)
video + møte → videomøte (video meeting)

Writing nett kurs as two separate words would be wrong here. Nettkurs is a single noun meaning an online course, and its definite form is nettkurset.

(Sometimes compounding can use a hyphen, especially with long or unclear combinations, but nettkurs is standard as one word.)

What tense is bruker in, and what does it mean here?

Bruker is the present tense of the verb å bruke = to use.

Basic forms:

å bruke = to use
bruker = use / uses (present)
brukte = used (past)
har brukt = has/have used (present perfect)

In the sentence, Nettkurset bruker … means The online course uses … (describing a general, ongoing way the course is organized).

Why do korte and lange end with -e instead of kort and lang?

In Norwegian, adjectives change form depending on number and definiteness of the noun.

For indefinite plural nouns (like videomøter and forelesninger), adjectives take the -e ending:

et kort videomøte = a short video meeting (indefinite singular)
korte videomøter = short video meetings (indefinite plural)
en lang forelesning = a long lecture (indefinite singular)
lange forelesninger = long lectures (indefinite plural)

So:

singular indefinite: kort videomøte, lang forelesning
plural indefinite: korte videomøter, lange forelesninger

That’s why we see korte and lange in this sentence.

What is the number and form of videomøter and forelesninger?

Both are indefinite plural forms:

et videomøte = a video meeting (singular, neuter)
- videomøter = video meetings (indefinite plural)
- videomøtene = the video meetings (definite plural)
en forelesning = a lecture (singular, masculine/feminine)
- forelesninger = lectures (indefinite plural)
- forelesningene = the lectures (definite plural)

In the sentence:

korte videomøter = short video meetings
lange forelesninger = long lectures

No “the” is included in those words themselves; they are general plural forms.

What does the phrase i stedet for mean literally, and how is it used?

i stedet for is a fixed phrase that means instead of. Literally it is:

i = in
stedet = the place
for = for

So literally: “in the place of”, which matches English “instead of”.

Usage is very similar to English:

Nettkurset bruker korte videomøter i stedet for lange forelesninger.
The course uses short video meetings instead of long lectures.

You can use it with nouns, verbs, or clauses:

Jeg drikker te i stedet for kaffe.
I drink tea instead of coffee.
Han jobber hjemme i stedet for å reise til kontoret.
He works from home instead of travelling to the office.

Can i stedet for be written as one word, like istedenfor?

Yes, in modern Norwegian you will see both:

i stedet for (three words – more formal/standard)
istedenfor (one word – also accepted, often more informal)

In Bokmål, i stedet for is the most “textbook” form, but istedenfor is common in everyday writing.

So all of these are acceptable in practice:

i stedet for lange forelesninger
istedenfor lange forelesninger

They mean the same thing.

Could the word order be different, for example “I stedet for lange forelesninger bruker nettkurset korte videomøter”?

Yes, that word order is grammatically correct and natural:

Nettkurset bruker korte videomøter i stedet for lange forelesninger.
I stedet for lange forelesninger bruker nettkurset korte videomøter.

Both are fine.

Norwegian word order is fairly flexible with adverbial phrases like i stedet for lange forelesninger. Moving this phrase to the beginning often gives it extra emphasis:

Second version emphasizes the contrast (instead of long lectures…).
Original version is more neutral, simply stating what the course uses and then adding the contrast at the end.

What exactly is a forelesning, and how is it different from other words like time or undervisning?

Forelesning specifically means a lecture in an academic or course setting, usually a teacher/professor talking to many students.

en forelesning = a lecture
forelesninger = lectures

Other related words:

en time = a class period / lesson (more general, can be any subject or school level)
undervisning (uncountable) = teaching / instruction in general
et kurs = a course (often a whole unit, with multiple lectures/classes)

So in this sentence, lange forelesninger focuses on traditional, often one‑way, lecture-style teaching.

Why is Nettkurset capitalized? Is it a name?

Here, Nettkurset is capitalized only because it is the first word of the sentence. On its own, nettkurset is not a proper name and would normally be written with a lowercase n in the middle of a sentence.

Example:

Nettkurset bruker korte videomøter. (start of sentence)
Jeg liker nettkurset. = I like the online course. (middle of sentence, lowercase n)

How would I say “the short video meetings” and “the long lectures” in Norwegian?

You need the definite plural forms, with the article de and -e on the adjectives and -ene on the nouns:

de korte videomøtene = the short video meetings
- de = the (plural)
- korte = short (adjective, plural/definite)
- videomøtene = the video meetings (definite plural)
de lange forelesningene = the long lectures
- de = the (plural)
- lange = long (adjective, plural/definite)
- forelesningene = the lectures (definite plural)

Structure: de + (adjective in -e) + noun in definite plural.

How do you pronounce the tricky sounds, especially ø in videomøter and the final -et in kurset?

Very roughly (Bokmål, standard East Norwegian pronunciation):

Nettkurset ≈ [ˈnetːkʉʂə]
- nett – like English net (short e).
- kurset – ku like cool but with rounded lips and a shorter sound; final -et is usually schwa-like (a weak uh sound), not a full t.
videomøter ≈ [ˈviːdəʊˌmøːtər] (very approximate)
- video – close to English VEE-dee-oh but a bit shorter at the end.
- ø in møter – a rounded vowel between English e and u, like the vowel in French peu or German schön.
- -er – often pronounced like a weak ər.

The main stress is on NÉTT‑kur‑set and VÍ‑deo‑mø‑ter, with a secondary stress on the mø in videomøter.