Frisøren sa at hun kunne få satt opp håret med hårstrikk hvis luggen ble for kort.

Frisøren is the definite singular form: the hairdresser.

Norwegian often uses the definite form when the person or thing is already identifiable from context. In a standalone sentence like this, frisøren sa ... naturally means the hairdresser said ....

Forms:

• en frisør = a hairdresser
• frisøren = the hairdresser

Here at means that.

So sa at hun kunne ... is like said that she could .... In Norwegian, at often introduces a subordinate clause after verbs like si.

It can sometimes be omitted in informal language, especially in speech:

• Frisøren sa hun kunne få satt opp håret ...

But with learners, it is usually best to think of at as the normal, clear version.

Because after at, Norwegian uses subordinate clause word order.

The normal order is:

• subject + sentence adverbials + verb

So:

• at hun kunne ...
• hvis luggen ble ...

This is different from main clauses, where Norwegian often has verb-second word order:

• Hun kunne få satt opp håret.
• Da sa frisøren det.

But after at and hvis, you do not invert the subject and verb.

Kunne is the past form of kan.

Since the main verb is sa (said), the sentence is reporting what someone said in the past, so kunne fits naturally:

• Frisøren sa at hun kunne ...
• The hairdresser said that she could ...

In reported speech, Norwegian often shifts the tense this way, much like English does.

Depending on context, kunne can mean:

• could
• would be able to

This is a very common Norwegian pattern:

• få + past participle

It often means get something done or have something done.

So:

• få satt opp håret = get one’s hair put up / have one’s hair tied up

The idea is not that she herself necessarily puts it up, but that this can be done for her or arranged.

Compare:

• Jeg skal få klipt håret. = I’m going to get my hair cut.
• Hun fikk reparert bilen. = She got the car repaired.

Because after få in this kind of construction, Norwegian uses the past participle.

The verb is sette opp. Its past participle is satt opp.

So:

• sette opp håret = put the hair up / tie the hair up
• få satt opp håret = get the hair put up

It is not the infinitive here, so sette opp would be wrong in this sentence.

Because sette opp is a verb plus particle, and in many Norwegian constructions the particle stays as a separate word.

So:

• sette opp håret
• satt opp håret
• få satt opp håret

This is similar to English verb-particle combinations like:

• put up
• tie up
• pick up

The particle opp is part of the meaning, but it is still written as a separate word.

Norwegian often uses the definite form for body parts when the owner is clear from context.

So:

• få satt opp håret = literally get the hair put up
• luggen ble for kort = the bangs/fringe became too short

Even though English usually prefers her hair or her bangs, Norwegian very often just uses the definite noun:

• Hun vasket hendene. = She washed her hands.
• Han løftet armen. = He raised his arm.

You can say hennes hår, but it often sounds more emphatic or contrastive.

Lugg means the hair at the front of the head.

In British English, that is usually fringe. In American English, it is usually bangs.

So:

• en lugg = a fringe / a set of bangs
• luggen = the fringe / the bangs

Both are possible, but med hårstrikk is very natural when talking about the material or means used, rather than one specific item.

So here it means something like:

• using a hair tie
• with a hair tie

This article-less use is common in Norwegian in practical descriptions:

• skrive med blyant = write with a pencil
• reise med tog = travel by train
• sette opp håret med hårstrikk = put the hair up with a hair tie

If you say med en hårstrikk, it sounds more like one particular hair tie or just more countable/specific.

Ble is the past of bli, which often means become.

So:

• luggen ble for kort = the bangs became too short / ended up too short

This suggests a change of state, which makes sense after a haircut.

If you said var for kort, that would simply describe a state:

• luggen var for kort = the bangs were too short

Both can work in some contexts, but ble is especially natural when talking about the result of something that happened.

For before an adjective often means too.

So:

• kort = short
• for kort = too short

Other examples:

• for dyr = too expensive
• for lang = too long
• for varm = too warm

So luggen ble for kort means the fringe/bangs ended up shorter than desired.

Here hvis means if in a conditional sense.

So:

• hvis luggen ble for kort = if the bangs became too short

Hvis is the normal word for a real condition.

Om can sometimes also mean if, but it is often used more for whether:

• Jeg vet ikke om hun kommer. = I don’t know whether she is coming.

In conditional sentences like this one, hvis is the clearest and most standard choice.

Grammatically, hun means she, but the sentence itself does not spell out exactly who she is.

From context, it would usually refer to the female customer or person whose hair is being discussed, not the hairdresser.

This kind of pronoun reference is normal in Norwegian, just as in English. The listener is expected to understand from the situation who hun is.