Ansiktet er vått.

Ansiktet is the definite form of ansikt, so it means the face.

• et ansikt = a face
• ansiktet = the face

Norwegian often adds the definite ending directly to the noun instead of using a separate word like the in English.

Because ansikt is a neuter noun in Norwegian.

Norwegian nouns have grammatical gender, and one common article for neuter nouns is et:

• et ansikt = a face

By contrast, many other nouns use en:

• en bil = a car

So the gender of the noun determines which article and which adjective ending you use.

The -tt ending shows agreement with a neuter singular noun.

Since ansikt is neuter, the adjective also changes form:

• en våt jakke = a wet jacket
• et vått ansikt = a wet face

In the sentence Ansiktet er vått, the adjective still agrees with ansiktet, so it stays vått.

The basic form is våt.

Common forms are:

• våt for many singular non-neuter contexts
• vått for neuter singular
• våte in plural and often in definite noun phrases

Examples:

• en våt sokk = a wet sock
• et vått ansikt = a wet face
• våte sko = wet shoes
• det våte ansiktet = the wet face

Because Norwegian usually expresses definiteness by adding an ending to the noun.

So:

• ansikt = face
• ansiktet = the face

That -et ending already contains the idea of the, so you do not need a separate article in this sentence.

This is the normal Norwegian sentence pattern:

subject + verb + complement

So:

• Ansiktet = subject
• er = verb
• vått = adjective/complement

This works just like English The face is wet.

Er is the present tense of å være, which means to be.

So:

• jeg er = I am
• du er = you are
• ansiktet er = the face is

Norwegian does not change the present-tense form of er depending on the subject, so it stays er with I, you, he, she, it, we, and they.

Yes, grammatically you could, and it would mean A face is wet. But it sounds less natural unless you are speaking about a face in a more general or newly introduced way.

Usually, in an ordinary situation, Ansiktet er vått sounds more natural if you mean a specific face.

A rough guide for English speakers is:

AHN-sik-teh

A few helpful points:

• a is more like ah
• si is roughly like see but shorter
• the final -et in many dialects sounds like -e or -eh

Pronunciation varies by dialect, but this rough version will usually be understood.

A rough guide is:

vott or voht

Helpful points:

• å sounds roughly like the vowel in British thought for many speakers
• the final tt is a clear t sound, though in natural speech it may be short and crisp

So vått is quite different from våt, even though they are related forms.

Because this sentence is using the adjective predicatively, meaning it describes the subject through the verb to be.

Compare:

• et vått ansikt = a wet face

  • adjective directly before the noun

• Ansiktet er vått = The face is wet

  • adjective comes after er

Both are correct; they are just different sentence structures.

Yes, in standard Norwegian that would be incorrect here.

Because ansiktet is neuter, the adjective should be vått, not våt.

So the correct sentence is:

Ansiktet er vått.

This kind of agreement is an important feature of Norwegian adjectives.