"Barnet har et eple."

Translation: The child has an apple.

[JDLENL]

Barnet sounds likes barna with this TTS.

[comeoutcomeout]

They do sound very similar in real speech too, but you will slowly learn to differentiate better as you listen to more and more Norwegian :) Imagine even in an English accent, the sound difference between "barnuh" and "barnah" is very subtle.

[Giorgio182480]

20'000 Norwegian points later, and I still think this particular recording sounds rather like barna than barnet...

[CommissarFeesh]

Is there any advice you can give between differentiating between the two by ear? Or are there any additional resources that might make the distinction easier (beyond simply chatting more with my Norwegian friends)?

[SansEspoir83]

I'm a native speaker and I agree. The voice is rather unclear.
I played her voice 3 times to make sure I didn't mishear her based on previous lessons, and I still failed.

[BoroZol]

Yes. Exactly.

[SylvainCas3]

Tired of apples!

[Deliciae]

You know what they say; an apple a lesson keeps the doctor away.

[alivingtree15]

An apple a day keeps the owl away

[Alpnord]

I am confused. Barn = child/children, Barnet means the child/children. So what does barna mean? And why do we need that word?

[comeoutcomeout]

Et barn, a child

Barnet, the child

Barn, [some] children

Barna, the children

Note that the definite plural barna is irregular in its construction, as you would commonly expect it to be "barnene" but it's not.