Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Møteinnkallingen sier at vi skal snakke om arbeidstid og lønn. - The meeting invitation says that we shall talk about working hours and pay.

møte = meeting
innkalling = summons / call / notice (from å innkalle = to call in, to summon)
-en = the (definite singular ending for masculine nouns)

So:

møte + innkalling → møteinnkalling = meeting invitation / meeting notice
møteinnkalling + en → møteinnkallingen = the meeting invitation / the meeting notice

In Norwegian compounds, only the last part of the compound gets the definite ending.

Why is the at the end of møteinnkallingen instead of a separate word like in English?

Norwegian usually shows definiteness by adding an ending to the noun instead of a separate word:

en møteinnkalling = a meeting invitation (indefinite)
møteinnkallingen = the meeting invitation (definite)

So there is no separate word for the in this phrase. The function of the is built into the suffix -en.

For compound nouns, the rule is:

Only the last element gets the definite ending:
- en møteleder → møtelederen (the meeting leader)
- en møteinnkalling → møteinnkallingen (the meeting invitation)

What gender is møteinnkalling, and how does that affect møteinnkallingen?

The base noun innkalling is feminine in many dictionaries (marked f), but in Bokmål you are allowed to treat most feminine nouns as masculine in writing.

So you will commonly see:

masculine pattern:
- en møteinnkalling → møteinnkallingen

You could also see the feminine form in more informal or dialect-influenced Bokmål:

feminine pattern:
- ei møteinnkalling → møteinnkallinga

In standard written Bokmål, en møteinnkalling / møteinnkallingen is the safest choice. The sentence uses the masculine/“generic” form.

Is it natural in Norwegian to say that an invitation says something, like Møteinnkallingen sier at …?

Yes, this is completely natural. Norwegian allows si (to say) with inanimate subjects, just like English does in sentences such as The sign says… or The email says….

So:

Møteinnkallingen sier at vi skal …
= The meeting invitation says that we are going to …

Another very common alternative is:

Det står i møteinnkallingen at vi skal …
= It says / It is written in the meeting invitation that we are going to …

Both are correct; sier is a bit more direct, det står i … focuses on it being written.

What does at do in sier at vi skal snakke …? Is it like English that, and can I leave it out?

At is a subordinating conjunction meaning that. It introduces a subordinate clause that works as the object of sier:

Møteinnkallingen sier [at vi skal snakke om arbeidstid og lønn].

Unlike English, you cannot normally drop at in this kind of sentence. In English you can say:

The invitation says (that) we will talk about…

In Norwegian you must say:

Møteinnkallingen sier at vi skal snakke om … ✅
Møteinnkallingen sier vi skal snakke om … ❌ (incorrect here)

Why is it vi skal snakke and not just vi snakker? What nuance does skal add?

Skal here shows plan or scheduled future:

vi snakker om arbeidstid og lønn
= we are talking about working hours and salary (right now, general/present)
vi skal snakke om arbeidstid og lønn
= we are going to talk about / we will talk about working hours and salary (it’s planned)

Because this is a meeting invitation, it is describing what is on the agenda, so skal is used to show that this is something planned for the meeting.

What’s the difference between skal, vil, and kommer til å for the future in a sentence like this?

In this context:

skal = planned, scheduled, or obligatory action
- Vi skal snakke om arbeidstid og lønn.
  → It’s on the agenda; that’s what is supposed to happen.
vil = want to / will (willingness, desire)
- Vi vil snakke om arbeidstid og lønn.
  → We want to talk about working hours and salary.
kommer til å = will (prediction about what is likely to happen)
- Vi kommer til å snakke om arbeidstid og lønn.
  → We will probably / are going to end up talking about working hours and salary.

For a formal meeting invitation, skal is the natural choice.

Why is it snakke om here? How do I choose between snakke om, snakke med, and snakke til?

The verb snakke (to talk/speak) changes meaning slightly with different prepositions:

snakke om + noe = talk about something (topic)
- Vi skal snakke om arbeidstid og lønn.
  → We are going to talk about working hours and salary.
snakke med + noen = talk with someone (conversation partner)
- Jeg skal snakke med sjefen.
  → I’m going to talk with the boss.
snakke til + noen = talk to someone (direction, often one-way or a bit more “at” than “with”)
- Læreren snakker til elevene.
  → The teacher is talking to the pupils.

In this sentence, we are specifying the topic, so snakke om is the correct choice.

Could I say vi skal diskutere arbeidstid og lønn instead of vi skal snakke om arbeidstid og lønn? Is there a nuance?

Yes, you can:

Vi skal snakke om arbeidstid og lønn.
→ We’re going to talk about / have a conversation about working hours and salary. (neutral, can be informal)
Vi skal diskutere arbeidstid og lønn.
→ We’re going to discuss working hours and salary. (sounds a bit more formal or systematic)

Both are correct in a meeting context. Snakke om can feel a little more general; diskutere can sound more like analysing, debating, or making decisions.

What does arbeidstid literally mean, and how is it formed?

Arbeidstid is another compound noun:

arbeid = work
tid = time

So arbeidstid literally means work time, and is normally translated as working hours, hours of work, or work schedule depending on context.

Examples:

Hva er arbeidstiden din?
= What are your working hours?
Vi må snakke om arbeidstid.
= We need to talk about working hours / work time in general.

Why are arbeidstid and lønn indefinite here (no -en / -a endings)? When would I say arbeidstiden or lønna / lønnen?

In this sentence, arbeidstid and lønn refer to the topics in a general way:

arbeidstid = working hours in general
lønn = salary/pay in general

So the indefinite form is natural when we’re talking about general concepts or categories.

You use the definite form when you talk about specific, known things:

arbeidstiden / arbeidstida = the working hours (specific ones)
- Vi skal endre arbeidstiden.
  → We are going to change the working hours.
lønnen / lønna = the salary / the pay (specific)
- Vi skal forhandle om lønnen.
  → We are going to negotiate the salary.

Bokmål allows both lønnen (more formal/standard) and lønna (more informal/colloquial) as definite forms.

How do you pronounce møteinnkallingen and lønn?

Approximate pronunciation (standard Eastern Norwegian):

møteinnkallingen:
- stress on the first and third syllables: MØ-te-inn-KAL-ling-en
- ø is like the vowel in French feu or German schön
- innk is pronounced with a clear n followed by k, not like English ink
lønn:
- one syllable, lønn (similar ø sound as in møte)
- the nn is slightly longer (geminate consonant)

You can think of ø as halfway between English e in bed and u in burn (in many accents).

Could the word order in the at-clause be different, like at vi om arbeidstid og lønn skal snakke?

No, that kind of reordering is not natural here.

Inside the at-clause, the normal word order is:

Subject – Verb – (Object / other elements)

So we say:

at vi skal snakke om arbeidstid og lønn ✅

Some movements are possible for emphasis in Norwegian, but putting om arbeidstid og lønn before skal snakke inside an at-clause sounds unnatural and old-fashioned at best.

The safe pattern in sentences like this is:

[main clause] + at + [subject] + [verb] + [rest of the clause]
- Møteinnkallingen sier at vi skal snakke om arbeidstid og lønn.