Keramikkursen börjar idag.

In Swedish, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word in front of it.

• kurs = course
• kursen = the course

So Keramikkursen means the pottery course.

Yes. Swedish very often combines nouns into one word.

Here:

• keramik = ceramics / pottery
• kursen = the course

So Keramikkursen is literally the ceramics-course, or more naturally in English, the pottery course.

This is very common in Swedish, and compounds are normally written as a single word.

In normal Swedish spelling, it would usually be written keramikkursen with a lowercase letter, unless it is at the beginning of a sentence.

So in a standalone example sentence, you often see:

• Keramikkursen börjar idag.

because it starts the sentence.

If the word appeared in the middle of a sentence, it would normally be lowercase:

• Jag tror att keramikkursen börjar idag.

börjar is the present tense of börja, which means to begin or to start.

• börja = infinitive, to start
• börjar = present tense, starts / is starting

So Keramikkursen börjar idag means The pottery course starts today.

Because Swedish present tense often works more simply than English.

In English, we might say:

• The pottery course starts today
• The pottery course is starting today

In Swedish, börjar can cover that basic present meaning by itself. You do not need an extra helping verb like is here.

So:

• börjar = starts / is starting, depending on context

idag means today.

It is normally written as one word in modern Swedish:

• idag = today

You may sometimes also encounter i dag, especially in some styles of writing, but idag is very common and standard.

This is the normal Swedish word order for a basic statement:

• subject
  • verb
    • time expression

So:

• Keramikkursen = subject
• börjar = verb
• idag = time expression

That gives:

• Keramikkursen börjar idag.

This is very similar to normal English word order:

• The pottery course starts today.

Yes. That is also correct.

Swedish often moves a time expression to the front for emphasis:

• Idag börjar keramikkursen. = Today, the pottery course starts.

When something other than the subject comes first, Swedish usually keeps the verb in second position. So after Idag, the verb börjar comes next.

This is an important Swedish word order rule.

A rough guide for English speakers is something like BUR-yar, but that is only approximate.

A few points:

• ö is a vowel that does not exist in English in exactly the same way
• j in Swedish sounds like English y
• so börjar sounds roughly like BUR-yar, with a Swedish-style ö

The rj combination can sound smoother and more blended than an English speaker may expect.

Because that is simply the Swedish spelling. Swedish often has forms that resemble English words but are spelled according to Swedish conventions.

For example:

• English: ceramics
• Swedish: keramik

Swedish uses k where English may use c in similar words.

Yes. In many contexts, börjar can be translated as either begins or starts.

So this sentence could be understood as:

• The pottery course begins today
• The pottery course starts today

In everyday English, starts often sounds a bit more natural, but both are fine.

No. The the is already built into kursen.

Compare:

• en kurs = a course
• kursen = the course

So Keramikkursen already means the pottery course. You should not add another separate article in front.