Jeg henger skjorten på kleshengeren.

Henge is the infinitive form, the equivalent of to hang.

In this sentence, the verb is conjugated for the present tense, so henge becomes henger:

• å henge = to hang
• jeg henger = I hang / I am hanging

Norwegian often forms the present tense by adding -r to the infinitive.

It can mean both.

Norwegian usually does not make a strong grammatical distinction between the simple present and the present progressive the way English does. So:

• Jeg henger skjorten på kleshengeren can mean
  • I hang the shirt on the hanger, or
  • I am hanging the shirt on the hanger

The intended meaning usually comes from context.

Skjorte means shirt in an indefinite sense, while skjorten means the shirt.

Norwegian often adds the definite article to the end of the noun instead of putting a separate word in front:

• en skjorte = a shirt
• skjorten = the shirt

So skjorten is the definite singular form.

For the same reason as skjorten: kleshengeren is the definite form, meaning the hanger.

Compare:

• en kleshenger = a hanger
• kleshengeren = the hanger

In this sentence, both nouns are definite:

• skjorten = the shirt
• kleshengeren = the hanger

That is very normal in Norwegian.

It is a compound noun.

It is made from:

• klær / kles- = clothes
• henger = hanger / something that hangs

So kleshenger literally means something like clothes-hanger.

Compound nouns are extremely common in Norwegian, and they are usually written as one word.

The word order follows the normal Norwegian pattern:

• Jeg = subject
• henger = verb
• skjorten = object
• på kleshengeren = prepositional phrase

So the structure is:

Subject + verb + object + place/direction phrase

This is the most neutral word order in a main clause.

På often means on, but in Norwegian it is also commonly used in situations where English might say on, onto, or sometimes even something more idiomatic.

With clothing being put on a hanger, på is the natural preposition:

• på kleshengeren = on the hanger

This is just the standard Norwegian way to express that the shirt is being placed so that it hangs from the hanger.

Yes, in this sentence it is being used transitively, because it has a direct object:

• skjorten = the thing being hung

So:

• Jeg henger skjorten = I hang the shirt

But henge can also be intransitive in other contexts:

• Bildet henger på veggen = The picture hangs/is hanging on the wall

So the verb can be used both with and without a direct object, depending on the meaning.

Because in Norwegian, definiteness is usually built into the noun itself.

Instead of saying:

• the shirt
• the hanger

Norwegian often says:

• skjorten
• kleshengeren

That final -en is the usual definite ending for many masculine nouns and some common-gender nouns.

So English uses a separate article, while Norwegian often uses a suffix.

Both are commonly treated as common gender nouns, which means they normally take en in the indefinite singular:

• en skjorte
• en kleshenger

That is why their definite forms end in -en:

• skjorten
• kleshengeren

In Bokmål, many nouns are either common gender or neuter, and the dictionary form will tell you which one it is.

A learner often finds skj tricky.

In skjorten, the beginning skj- is pronounced roughly like the sh sound in English shirt, though the exact Norwegian sound can vary by dialect.

A rough learner-friendly approximation is:

• skjorten ≈ SHOR-ten

But it is better to listen to native audio, because Norwegian vowel quality and the r can differ quite a bit from English.

Yes, that is possible, and in many contexts it sounds very natural.

Henge opp often emphasizes the action of putting something up or hanging it up.

So:

• Jeg henger skjorten på kleshengeren = I hang / am hanging the shirt on the hanger
• Jeg henger opp skjorten på kleshengeren = I hang up / am hanging up the shirt on the hanger

The version without opp is still correct. The version with opp can sound a little more action-focused.