Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Hun sier at mindre overtid gir bedre livskvalitet og mer familietid. - She says that less overtime gives better quality of life and more family time.

å si = to say
- Used when you report the exact content of what someone says.
- Pattern: Hun sier at … (She says that …)
- Example: Han sier at han er trøtt. – He says that he is tired.
å snakke = to talk / to speak
- Used for having a conversation or the act of speaking a language.
- You cannot say Hun snakker at mindre overtid … (wrong).
- But you can say: Hun snakker om at mindre overtid gir bedre livskvalitet.
  (She talks about the fact that less overtime gives better quality of life.)
å tale = to speak (formal, like giving a speech)
- Used in formal speeches, church, politics, etc.
- Statsministeren taler i kveld. – The prime minister is speaking tonight.

In this sentence we are reporting the content of what she says, so sier is the natural and correct choice.

What does at do in this sentence? Can we leave it out like English sometimes leaves out that?

at is a subordinating conjunction that means that in reported speech and thoughts:

Hun sier at mindre overtid gir bedre livskvalitet …
= She says that less overtime gives better quality of life …

After verbs like si, tro, mene, vite, håpe, Norwegian almost always keeps at:

Han tror at det blir regn. – He thinks (that) it will rain.
Jeg vet at hun kommer. – I know (that) she is coming.

Unlike English, you normally cannot drop at in standard Norwegian.
So:

Hun sier at mindre overtid gir … ✅
Hun sier mindre overtid gir … ❌ in standard written Norwegian (you might hear it in very informal speech, but it sounds sloppy).

Why is the word order mindre overtid gir and not gir mindre overtid after at?

This is about Norwegian word order rules:

In main clauses, Norwegian is a V2 language: the verb tends to come in second position.
- I dag sier hun det. – Today says she it. (Verb sier in second position.)
In subordinate clauses (after at, fordi, som, etc.), the word order is usually: Subject – Verb – (Other elements)

In our sentence, the part after at is a subordinate clause:

at mindre overtid gir bedre livskvalitet og mer familietid
- mindre overtid = subject
- gir = verb
- bedre livskvalitet og mer familietid = complement

So:

at mindre overtid gir … ✅ (correct subordinate-clause order)
at gir mindre overtid … ❌ (wrong; verb-first is not used here)

What exactly does mindre mean here, and how is it different from færre?

mindre and færre both translate to less/fewer, but they are used differently:

mindre = less / smaller
- Comparative of liten/lite (small, little).
- Used with uncountable / mass nouns or when we talk about amount in general:
  - mindre tid – less time
  - mindre vann – less water
  - mindre overtid – less overtime (seen as an amount of work)
færre = fewer
- Comparative of få (few).
- Used with countable plural nouns:
  - færre timer – fewer hours
  - færre biler – fewer cars

In this sentence, overtid is treated as a mass noun (overtime in general), so mindre overtid = less overtime.
If you wanted to stress the number of overtime hours, you could say:

Hun sier at færre overtidstimer gir bedre livskvalitet.
– She says that fewer overtime hours give better quality of life.

Why is there no article before mindre overtid, bedre livskvalitet, and mer familietid?

Norwegian often omits articles with abstract or uncountable nouns when speaking in general or about an indefinite amount.

Here:

mindre overtid – less overtime
- overtid is like English overtime (a mass noun).
- No article is needed: we’re not talking about the overtime, just overtime in general.
bedre livskvalitet – better (quality of) life
- livskvalitet is abstract (quality of life).
- No article: it’s an abstract improvement, not a specific, identified “quality of life”.
mer familietid – more family time
- familietid works like family time in English; it’s not normally counted.
- Again, no article when we mean an indefinite amount.

If you add an article, you make it specific:

den bedre livskvaliteten – the (particular) better quality of life
den ekstra familietiden – the extra family time

So the bare form fits better for a general statement like this one.

How is overtid used in other sentences? Is it always about work?

overtid is a noun that normally means overtime work (extra hours beyond normal working time). It is strongly associated with work.

Common patterns:

å jobbe overtid / å arbeide overtid – to work overtime
- Jeg må jobbe overtid i kveld. – I have to work overtime tonight.
få betalt for overtid – to get paid for overtime
- Får du betalt for overtid? – Do you get paid for overtime?
mye / lite overtid – a lot of / little overtime
- Han har jobbet mye overtid i år.

It is not used for “extra time” in sports; that’s normally ekstraomganger (extra time) or overtid specifically in ice hockey for the sudden-death period, but in everyday language about work, overtid almost always refers to working overtime.

Are livskvalitet and familietid examples of compound words? How common is this pattern in Norwegian?

Yes, both are compound nouns, and compounding is very common in Norwegian.

livskvalitet = liv (life) + kvalitet (quality)
→ quality of life
familietid = familie (family) + tid (time)
→ family time

Features of Norwegian compounds:

They are usually written as one word:
- arbeidstid – working hours
- fritid – free time
- hjemmekontor – home office
- arbeidsliv – working life
The main meaning is in the last part:
- familietid is a type of tid (time), related to familie.
Splitting them into two words can change or obscure the meaning, or just be wrong spelling:
- familie tid is incorrect as a normal noun phrase; it should be familietid.

So livskvalitet and familietid are standard, natural compounds.

Is bedre the same kind of word as English better? Which adjective does it come from?

Yes. bedre is the comparative form of god (good), just like better is the comparative of good in English.

The pattern is:

god – good
bedre – better
best – best

Usage:

Before a noun:
- bedre livskvalitet – better quality of life
- et bedre tilbud – a better offer
As a predicative adjective:
- Det er bedre. – It is better.
- Jeg føler meg bedre. – I feel better.

So in the sentence, bedre is simply saying the quality of life becomes higher / improved.

What is the difference between mer and mye?

Both relate to quantity:

mye = much, a lot (of)
- Basic form, used with uncountable nouns or as an adverb.
- mye tid – much time
- mye vann – much water
- Jeg jobber mye. – I work a lot.
mer = more
- Comparative form of mye, but also very commonly used with nouns.
- mer tid – more time
- mer vann – more water
- Jeg vil ha mer. – I want more.

In the sentence:

mer familietid = more family time
(comparative: an increase in the amount of family time)

So mye talks about a large amount; mer talks about an increase/greater amount (more than before or more than something else).

Why do we use Hun and not Henne here?

Norwegian distinguishes between subject and object forms of pronouns, similar to she vs. her in English:

Hun = she (subject)
Henne = her (object)

In the sentence:

Hun sier at …
Hun is the subject of the verb sier (she says), so the subject form is required.

Compare:

Jeg snakker med henne. – I talk with her.
Here, henne is the object of the preposition med, so the object form is used.

So Hun sier … is parallel to English She says …, not Her says ….

Why is gir used here? Could we also say something like “leads to” in Norwegian?

gir is the present form of å gi (to give). In Norwegian, å gi is often used in a more abstract sense, similar to English to give or to result in:

Mindre stress gir bedre helse. – Less stress gives / leads to better health.
God utdanning gir flere muligheter. – Good education gives / provides more opportunities.

In your sentence:

mindre overtid gir bedre livskvalitet og mer familietid
= less overtime results in / provides / leads to better quality of life and more family time.

You could also use other verbs:

Mindre overtid fører til bedre livskvalitet og mer familietid.
– Less overtime leads to better quality of life and more family time.

But gir is very natural and common in such general cause–effect statements.