Katten er tam.

Katt means a cat in the indefinite form.

Katten means the cat in the definite form. In Norwegian, definiteness is often shown by adding an ending to the noun rather than using a separate word like the.

So:

• en katt = a cat
• katten = the cat

In this sentence, Katten er tam, the speaker is talking about a specific cat: The cat is tame.

Er means is / am / are.

It is the present tense of the verb å være (to be).

Examples:

• Jeg er = I am
• Du er = you are
• Katten er = the cat is

Unlike English, Norwegian uses the same present-tense form er with all subjects.

Tam usually means tame, domesticated, or sometimes not wild.

In Katten er tam, it means the cat is tame in behavior or used to humans.

A useful contrast is:

• tam = tame, domesticated
• vill = wild

So this sentence describes the cat’s nature or behavior.

Here tam is a predicate adjective, meaning it comes after the verb er and describes the subject.

In Norwegian, adjectives used this way often stay in their basic form when the subject is singular and common gender.

So:

• Katten er tam = The cat is tame

Compare this with other situations where adjectives may change:

• et tamt dyr = a tame animal
• tamme dyr = tame animals

So the form depends on how the adjective is used.

Norwegian often puts the definite article at the end of the noun.

That is why English the cat becomes katten:

• katt = cat
• -en = the

So katten literally works like cat-the, although of course you should think of it simply as the cat.

Katt is usually a masculine noun in Bokmål:

• en katt
• katten

However, in many contexts Norwegian also allows feminine nouns to be treated like masculine nouns, depending on dialect and style. For katt, learners will most commonly see en katt and katten.

So for practical purposes, it is best to learn:

• en katt
• katten

Yes, in this simple sentence the word order is very similar to English:

• Katten = subject
• er = verb
• tam = adjective/complement

So the structure is:

Subject + verb + description

That makes Katten er tam directly parallel to The cat is tame.

A rough guide is:

• katten ≈ KAHT-ten

A few notes:

• The a is shorter than in English father
• The tt is pronounced clearly
• The final -en is usually a light ending, not strongly stressed

The stress is on the first syllable: KAT-ten.

A rough guide is:

• tam ≈ tahm

The vowel is a broad a sound, and the word is short and simple.

So the whole sentence sounds roughly like:

KAT-ten er tahm

Yes, but it means something different.

• Katten er tam = The cat is tame
  (a specific cat)

• En katt er tam = A cat is tame
  (one cat / a cat in a more general or indefinite sense)

So both are grammatical, but katten refers to a known or specific cat, while en katt introduces an indefinite one.

Yes, sometimes, but the meaning changes a bit depending on context.

For animals, tam usually means tame or domesticated.

For people, it can mean something more like:

• overly quiet
• submissive
• lacking spirit

So with animals it is very neutral and common, but with people it may sound more judgmental.

In Katten er tam, the meaning is the straightforward animal-related one: The cat is tame.