Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Et balansert forhold mellom jobb og fritid gjør henne roligere. - A balanced relationship between work and free time makes her calmer.

In Norwegian, nouns have grammatical gender. Forhold is a neuter noun, so it takes the neuter indefinite article et, not the masculine/feminine en.

et forhold = a relationship / a ratio / a situation
balansert gets -t because it agrees with a neuter singular noun in the indefinite form: et balansert forhold.

If the noun were masculine, you would say en balansert dag (a balanced day).

Why does the adjective balansert end in -t here?

Adjectives in Norwegian must agree with the noun’s gender and number.

Neuter, singular, indefinite noun → adjective normally ends in -t.
Here, forhold is neuter, so we use balansert (with -t) instead of balansert without change (it happens to look the same in spelling, but that -t is exactly the neuter ending).

Compare:

en balansert plan (masculine/feminine singular)
et balansert forhold (neuter singular)
balanserte forhold (plural)

What are the main meanings of forhold in Norwegian?

Forhold is quite broad and common. Depending on context, it can mean:

relationship (between people or things):
- et godt forhold mellom lærer og elev – a good relationship between teacher and student
conditions / circumstances:
- arbeidsforhold – working conditions
ratio / proportion:
- i forholdet 2:1 – in the ratio 2:1

In this sentence, forhold mellom jobb og fritid is like “relationship/balance between work and free time.”

Why is it mellom jobb og fritid without any articles (no jobben, en jobb, etc.)?

Norwegian often omits articles with nouns used in a general, abstract sense, especially in fixed expressions and with certain prepositions like mellom.

Here, jobb and fritid are meant generally: work in general and free time in general, not “the job” or “a particular free time.”

If you added articles, it would sound more specific:

mellom jobben og fritiden – between (her/that) job and (her/that) free time (more concrete and specific).

What is the difference between jobb and arbeid?

Both can translate as work, but they’re used slightly differently:

jobb: more like “job” or “post” – often a specific employment or position.
- Hun har en ny jobb. – She has a new job.
arbeid: more general “work” or “labour,” including effort, tasks, or the concept of work.
- For mye arbeid kan være stressende. – Too much work can be stressful.

In balansert forhold mellom jobb og fritid, jobb sounds natural because we’re talking about one’s job life vs free time.

Why is it gjør henne roligere and not something with er (like er roligere)?

Gjøre means to make (cause something to become).

gjør henne roligere = “makes her calmer” (causes a change in her state)
er roligere = “is calmer” (just describes a state, not what causes it)

The sentence focuses on cause and effect: a balanced work–life relationship causes her to become calmer, so gjør is appropriate.

Why is the pronoun henne used here instead of hun?

Norwegian, like English, has different forms for subject and object pronouns.

hun = subject form (she)
henne = object form (her)

In the sentence, henne is the object of the verb gjør (what does it make calmer? → henne), so the object form is required:

Et balansert forhold … gjør henne roligere.
Compare: Hun er rolig. – She is calm. (here hun is the subject)

What does roligere mean, and how is it formed?

Roligere is the comparative form of the adjective rolig (calm).

rolig = calm
roligere = calmer (more calm)
roligst / den roligste = calmest (superlative)

So gjør henne roligere literally means “makes her more calm / makes her calmer.”

Could the sentence use mer rolig instead of roligere?

You might occasionally hear mer rolig, but for a short, common adjective like rolig, the natural comparative is the -ere form: roligere.

Pattern:

Short adjectives: pen → penere, snill → snillere, rolig → roligere
Many longer adjectives use mer:
- komfortabel → mer komfortabel

So roligere is the standard and most idiomatic here.

Is the word order Et balansert forhold … gjør henne roligere fixed, or can it be changed?

The basic word order is subject–verb–object–complement and is natural here:

Subject: Et balansert forhold mellom jobb og fritid
Verb: gjør
Object: henne
Complement: roligere

You could move the subject part later only in very marked or poetic style, but in ordinary speech/writing, this order is essentially fixed for clarity:

Et balansert forhold mellom jobb og fritid gjør henne roligere. ✔
Alternative word orders like Gjør et balansert forhold mellom jobb og fritid henne roligere would only appear in special question or emphasis contexts and sound unnatural as a plain statement.

What is fritid exactly? Is it like “holiday” or “weekend”?

Fritid literally means free time, i.e. the time when you are not working or studying.

It does not specifically mean holiday/vacation or weekend, though those are part of your fritid:

ferie = holiday/vacation
helg = weekend
fritid = all your non-working time in general (evenings, weekends, holidays, etc.)