"Skilpadder lever oppe på bakken og nede i vann."

Translation: Turtles live up on the ground and down in the water.

[larlyssa]

I wrote "Turtles live up on the hillside and down in the water". As bakken also translates to "the hillside", wouldn't this also be correct?

[LINHARS]

The word 'på bakken' can mean 'on the ground' and 'hillside'. In this sentence it means 'on the ground'.

[turidbrox]

"On the hillside" would be "Oppe i bakken" or "I bakken", I think.

[PotatoSanta]

Can you say 'bor' oppe pa bakken'?

[HumanComponents]

The correct translation says it should be "the water." But wouldn't that be "vannet", not "vann"?

[Deliciae]

Yes, but we often use just vann when talking about something living in/under/over the water: 'i vann/under vann/over vann'. I assume this is because we're actually talking about water in a general sense, and so there is no need for the definite. You can think of it as saying 'underwater' instead of 'under the water'.

You can still use the definite forms as well; both in general, and in this sentence. :)

[morgainelafee]

I translated it as 'underwater' and it was marked incorrect. They mean the same thing in English, is that not the case in Norwegian?

[Deliciae]

It is one of the accepted translations, so either there was a glitch in the system or you may have had a typo in your answer.

[morgainelafee]

Thank you, Deliciae. Much appreciated!

[AlsEenPoffertje]

I'm wondering this as well.

[LINHARS]

I think this sentence would be better in Norwegian: Skilpadder lever oppe på bakken og nede i vannet. This would be the same as the English translation.