Ryggsekken er tung i dag.

The backpack is heavy today.

Breakdown of Ryggsekken er tung i dag.

• være: to be
• i dag: today
• ryggsekken: the backpack
• tung: hard

Questions & Answers about Ryggsekken er tung i dag.

Why is it ryggsekken and not ryggsekk?

In Norwegian, the definite article (the) is usually added as an ending on the noun, not as a separate word.

• ryggsekk = a backpack (indefinite)
• ryggsekken = the backpack (definite)

So ryggsekken er tung i dag literally corresponds to “the backpack is heavy today”, not “a backpack is heavy today.”

How do I say a backpack, the backpack, backpacks, and the backpacks?

The full pattern for ryggsekk is:

• en ryggsekk – a backpack (indefinite singular)
• ryggsekken – the backpack (definite singular)
• ryggsekker – backpacks (indefinite plural)
• ryggsekkene – the backpacks (definite plural)

So you could also say:

• Ryggsekkene er tunge i dag. – The backpacks are heavy today.

Why is the adjective tung and not something like tunge or tungt here?

Adjectives in Norwegian change form depending on gender, number, and sometimes definiteness, but how they change depends on where they appear in the sentence.

Here tung is used predicatively (after the verb er):

• Ryggsekken er tung. – The backpack is heavy.

For predicative adjectives:

• Common gender singular (like ryggsekk): tung
  • Sekken er tung.
• Neuter singular: tungt
  • Huset er tungt. – The house is heavy.
• Plural (all genders): tunge
  • Ryggsekkene er tunge. – The backpacks are heavy.

Compare with attributive use (before the noun):

• en tung ryggsekk – a heavy backpack
• et tungt piano – a heavy piano
• tunge ryggsekker – heavy backpacks
• den tunge ryggsekken – the heavy backpack

So in Ryggsekken er tung i dag, tung is the correct singular common-gender predicative form.

Can I say I dag er ryggsekken tung instead? Is the meaning different?

Yes, I dag er ryggsekken tung is perfectly correct, and it means the same thing.

Norwegian main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb (here er) must come in the second position, no matter what comes first.

• Neutral order: Ryggsekken er tung i dag.
  • Subject (Ryggsekken) – Verb (er) – Rest

If you move the time expression i dag to the front to emphasize it, you get:

• Emphasis on today: I dag er ryggsekken tung.
  • Adverbial (I dag) – Verb (er) – Subject (ryggsekken)

So:

• Both are correct.
• I dag er ryggsekken tung puts a bit more emphasis on today.

Why is i dag written as two words and not idag?

Standard written Norwegian uses two words:

• i dag – today
• i går – yesterday
• i morgen – tomorrow

You will see idag, igår, imorgen occasionally in informal writing or older texts, but they are not standard in modern Bokmål.

So you should always write i dag as two words in correct, standard Norwegian.

Why does Norwegian say i dag (literally “in day”) when English just says today?

Historically, many languages used a preposition + noun for time expressions, like “in the day” or “on this day.” Norwegian has kept that pattern:

• i dag – today (literally “in day”)
• i går – yesterday (“in yesterday”)
• i morgen – tomorrow (“in morning”)

In English, these have become single words (today, yesterday, tomorrow), but in Norwegian they are still fixed prepositional phrases with i. You never say just dag to mean today; you must use i dag.

What’s the difference between tung and vanskelig?

Both are sometimes translated as “hard” in English, but they’re used differently:

• tung = heavy (literally or figuratively)

  • Ryggsekken er tung. – The backpack is heavy.
  • Det var en tung dag. – It was a heavy/rough day.
  • Stemningen er tung. – The atmosphere is heavy/gloomy.

• vanskelig = difficult

  • Oppgaven er vanskelig. – The task is difficult.
  • Norsk er vanskelig. – Norwegian is difficult.

So in Ryggsekken er tung i dag, tung refers to weight, not difficulty.

How do I say “My backpack is heavy today”?

You can say:

• Ryggsekken min er tung i dag. – My backpack is heavy today.

In Norwegian, the most natural place for a possessive pronoun (my, your, his etc.) is after the noun, especially in speech:

• boka mi – my book
• bilen din – your car
• ryggsekken min – my backpack

You can say Min ryggsekk er tung i dag, but that feels more formal or emphatic, and it uses the indefinite form (ryggsekk) rather than ryggsekken. The everyday, neutral choice is:

• Ryggsekken min er tung i dag.

How do you pronounce ryggsekken er tung i dag?

In a neutral Eastern Norwegian pronunciation (approximate IPA):

• ryggsekken – [ˈrʏɡˌsɛkːən]

  • rygg: r as in Spanish/Scottish r (often a tap), y like German ü, gg like hard g
  • sekken: stress on sek, double kk is a long k sound, en like en in taken

• er – [ær] or [eːɾ]

  • Short, like English air but usually shorter

• tung – [tʊŋ]

  • u is like the vowel in English book
  • ng like English sing

• i dag – [iː ˈdɑːɡ] (often with a very weak or almost silent g)

  • i is like English ee in see
  • dag roughly like daahg; in casual speech many people say something close to [dɑː]

So the rhythm is roughly: RYGG-sekk-en er TUNG i DAG, with the main stress on rygg and dag, and a smaller stress on tung.

Can tung also be used in a figurative sense, not just for physical weight?

Yes. Tung is very commonly used figuratively in Norwegian, both for emotional and mental “heaviness”:

• Det er en tung situasjon. – It’s a heavy/difficult situation.
• Han har hatt en tung tid. – He has had a hard time.
• Stemningen er tung i dag. – The mood is heavy today.
• Det var et tungt møte. – It was a tough/straining meeting.

In your example Ryggsekken er tung i dag, it most naturally refers to physical weight, but in other contexts tung can clearly be figurative.