Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Smartklokken måler både puls og søvnkvalitet hver natt. - The smartwatch measures both pulse and sleep quality every night.

smartklokke = smart (smart) + klokke (clock/watch).
klokke is a common gender noun (the article en), so its definite singular ending is -en.

Indefinite singular: en smartklokke
Definite singular: smartklokken = the smartwatch

In Norwegian, the definite article is usually added as an ending on the noun (here -en), instead of using a separate word like English the.

Can I also say smartklokka instead of smartklokken?

Yes, in many contexts you can.

In Bokmål you usually have two parallel sets of endings for common gender nouns:

More “standard / written” style:
- en smartklokke – smartklokken
More colloquial / speech-like style:
- ei smartklokke – smartklokka

Both are correct Bokmål. Which one you use depends on:

your teacher / textbook norm,
your own style,
and sometimes the dialect being imitated.

The sentence would still be correct as Smartklokka måler både puls og søvnkvalitet hver natt.

Why is it måler and not måle in this sentence?

The verb is å måle (to measure).

In the present tense in Bokmål, most verbs take -r (often written as -er) on the stem:

å måle → jeg måler (I measure)
å spise → jeg spiser (I eat)
å lese → jeg leser (I read)

So here:

måler is present tense: measures / is measuring.
måle would be the infinitive: to measure, and cannot be used as the main verb in a present-tense sentence like this.

Is måler related to må (must)? They look similar.

They are different verbs:

må is a modal verb meaning must / have to.
- Infinitive form: å måtte.
- Example: Jeg må sove. = I must sleep.
måler is the present tense of å måle = to measure.
- Example: Klokken måler puls. = The watch measures heart rate.

So even though they look similar and both are common, they are different verbs with different meanings and different infinitive forms (måtte vs måle).

What does både … og … do here? Could I just say puls og søvnkvalitet?

både … og … means both … and …. It emphasizes that two things are included.

With både … og …:
- måler både puls og søvnkvalitet
  → measures both heart rate and sleep quality (clear emphasis on there being two things).
Without både:
- måler puls og søvnkvalitet
  → measures heart rate and sleep quality (still correct, but without the explicit “both” emphasis).

So you can remove både and the sentence is still grammatically fine, but you lose the small extra emphasis that exactly two things are being measured.

Why is there no article before puls or søvnkvalitet?

In Norwegian, bare singular nouns without an article are common when you talk about something in a general, non-specific, or “uncountable/abstract” way.

Here, puls (pulse/heart rate) and søvnkvalitet (sleep quality) are treated as general “types of data” the watch measures:

måler puls ≈ measures (your) heart rate (in general)
måler søvnkvalitet ≈ measures (your) sleep quality (in general)

If you want to be more specific, especially about your heart rate or your sleep quality, you could use the definite form + possessor:

måler pulsen din = measures your heart rate
måler søvnkvaliteten din = measures your sleep quality

But in product descriptions or general statements, the bare form (puls, søvnkvalitet) is very natural.

What exactly does søvnkvalitet mean, and how is it built?

søvnkvalitet is a compound noun:

søvn = sleep
kvalitet = quality

Together: søvnkvalitet = sleep quality.

Norwegian strongly prefers compounds where English might sometimes use a phrase. You could say something like kvaliteten på søvnen (the quality of the sleep), but:

søvnkvalitet is shorter,
more natural in everyday language,
and is the standard term in e.g. health apps and tech descriptions.

Why is it hver natt and not hver natten?

Because hver (every/each) is used only with indefinite singular nouns.

Indefinite singular: natt (night)
Definite singular: natten (the night)

You must say:

hver natt = every night
NOT: hver natten (ungrammatical)

Also, hver always takes a singular noun, even though the meaning is repeated over time:

hver natt (every night) – singular noun
hver dag (every day) – singular noun

You cannot say hver netter or hver nettene.

Can I move hver natt earlier in the sentence, and does that change the meaning?

Yes, you have several word order options, all grammatical with almost the same meaning. The difference is mainly emphasis:

Smartklokken måler både puls og søvnkvalitet hver natt.
– Neutral; focus is on what it measures, then when.
Smartklokken måler hver natt både puls og søvnkvalitet.
– Slightly more focus on the frequency (every night), but still quite neutral.
Hver natt måler smartklokken både puls og søvnkvalitet.
– Stronger emphasis on “Every night…” (good if you want to stress how often it happens).

Important: Norwegian has the verb-second (V2) rule in main clauses. If you put Hver natt first, the finite verb (måler) must still be the second element:

✔ Hver natt måler smartklokken …
✖ Hver natt smartklokken måler … (wrong).

What is the basic sentence structure here (subject, verb, objects, etc.)?

The structure is:

Smartklokken – subject (S)
måler – finite verb (V, in present tense)
både puls og søvnkvalitet – direct object (what is being measured)
hver natt – adverbial of time (when)

So the word order is S – V – O – (Adverbial), which is the most common neutral order in Norwegian main clauses, and the verb is in second position (V2), right after the subject.

How do you pronounce words like smartklokken and søvnkvalitet?

Approximate pronunciation (using a rough English-style guide):

smartklokken
- smart: like English smart
- klok: similar to klock with a short o (like in British not)
- ken: like ken
- Stress mainly on the first syllable: SMART‑klok‑ken
søvnkvalitet
- søvn: the ø is like the vowel in British bird or French peur; vn is a bit compressed, almost like sövn.
- kva: kva with a like in father, stress here.
- li: lee
- tet: like tett (short e, sharp t)
- Main stress on kva: søvn‑kva‑li‑tet

In IPA (approximate Bokmål pronunciation):

smartklokken: [ˈsmɑːʈˌklɔkːən]
søvnkvalitet: [ˈsœvnˌkvɑliˈteːt]

You don’t need perfect IPA, but knowing that ø is not like English “o” and that compounds often have a secondary stress (søvn‑KVA‑li‑TET) helps with sounding more natural.