Breakdown of Lydnivået på TV-en er så høyt at jeg ikke hører podkasten min.
Questions & Answers about Lydnivået på TV-en er så høyt at jeg ikke hører podkasten min.
Lydnivået is a compound word plus a definite ending:
- lyd = sound
- nivå = level
- lydnivå = sound level / volume
- -et = the (definite article for nivå, which is a neuter noun)
So lydnivået literally means “the sound level” or in natural English here: “the volume”.
You could also say volumet (på TV-en) = the volume (on the TV), which is a bit more colloquial and very common.
In Norwegian, på is very often used for settings and controls on devices:
- lyden på telefonen = the sound on the phone
- lysene på bilen = the lights on the car
- volumet på TV-en = the volume on the TV
So på TV-en matches that pattern: it’s “the sound level on the TV”.
i TV-en would sound like “inside the TV”, which is not what you want here.
You could drop på in some contexts when it’s clear:
- TV-en er så høy is ambiguous and actually sounds more like “the TV is so tall/loud” (depending on context), so with lydnivået it’s much clearer to say lydnivået på TV-en.
Norwegian adds the definite ending -en (masculine) to TV. Because TV is an abbreviation ending with a capital letter, a hyphen is used:
- TV
- -en → TV-en = the TV
This avoids the slightly ugly TVCen-type look and makes it easier to read.
You might also see:
- tv-en (all lowercase)
- tven (treated as a normal word, especially in more informal writing)
But TV-en is a very common and accepted written form.
Because lydnivået is a neuter noun (it ends with -et), the adjective must agree in gender and number.
Adjective forms of høy (high):
- masculine/feminine singular: høy
- neuter singular: høyt
- plural: høye
Since nivå is neuter, we get:
- lydnivået er høyt = the sound level is high
So er så høyt = is so high, agreeing with lydnivået (a neuter noun).
Så … at is a very common Norwegian construction meaning “so … that” and introduces a result clause.
Pattern:
- … er så [adjective] at [result] …
In this sentence:
- er så høyt = is so high
- at jeg ikke hører podkasten min = that I don’t hear my podcast
So structurally it’s exactly like English:
- The volume is so high that I don’t hear my podcast.
In Norwegian, word order changes between main clauses and subordinate clauses.
Main clause (independent sentence): Jeg hører ikke podkasten min.
- Typical pattern: Subject – Verb – ikke – Object
Subordinate clause (introduced by at, fordi, som, etc.):
Pattern: Subject – (adverb like ikke) – Verb – Object
→ at jeg ikke hører podkasten min
So:
- Main clause: Jeg hører ikke…
- Subordinate clause: at jeg ikke hører…
At jeg hører ikke podkasten min is wrong word order in standard Norwegian.
Norwegian distinguishes between:
å høre (no preposition) = to hear (perceive sound)
- Jeg hører podkasten min. = I hear my podcast (I can hear the sound).
å høre på (noe/noen) = to listen to (actively pay attention)
- Jeg hører på podkasten min. = I am listening to my podcast.
In your sentence:
- … er så høyt at jeg ikke hører podkasten min.
The idea is “the TV is so loud that I can’t hear my podcast at all.”
So høre without på is natural: you physically cannot hear the sound of the podcast.
If you said:
- … at jeg ikke kan høre på podkasten min.
That would mean “I can’t listen to my podcast” (more about not being able to enjoy/listen to it properly), which is also possible, but slightly different in nuance.
Norwegian often uses “double definiteness” with a noun and a possessive pronoun:
- Definite ending on the noun
- podkast → podkasten (the podcast)
- Possessive pronoun after the noun
- podkasten min = literally “the podcast my” → “my podcast”
So:
- podkasten = the podcast
- podkasten min = my podcast
- min podkast = my podcast (also correct, more “emphatic” or stylistic)
Both podkasten min and min podkast are grammatical.
In neutral everyday speech, [noun + -en/-a/-et + possessive] (like podkasten min) is very common and sounds natural.
Podkast is usually treated as a masculine noun in Norwegian.
Typical forms:
- indefinite singular: en podkast = a podcast
- definite singular: podkasten = the podcast
- indefinite plural: podkaster = podcasts
- definite plural: podkastene = the podcasts
With a possessive, masculine pattern:
- min podkast / podkasten min = my podcast
- din podkast / podkasten din = your podcast
Yes, that is also correct:
… at jeg ikke hører podkasten min
= that I do not hear my podcast (I don’t hear it; the sound is drowned out)… at jeg ikke kan høre podkasten min
= that I cannot hear my podcast (I’m unable to hear it)
In practice, both can describe the same situation.
Kan høre adds an explicit idea of ability (“I am not able to”), while plain hører focuses more on the fact that hearing does not happen.
In everyday speech, both variants would be understood the same way in this context.
Yes. Common alternatives:
- Volumet på TV-en er så høyt at …
(volum = volume; very natural here) - Lyden på TV-en er så høy at …
(lyden = the sound)
All three are fine:
- Lydnivået på TV-en … (a bit more technical/formal: “sound level”)
- Volumet på TV-en … (very natural, everyday speech)
- Lyden på TV-en … (also common, everyday speech)
Approximate pronunciation (Bokmål, standard-ish):
lydnivået: [LYD-nee-voh-eh(t)]
- lyd: like “leed” (with a shorter ee)
- nivå: ni like “nee”, vå like “voh”
- the final -et often pronounced as a very light -e or nearly silent: nivå-e
TV-en: [TEH-veen]
- T like English T, V like English V
- Norwegians often say it as if it were a normal word: tven [T-ven]
podkasten: [POD-kahs-ten]
- pod roughly like English “pod”
- ka like “kah”
- sten like “sten” (short e)
Exact pronunciation varies by dialect, but these approximations will be widely understood.