Klon på tassen gör ont.

Klon is the definite singular form of klo, meaning the claw.

• en klo = a claw
• klon = the claw

Swedish often uses the definite form where English might say the. In this sentence, it refers to a specific claw, so klon is natural.

For the same reason: tassen is the definite singular form of tass, meaning the paw.

• en tass = a paw
• tassen = the paw

So på tassen means on the paw. The sentence is talking about a specific paw, not just any paw.

Swedish commonly uses på with body parts in cases like this, especially when talking about something located on the surface or attached to it.

Here, the claw is thought of as being on the paw, so på tassen sounds natural.

A learner should not always translate prepositions directly from English. Even if English and Swedish sometimes match, the safest approach is to learn expressions like:

• på handen = on the hand
• på foten = on the foot
• på tassen = on the paw

Gör ont is a very common Swedish expression meaning hurts or causes pain.

Literally, it is something like:

• gör = does / makes
• ont = painfully / pain / sore in this expression

So gör ont is best learned as a fixed phrase:

• Det gör ont. = It hurts.
• Min arm gör ont. = My arm hurts.
• Klon på tassen gör ont. = The claw on the paw hurts.

You usually should not translate it word for word. Just remember göra ont = to hurt / to cause pain.

Because Swedish does not need a dummy subject here. The real subject is already present: Klon på tassen.

In English, we can say:

• The claw on the paw hurts.

That also has no it as a dummy subject, because the claw on the paw is the subject.

Compare that with:

• Det gör ont. = It hurts.

In Det gör ont, det is needed because there is no specific noun subject. But in Klon på tassen gör ont, the subject is already there.

The basic word order is:

Klon på tassen + gör ont

So:

• Klon på tassen = the subject noun phrase
• gör ont = the predicate

A rough breakdown is:

• Klon = the claw
• på tassen = on the paw
• gör ont = hurts

This is normal Swedish main-clause word order: subject + verb + rest.

Tass usually means paw, so it is mainly used for animals.

For humans, you would normally use:

• hand = hand
• fot = foot

Sometimes tass can be used jokingly or affectionately about a person’s hand, but the normal meaning is definitely an animal’s paw.

So this sentence strongly suggests an animal.

This is a very useful vocabulary question.

• klo = claw
• nagel = nail

Use klo for animals with claws. Use nagel for fingernails and toenails, and sometimes for animals if you mean a nail rather than a claw.

So in this sentence, klon makes sense because tassen suggests an animal, and animals often have klor.

A rough guide for an English speaker:

• gör sounds somewhat like yeur or g-ur, with the Swedish ö sound, which has no perfect English equivalent.
• ont sounds roughly like ohnt, with a long o.

A few pronunciation notes:

• The g in gör is a normal hard g sound.
• The ö is the tricky part. It is similar to the vowel in some pronunciations of French peur or German hören.
• ont has a clear t at the end.

If you are learning pronunciation, it is worth listening to native audio for gör ont, because it is such a common phrase.

Yes, if the context already makes it clear which claw you mean.

• Klon gör ont. = The claw hurts.
• Klon på tassen gör ont. = The claw on the paw hurts.

The longer version gives more detail and makes the location clearer. Swedish often adds this kind of prepositional phrase when needed for precision.

Yes, it is understandable and natural, especially in a context like talking about an injured animal.

That said, in real everyday speech, Swedes might also say things such as:

• Den där klon gör ont. = That claw hurts.
• Hunden har ont i klon. = The dog has pain in its claw.
• Katten verkar ha ont i tassen. = The cat seems to have pain in its paw.

So Klon på tassen gör ont is perfectly fine, but the exact wording can vary depending on what you want to focus on.