Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Denne uken er arbeidsmengden så høy at vi må planlegge bedre. - This week the workload is so high that we have to plan better.

In Norwegian, time expressions like denne uken, neste uke, forrige uke are usually used without a preposition when they function as an adverbial (telling when something happens).

Denne uken = this week (natural and standard)
I denne uken is grammatically possible but sounds stiff/over‑explicit; you’d more often hear it in very formal or written contexts, and usually in contrast to other weeks.
Den(ne) uke without the -n ending (uken) is non‑standard in Bokmål in this exact structure.
- Bokmål: denne uken or denne uka
- The -n or -a is the definite ending (“the week”).

So the sentence uses the normal, idiomatic adverbial: Denne uken … = This week …

Why is uken in the definite form (uken) instead of uke?

When we say this week in Norwegian, we use a demonstrative + definite noun:

denne uken = this (the) week
- denne = this
- uke = week
- uken = the week

This is a regular pattern in Norwegian:

denne boken = this book
denne dagen = this day
denne filmen = this movie

Unlike English, where this week uses an indefinite noun (week), Norwegian typically makes the noun definite after denne/den/det/de.

What exactly does arbeidsmengden mean, and how is it formed?

Arbeidsmengden is a compound noun + definite ending:

arbeid = work
mengde = amount, quantity
arbeidsmengde = amount of work, workload
arbeidsmengden = the workload / the amount of work

So in the sentence:

arbeidsmengden = the workload
The -en at the end marks the definite form (like “the” in English).

Why is the verb er (is) used? In English I might say “This week the workload is so high that we have to plan better”, but could it also mean “will be so high”?

Norwegian often uses the present tense to talk about the near future, especially with a time expression like denne uken:

Denne uken er arbeidsmengden så høy …
→ Literally: This week the workload *is so high …*
→ Can be understood as current or scheduled/expected for this week.

If you really want to emphasize that it’s about the future, you could say:

Denne uken kommer arbeidsmengden til å være så høy …
Denne uken vil arbeidsmengden være så høy …

But in everyday speech, the plain present er with a time phrase is perfectly natural and often preferred.

How does the structure så høy at work here?

Så … at … is a common Norwegian pattern meaning “so … that …”:

så høy at vi må planlegge bedre
= so high that we have to plan better

Structure:

så
- adjective (høy)
at
- clause (vi må planlegge bedre)

Other examples:

Jeg var så trøtt at jeg sovnet på bussen.
= I was so tired that I fell asleep on the bus.
Det var så dyrt at vi ikke kjøpte det.
= It was so expensive that we didn’t buy it.

Why is må used, and what nuance does it have?

Må is a modal verb meaning must / have to. It expresses necessity or obligation:

vi må planlegge bedre
= we must / we have to plan better

Nuances:

må: strong necessity from the situation, from rules, or from logic.
You could in theory use bør (should), but that weakens the meaning:
- vi bør planlegge bedre = we should plan better (advice, recommendation)
- vi må planlegge bedre = we have to plan better (stronger requirement)

Here, må fits because the workload is so high that better planning is not just a suggestion; it’s necessary.

Why is it planlegge bedre and not something like bedre planlegge?

In Norwegian, the adverb usually comes after the infinitive verb when it modifies how the action is done:

planlegge bedre = to plan better
- planlegge = to plan
- bedre = better (adverb here: in a better way)

Putting it before the verb (bedre planlegge) is not natural in Norwegian.

Compare with other verb + adverb combinations:

snakke saktere = speak more slowly
jobbe hardere = work harder
skrive penere = write more neatly

So the correct word order is må planlegge bedre.

Why is bedre used instead of something like mer godt?

Norwegian, like English, has irregular comparative forms for god (good):

god = good
bedre = better
best = best

You do not say mer god or mer godt for “better”. Use bedre:

god planlegging = good planning
bedre planlegging = better planning
planlegge bedre = to plan better

So bedre is just the standard comparative of god.

Is there any word order rule about putting Denne uken at the start of the sentence?

Yes. Norwegian main clauses generally follow a V2 word order: the finite verb (here: er) should be in the second position.

When we move a time expression like Denne uken to the front for emphasis or style, the verb still has to stay second:

Denne uken er arbeidsmengden så høy …
- 1st element: Denne uken (time phrase)
- 2nd element: er (finite verb)
- then the subject: arbeidsmengden

You could also say:

Arbeidsmengden er så høy denne uken at vi må planlegge bedre.

Here the subject Arbeidsmengden is first, so the verb er still comes second. Both versions are correct; the difference is mainly emphasis and style.

Could you replace arbeidsmengden with something else, like jobbmengden? Would that be correct?

Jobbmengden is not wrong in a purely morphological sense, but it is not idiomatic. The natural, standard word for “workload” is arbeidsmengde:

arbeidsmengden er så høy = the workload is so high
You also sometimes see arbeidsbelastning (work load, strain), but that’s a bit more formal or about strain/stress.

Jobb is very common in everyday speech, but people don’t usually say jobbmengde or jobbmengden in this context. Stick with arbeidsmengden for “the workload”.