Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Hytta ligger nær fjorden, og luften er fuktig om morgenen. - The cabin is near the fjord, and the air is damp in the morning.

You could say Hytta er nær fjorden, and it’s grammatically fine, but ligger sounds more natural when you’re describing where something is on a map or in the landscape.

Why are the nouns in the definite form: hytta, fjorden, luften, morgenen?

Norwegian usually marks “the” with an ending on the noun:

hytte → hytta (the cabin)
fjord → fjorden (the fjord)
luft → luften (the air)
morgen → morgenen (the morning)

They are definite here because:

hytta and fjorden refer to specific, known things (a particular cabin and fjord).
luften and morgenen are used in a general/habitual sense:
- Luften er fuktig om morgenen ≈ “(The) air is humid in the mornings.”
  In Norwegian, generic/habitual statements about times and body parts etc. often use the definite form, where English often uses no article.

Why does it say hytta with -a, but fjorden / luften / morgenen with -en?

This is about noun gender and definite endings in Bokmål:

hytte is a feminine noun. Feminine definite singular usually ends in -a:
- en hytte → hytta
fjord, luft, and morgen are normally treated as masculine:
- en fjord → fjorden
- en luft → luften
- en morgen → morgenen

In Bokmål, many feminine nouns can also be treated as masculine in writing, so:

hytten is also grammatically possible, but hytta is far more common in everyday language.

What exactly does nær fjorden mean, and how is it different from ved fjorden?

Both are about closeness, but there is a nuance:

nær fjorden = near the fjord, fairly close, but distance is vague.
ved fjorden = by the fjord, usually understood as right by the edge / on the shore.

Other similar options:

i nærheten av fjorden – “in the vicinity of the fjord”, also fairly vague.
tett ved fjorden – “very close to the fjord”.

In the sentence, nær fjorden means the cabin is somewhere close to the fjord, but not necessarily right on the shoreline.

Why is it om morgenen and not something like i morgen or på morgenen?

These expressions mean different things:

om morgenen – in the morning(s), habitually / generally
- Luften er fuktig om morgenen = “The air is humid in the mornings.”
på morgenen – also “in the morning(s)”; often interchangeable with om morgenen in many contexts.
i morgen – “tomorrow” (nothing to do with “morning” here!)
i morges – “this morning” (earlier today)

So om morgenen here expresses something that is typically or regularly true every morning, not just on one specific day.

Why is it fuktig and not fuktige?

This is about adjective forms:

In predicate position (after er, blir, etc.), in the singular, the adjective does not get -e:

Luften er fuktig. – “The air is humid.”
Hytta er liten. – “The cabin is small.”
Huset er stort. – “The house is big.”

You add -e mainly in attributive position (before the noun) in definite or plural:

den fuktige luften – the humid air
de fuktige morgenene – the humid mornings

So:

luften er fuktig ✅
luften er fuktige ❌ (wrong in this context)

Could I also say våt instead of fuktig, or is that wrong?

It’s not wrong grammatically, but the meaning is different:

fuktig = damp, humid, moist
- Used about air, weather, clothes, etc. when they are a bit wet.
våt = wet
- Stronger; often used when something is clearly wet: våte klær (wet clothes), vått gress (wet grass).

For describing the air in a typical coastal or fjord area, fuktig is the natural choice.
Luften er våt would sound unusual unless you mean something like heavy mist/rain where the air feels almost like water.

Is the word order with og and the comma correct? Could it be different?

Yes, the word order and punctuation are correct:

Hytta ligger nær fjorden, og luften er fuktig om morgenen.

This is two main clauses joined by og:

Hytta ligger nær fjorden.
Luften er fuktig om morgenen.

In Norwegian, you normally put a comma before og when it joins two full main clauses (each with its own subject and verb), as here.

If og just connects two verbs or two nouns with the same subject, you don’t use a comma:

Hytta ligger nær fjorden og har en fin utsikt.
(same subject, no comma)

Can I move om morgenen to the start of the clause? How does that affect word order?

Yes, you can, but you must respect the verb‑second (V2) rule in main clauses:

Original: Luften (1) er (2) fuktig om morgenen (3).
With the time phrase first: Om morgenen (1) er (2) luften (3) fuktig (4).

The finite verb (er) must stay in second position:

✅ Om morgenen er luften fuktig.
❌ Om morgenen luften er fuktig.

Both word orders are correct and natural; the version with om morgenen first puts extra emphasis on the time.

How do you pronounce hytta, fjorden, luften, and morgenen?

Rough pronunciation (using English-like hints):

hytta – roughly “HUT-ta”, but with the y as in German ü or French u (front rounded vowel), and a short, doubled t.
fjorden – roughly “FYOR-den”:
- fj like English fy in fjord,
- the d is often very soft or almost not heard in many accents.
luften – roughly “LOOF-ten”:
- u is like the French u / German ü again (lʉf-), not like English “loo”.
morgenen – common Eastern pronunciation is close to “MORR-en-en”:
- the g is weak or silent,
- the middle e can be reduced, so it sounds almost like two syllables: morr‑n’n.

Precise sounds vary by dialect, but those approximations will make you easily understood.