Blomsten kan dø uten vann.

Because blomsten is the definite singular form: the flower.

In Norwegian, definiteness is often added as an ending on the noun:

• en blomst = a flower
• blomsten = the flower

So the -en ending is doing the job that the does in English.

Norwegian usually puts definiteness on the noun itself instead of using a separate article before it.

So instead of saying something like the flower, Norwegian commonly says:

• blomsten

This is one of the biggest differences from English. The definite ending is very normal and basic in Norwegian.

Kan is the present tense of å kunne, and here it means can in the sense of is able to or is possible.

In this sentence, kan is best understood as expressing possibility:

• Blomsten kan dø uten vann. = The flower can die without water.

So it is not necessarily saying that the flower will die right now, but that dying is a possible result if there is no water.

Because after a modal verb like kan, Norwegian normally uses the infinitive without å.

So:

• å dø = to die
• kan dø = can die

This works much like English:

• to die
• can die

Other common modal verbs work the same way, for example:

• vil dø = will die
• må dø = must die
• skal dø = shall/will die

Uten means without.

It is a preposition, so it introduces something that is absent:

• uten vann = without water
• uten mat = without food
• uten hjelp = without help

So in this sentence, uten vann tells you what the flower lacks.

Because vann here is being used as an uncountable noun, like water in English.

You would not normally say without a water in English, and Norwegian works similarly here:

• uten vann = without water

If you were talking about a specific kind or amount of water, the wording might change, but in a basic sentence like this, uten vann is exactly what you want.

The word order is very normal for a main clause:

• Blomsten = subject
• kan = finite verb
• dø = infinitive
• uten vann = prepositional phrase

So the pattern is basically:

Subject + finite verb + infinitive + extra information

That makes this a very straightforward sentence for learners.

Yes. That would also be correct, but the meaning changes slightly.

• Blomsten kan dø uten vann = The flower can die without water
• En blomst kan dø uten vann = A flower can die without water

The first points to a specific flower or a flower already known in the context.
The second is more general.

It can mean both, depending on context.

For example:

• Jeg kan svømme. = I can swim.
  Here it means ability.

• Blomsten kan dø uten vann. = The flower can die without water.
  Here it means possibility.

So in your sentence, kan does not mean that the flower has the skill to die. It means that dying is something that may happen.

The tricky part is ø, which does not exist in normal English spelling.

A rough guide:

• d is like English d
• ø is a rounded vowel made with the lips somewhat rounded

A very rough English approximation is somewhere between the vowel in bird and a rounded version of uh, but there is no perfect English match.

So dø is a short one-syllable word.

If you are learning pronunciation, ø is worth practicing separately because it appears in many common Norwegian words.

You would usually move the finite verb to the front:

• Kan blomsten dø uten vann? = Can the flower die without water?

This is a common pattern in Norwegian yes/no questions:

• statement: Blomsten kan dø uten vann.
• question: Kan blomsten dø uten vann?

So the main change is the position of kan.

Yes. Dø can be used for living things in general, including plants.

So it is completely natural to say that a flower dør or kan dø.

In English, learners sometimes wonder whether die sounds odd for a plant, but both English and Norwegian commonly use this kind of wording.