Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Maskinen fungerer ikke i dag.

So maskinen fungerer ikke i dag means the machine is not working today, talking about a specific machine both the speaker and listener know about.

What exactly does fungerer mean? Is it like “works” or “functions”?

Fungerer is the present tense of å fungere = to function, to work (in the sense of to operate correctly).

In this sentence:

Maskinen fungerer ikke i dag
→ The machine is not working today
(literally: The machine functions not today)

You can usually translate fungerer as:

works (The machine works / doesn’t work)
functions (It functions / doesn’t function)

It does not mean to work as in having a job. For that you use å jobbe or å arbeide.

Where should ikke go in a sentence like this? Why is it after fungerer and before i dag?

In a normal statement with one verb in the present tense, ikke usually comes after the verb:

Maskinen fungerer ikke = The machine does not work.

Time expressions like i dag often come after the main part of the sentence:

Maskinen fungerer ikke i dag = The machine is not working today.

Basic pattern here:

Subject – Verb – Ikke – (Time / Place / Other info)
Maskinen – fungerer – ikke – i dag

Other examples:

Jeg spiser ikke nå. = I’m not eating now.
Han bor ikke her. = He doesn’t live here.

Can I say Maskinen ikke fungerer i dag?

No, not as a complete statement. In a normal sentence with this meaning, Norwegian requires:

Maskinen fungerer ikke i dag. ✅

Verb (fungerer) must come before ikke in a main clause statement.

You can have ikke fungerer together in some other structures, for example:

at maskinen ikke fungerer i dag = that the machine is not working today

Here ikke fungerer appears inside a subordinate clause introduced by at (that), which has different word order rules:

Main clause: Maskinen fungerer ikke i dag.
Subordinate clause: … at maskinen ikke fungerer i dag.

What does i dag literally mean, and is it one word or two?

i dag is written as two words:

i = in / on / at (a preposition)
dag = day

Together i dag means today. You normally treat it as a fixed expression meaning today, not literally in the day.

Compare:

i går = yesterday (literally in yesterday)
i morgen = tomorrow (literally in morning, historically)

So:

Maskinen fungerer ikke i dag. = The machine is not working today.

Can I change the word order and say I dag fungerer ikke maskinen? Does that mean the same thing?

Yes, you can say:

I dag fungerer ikke maskinen. ✅

It still means The machine is not working today, but the emphasis changes slightly.

Difference in feel:

Maskinen fungerer ikke i dag.
– Neutral: the main topic is the machine, and you add that it doesn’t work today.
I dag fungerer ikke maskinen.
– Emphasis on today: Today, the machine is not working. (Maybe it usually works.)

Both are correct; the first one is more neutral and very common.

How would I turn this into a yes/no question in Norwegian?

To make a yes/no question, move the verb to the front:

Statement: Maskinen fungerer ikke i dag.
Question: Fungerer ikke maskinen i dag?
→ Isn’t the machine working today?

If you want a more neutral yes/no question (without the negative assumed), you’d normally drop ikke:

Fungerer maskinen i dag?
→ Is the machine working today?

Word order pattern for yes/no questions:

Verb – Subject – (Ikke) – Rest
Fungerer – maskinen – (ikke) – i dag?

Is maskinen masculine, feminine, or neuter? How do I know which article to use?

Maskin is a masculine noun in Norwegian Bokmål.

Masculine pattern:

Indefinite singular: en maskin = a machine
Definite singular: maskinen = the machine

General Bokmål patterns:

Masculine: en bil → bilen (a car → the car)
Feminine: ei bok / en bok → boka / boken (a book → the book)
Neuter: et hus → huset (a house → the house)

How to know? You usually have to learn the gender with each noun:

en maskin (m.)
et problem (n.)
ei/en seng (f./m.)

Dictionaries will list the gender (often as m, f, or n).

Why do we use present tense fungerer when in English we say “is not working”?

Norwegian often uses the simple present where English uses the present continuous.

Norwegian: Maskinen fungerer ikke i dag.
English: The machine is not working today.

Norwegian present tense (fungerer) can express:

a general fact:
Maskinen fungerer. = The machine works.
a current temporary situation:
Maskinen fungerer ikke i dag. = The machine is not working today.

You could also translate it as The machine does not work today, but in natural English, “is not working today” sounds better, so that’s the usual translation.

Could I say Maskinen virker ikke i dag instead of fungerer? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can also say:

Maskinen virker ikke i dag. ✅

In this context, virker and fungerer are very close in meaning: the machine is not working / not functioning.

Subtle tendency (not a strict rule):

fungerer often sounds a bit more technical or neutral: functions, operates correctly
virker can also mean seems / appears:
- Det virker rart. = That seems strange.

For machines and devices, both fungerer and virker are commonly used to mean works / functions.

How do you pronounce fungerer and ikke?

Approximate pronunciation (Standard Eastern Norwegian):

fungerer: /fʉŋˈgeːrər/
- fun- = like foon but with lips more rounded/shaped (Norwegian u/ʉ sound)
- -ger- = like gair (long e sound)
- last -er = a light -ehr sound
ikke: /ˈɪkːə/
- i = like i in sit but a bit shorter/tenser
- kk = a long, strong k
- final e = a short, neutral uh/eh sound

In fast everyday speech ikke is often reduced a bit, but the full form /ˈɪkːə/ is a good target to aim for.