Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Jeg liker å fyre i vedovnen om kvelden. - I like to make a fire in the wood stove in the evening.

fyre i vedovnen = make a fire in the wood stove
Without i, fyre vedovnen could sound like to fire the wood stove (as in shoot it) or just be odd/unnatural.

So when you talk about putting wood in and burning it inside a stove, furnace, fireplace etc., you almost always say fyre i + [thing you burn in].

What exactly does the verb å fyre mean here?

Here å fyre means:

to light/make a fire in something you heat with (stove, fireplace, etc.)
to keep that fire going by adding wood/fuel

So Jeg liker å fyre i vedovnen is more like “I enjoy the activity of making and tending a fire in the wood stove”, not just the moment of striking a match.

Why is it vedovnen and not en vedovn?

Norwegian uses the definite form very often for things that are specific in the context, even if English would use a.

en vedovn = a wood stove (indefinite)
vedovnen = the wood stove (definite)

In this sentence, the speaker is probably talking about their wood stove at home, a specific one, so the definite form vedovnen is natural:

Jeg liker å fyre i vedovnen.
I like to make a fire in the (my) wood stove.

Is vedovn one word or two? Can I say ved ovn?

The normal, correct form is the compound noun vedovn (one word):

ved = firewood
ovn = oven, stove

Together: vedovn = wood stove.
Ved ovn written as two words is wrong in standard Norwegian in this meaning.

What is the difference between om kvelden and på kvelden?

In everyday Norwegian, om kvelden and på kvelden are both used and usually mean the same:

om kvelden – literally “about / during the evening”
på kvelden – literally “on / in the evening”

Both can mean a repeated/habitual time: in the evenings.
There can be slight regional or personal preferences, but you can safely treat them as interchangeable in a sentence like:

Jeg liker å fyre i vedovnen om/på kvelden.
I like to make a fire in the wood stove in the evening / in the evenings.

Does om kvelden mean one specific evening or evenings in general?

It can mean both, depending on context:

one specific evening (today/that day)
If we are clearly talking about today or that day, om kvelden can mean “in the evening (later)”.
habitual action (in the evenings in general)
In a sentence like Jeg liker å fyre i vedovnen om kvelden, it naturally reads as a habit: something you generally like to do in the evenings.

Norwegian often uses a singular definite time word to express a general habit:

om morgenen – in the mornings
om vinteren – in (the) winter / in winters
om kvelden – in the evenings

Why do we need å before fyre?

Å is the infinitive marker in Norwegian, like “to” before a verb in English.

liker = like (present tense)
å fyre = to make a fire (infinitive)

When one verb is followed by another verb in the infinitive, you usually need å:

Jeg liker å lese. – I like to read.
Hun begynner å le. – She starts to laugh.
De prøver å forstå. – They try to understand.

So: Jeg liker å fyre = I like to make a fire.

Can I change the word order, like Om kvelden liker jeg å fyre i vedovnen?

Yes, that is perfectly correct and natural. Both are fine:

Jeg liker å fyre i vedovnen om kvelden.
Om kvelden liker jeg å fyre i vedovnen.

Putting Om kvelden first just emphasizes the time a bit more: “In the evenings, I like to make a fire in the wood stove.”
The verb liker still stays in the second position in the clause, which follows Norwegian word order rules.

Is there a difference between Jeg liker å fyre i vedovnen and Jeg liker å fyre opp i vedovnen?

Both are correct, but there is a nuance:

fyre i vedovnen – general activity: have/keep a fire going in the stove
fyre opp i vedovnen – focuses more on starting or building up the fire (the opp adds a sense of “up”/“ignite fully”)

In many contexts they overlap, but fyre opp highlights the act of lighting / getting the fire going.

How is liker pronounced? Does the -er sound like English “er”?

In standard Norwegian:

liker is usually pronounced roughly like “LEE-ker” or “LEE-ke(r)”.
The r is often quite light; in many accents the final -er sounds closer to “eh” or “e” than the strong English “er”.

So it’s not “LEE-kerr” (with a heavy English -er), but a lighter ending.

How do you pronounce å in å fyre?

The Norwegian å is a vowel on its own. It’s pronounced like:

the “aw” in “law” (British) or
the vowel in many accents’ “taught”

So å fyre is roughly “aw FY-re”.
Don’t read å as the English verb “to”; it’s its own vowel sound.

Why is it kvelden and not kveld?

kveld = evening (indefinite)
kvelden = the evening (definite)

Norwegian often uses the definite singular for time expressions that in English would look indefinite or plural:

om morgenen – in the morning / in the mornings
om vinteren – in (the) winter
om kvelden – in the evening / in the evenings

So kvelden here is just the normal, idiomatic form in this time expression.