Poten klør.

Poten is the definite singular form of pote.

• pote = a paw
• poten = the paw

So Poten klør literally means The paw itches.

In Bokmål, many nouns take -en in the definite singular. You may also come across pota in some varieties, but poten is a normal Bokmål form.

Here, klør is the present tense of the verb å klø, which means to itch.

So:

• å klø = to itch
• klør = itches / is itching

In this sentence, Poten klør means the paw is itchy or is itching.

Norwegian usually does not need a separate verb like is in this kind of sentence.

English often says:

• The paw itches
• The paw is itching

Norwegian can express both with just:

• Poten klør

So the simple present klør can cover both a general present meaning and an ongoing present meaning, depending on context.

Yes — and this is a very common point of confusion.

Klør can be:

1. the verb itches
2. the plural noun claws (from en klo = a claw)

In Poten klør, it is clearly the verb, because:

• poten is the subject
• klør tells you what the subject is doing

So here it means itches, not claws.

By itself, poten just means the paw. The owner is not stated in the sentence.

In context, Norwegian often uses the definite form for body parts when the owner is already understood. So depending on the situation, poten might effectively mean:

• the paw
• his paw
• her paw
• its paw

If you want to make it explicit, you can say things like:

• Hunden har vondt i poten. = The dog has pain in its paw.
• Poten hans klør. = His paw itches.

The tricky part is the vowel ø.

A rough guide:

• kl- sounds like the beginning of clean
• ø is a rounded vowel that English does not really have
• r depends on dialect, but that is less important for beginners

A useful approximation is to start with the vowel of English bird or burn, but round your lips.

So klør is roughly like klur/klir said with rounded lips — not perfect, but a good start.

Yes. This is the standard order for a simple statement:

• subject + verb
• Poten
  • klør

This is exactly what you would expect in a basic declarative sentence.

If you turn it into a yes/no question, the order changes:

• Klør poten? = Does the paw itch?

You add ikke after the verb:

• Poten klør ikke. = The paw does not itch.

That is the normal basic negation pattern in Norwegian for a simple main clause:

• subject + verb + ikke

So:

• Poten klør. = The paw itches.
• Poten klør ikke. = The paw does not itch.