Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Samtidig peker hun på en likhet i uttale som ofte forvirrer nye elever. - At the same time she points to a similarity in pronunciation that often confuses new students.

Putting samtidig first makes it an adverbial at the start of the sentence. In Norwegian main clauses, the finite verb must be in second position (V2 rule). So the structure is:

Samtidig (adverbial, 1st position)
peker (verb, 2nd position)
hun (subject, 3rd position)

You could also say:

Hun peker samtidig på … – She at the same time points to …

That’s also correct, but starting with samtidig emphasizes the “at the same time” aspect more strongly and links it to something that happened just before.

What is the meaning of peker på, and is it different from just peker?

peker is the present tense of å peke = to point.

å peke på noe literally: to point at something
In this sentence, peker hun på en likhet is best translated: “she points out a similarity”, not necessarily with a finger, but in the sense of drawing attention to something.

Using peke without på usually sounds incomplete here:

Hun peker på tavla. – She points at the board.
Hun peker på en viktig detalj. – She points out an important detail.

So peke på is the natural way to say both “point at” and “point out” depending on context.

Why is it en likhet and not likheten?

en likhet = a similarity (indefinite)
likheten = the similarity (definite)

Here, the speaker is introducing this similarity as new information, so Norwegian uses the indefinite form:

Hun peker på en likhet … – She points out a similarity …

If both speaker and listener already knew exactly which similarity they meant, you’d use the definite form:

Hun peker på likheten i uttale … – She points out the similarity in pronunciation …

So the choice reflects whether the thing is being introduced (indefinite) or is already specific/known (definite).

What does likhet mean, and what kind of noun is it?

likhet means similarity / likeness / resemblance.

It’s a common-gender noun in Bokmål, so its usual indefinite article is en:
- en likhet – a similarity
- likheten – the similarity
- flere likheter – several similarities
- likhetene – the similarities

You will often see en likhet in standard Bokmål, even though related words (like lik) are historically masculine/feminine. The main thing to remember is: with likhet in modern Bokmål, use en in the indefinite singular.

Why is it i uttale and not i uttalen?

uttale = pronunciation (a noun)
uttalen = the pronunciation

Norwegian often uses a bare singular noun in expressions like i uttale where English uses “in the pronunciation” or “in pronunciation”.

en likhet i uttale – a similarity in pronunciation (general)
en feil i uttalen – an error in the pronunciation (more specific, “in the particular way something is pronounced”)

Here, the similarity is about pronunciation in general, not one specific, already-known pronunciation, so i uttale (without the definite article) sounds more natural.

What does som refer to in som ofte forvirrer nye elever?

som here is a relative pronoun meaning roughly “which” or “that”.

It refers back to the whole noun phrase en likhet i uttale:

en likhet i uttale som ofte forvirrer nye elever
= a similarity in pronunciation that often confuses new students

So the structure is:

en likhet i uttale – a similarity in pronunciation
som ofte forvirrer nye elever – that often confuses new students

You could think of it in English as: “a similarity in pronunciation which often confuses new students.”

Why is the word order som ofte forvirrer nye elever and not som forvirrer ofte nye elever?

In the relative clause som ofte forvirrer nye elever:

som – relative pronoun (“that/which”)
ofte – adverb (“often”)
forvirrer – verb (“confuses”)
nye elever – object (“new students”)

The most natural place for an adverb like ofte in such a clause is directly after the subject (here, som, which stands for the subject):

som ofte forvirrer nye elever – that often confuses new students

Other orders like som forvirrer ofte nye elever are possible in Norwegian but sound marked or awkward here. The typical pattern is:

subject + adverb + verb + object
→ som ofte forvirrer nye elever

What does forvirrer mean, and what form is it?

forvirrer is the present tense of the verb å forvirre = to confuse.

Basic forms:

å forvirre – to confuse
jeg/du/han/hun forvirrer – I/you/he/she confuse(s)
forvirret – confused (past tense or participle, depending on context)

In this sentence:

som ofte forvirrer nye elever = that often confuses new students

So forvirrer is just the normal present tense used for things that happen repeatedly or generally.

Why is it nye elever and not elever nye?

In Norwegian, as in English, adjectives normally come before the noun:

nye elever – new students

You do not say elever nye in this context. That word order would only appear in very special, poetic, or fixed expressions, not in normal speech.

Also note the adjective agreement:

ny elev – new student (singular)
nye elever – new students (plural)

The adjective takes -e in the plural: nye.

What is the function of på after peker in this sentence?

på is a preposition that goes together with å peke to form the phrasal verb å peke på = to point at / to point out.

Hun peker på en likhet … – She points out a similarity …
Han peker på døra. – He points at the door.

Without på, peke sounds incomplete in this meaning. Think of peke på as a fixed combination you normally use when you point to something, physically or figuratively.

Can you break down the sentence structure in simple parts?

Yes. The sentence:

Samtidig peker hun på en likhet i uttale som ofte forvirrer nye elever.

Breakdown:

Samtidig – At the same time (sentence adverbial)
peker – points (verb, 2nd position)
hun – she (subject)
på en likhet i uttale – at a similarity in pronunciation (prepositional phrase = object)
- en likhet – a similarity
- i uttale – in pronunciation
som ofte forvirrer nye elever – which often confuses new students (relative clause modifying likhet i uttale)
- som – that/which
- ofte – often
- forvirrer – confuses
- nye elever – new students

So the core sentence is:

Hun peker på en likhet i uttale. – She points out a similarity in pronunciation.

Then we add more information about that similarity:

… som ofte forvirrer nye elever. – … that often confuses new students.