Politeness and short phrases

Grammar Review

Sentence structure

While most Norwegian sentences use the subject-verb-object (SVO) word order, like English, Norwegian does have the V2 (verb second) rule. If an adverbial phrase or subordinate clause is at the front of the sentence, the subject and the verb have to switch places (this is called “inversion”) so that the verb stays in the second position.

	Eksempel	English
SVO	Nora bakte ei kake forrige uke.	Nora baked a cake last week.
Liam leste Shakespeare da han gikk på skolen.	Liam read Shakespeare when he was in school.
V2	Forrige uke bakte Nora ei kake.	Last week, Nora baked a cake.
Da Liam gikk på skolen, leste han Shakespeare.	When Liam was in school, he read Shakespeare.

Eksempel

English

SVO

Nora bakte ei kake forrige uke.

Nora baked a cake last week.

Liam leste Shakespeare da han gikk på skolen.

Liam read Shakespeare when he was in school.

Forrige uke bakte Nora ei kake.

Last week, Nora baked a cake.

Da Liam gikk på skolen, leste han Shakespeare.

When Liam was in school, he read Shakespeare.

Verb Conjugation

Conjugating present tense of verbs in Norwegian is fairly simple. Most present tense verbs just add an -r to the end of the infinitive.

Infinitive

Present

English

Infinitive

Present

English

Å lese

Leser

Reads

Å skrive

Skriver

Writes

Å spise

Spiser

Eats

Å møte

Møter

Meets

There are some exceptions / irregulars:

Infinitive

Present

English

Infinitive

Present

English

Å kunne

Kan

To be able to

Å måtte

Må

To have to

Å skulle

Skal

To have to; to be going to

Å ville

Vil

To want

Å være

To be

Å vite

Vet

To know

Past tense conjugation is a bit more difficult, however there are some guidelines (but keep in mind there are exceptions).

If the verb ends with a double consonant, consonant cluster, or voiced plosive (b / d), past tense will end in -et. (or in -a, really, even in BM)
If the verb ends in a single consonant (except v / b / d), past tense ends in -te.
If the verb ends with v or diphthong, the past tense ends in -de.
If the verb has only one syllable with a long vowel, past tense ends in -dde.

Rule Number

Infinitive

Past Tense

English

Å snakke

Snakket

Talked

Å ønske

Ønsket

Wished

Å lære

Lærte

Learned

Å kjøpe

Kjøpte

Bought

Å leve

Levde

Lived

Å pleie

Pleide

Used

Å bo

Bodde

Lived

For future tense, typically the present tense verb is used with a time adverbial to clarify it is a future action.

Eksempel	English
Sara reiser til Oslo neste uke.	Sara is travelling to Oslo next week.
Vi spiser middag senere.	We’re eating dinner later.

Eksempel

English

Sara reiser til Oslo neste uke.

Sara is travelling to Oslo next week.

Vi spiser middag senere.

We’re eating dinner later.

Adjective Basics

Adjectives typically have to agree with the gender and the number of the noun.

	Singular Indefinite	Plural Indefinite
	Norwegian	English	Norwegian	English
Masculine	En stor hund	A big dog	Store hunder	Big dogs
En morsom katt	A funny cat	Morsomme katter	Funny cats
Feminine	Ei stor bok	A big book	Store bøker	Big books
Ei morsom avis	A funny newspaper	Morsomme aviser	Funny newspapers
Neuter	Et stort vindu	A big window	Store vinduer	Big windows
Et morsomt barn	A funny child	Morsomme barn	Funny children

Singular Indefinite

Plural Indefinite

Norwegian

English

Norwegian

English

Masculine

En stor hund

A big dog

Store hunder

Big dogs

En morsom katt

A funny cat

Morsomme katter

Funny cats

Feminine

Ei stor bok

A big book

Store bøker

Big books

Ei morsom avis

A funny newspaper

Morsomme aviser

Funny newspapers

Neuter

Et stort vindu

A big window

Store vinduer

Big windows

Et morsomt barn

A funny child

Morsomme barn

Funny children

When the noun is in the definite form, the adjective takes an -e ending (like in the plural indefinite above).

	Singular Definite	Plural Definite
	Norwegian	English	Norwegian	English
Masculine	Den store hunden	The big dog	De store hundene	The big dogs
Denne morsomme katten	This funny cat	Disse morsomme kattene	These funny cats
Feminine	Den store boka	The big book	De store bøkene	The big books
Denne morsomme avisa	This funny newspaper	Disse morsomme avisene	These funny newspapers
Neuter	Det store vinduet	The big window	De store vinduene	The big windows
Dette morsomme barnet	This funny child	Disse morsomme barna	These funny children

Singular Definite

Plural Definite

Norwegian

English

Norwegian

English

Masculine

Den store hunden

The big dog

De store hundene

The big dogs

Denne morsomme katten

This funny cat

Disse morsomme kattene

These funny cats

Feminine

Den store boka

The big book

De store bøkene

The big books

Denne morsomme avisa

This funny newspaper

Disse morsomme avisene

These funny newspapers

Neuter

Det store vinduet

The big window

De store vinduene

The big windows

Dette morsomme barnet

This funny child

Disse morsomme barna

These funny children

Engaging in a Conversation

Salutations

Acknowledging someone upon seeing them or upon departing is an important part of having a conversation. Here’s some common salutations in Norwegian.

Norwegian	English	Norwegian	English
Hei sann.	Hi.	Hallo der.	Hi, there. (Not commonly used anymore)
Hei, du…øøø…	Hi, you…erm….	God morgen. God dag.* God kveld.* *(Not used often)	Good morning. Good day. _Good evening. _
Hei på deg.	Hello to you.	Morn.	Morning.
Hva skjer? Skjer ’a? Skjer?	What’s up?	Takk for sist.	Thank you for the last time (we saw each other). Technically, a greeting when seeing someone again
(Vi) Ses senere.	See you later.	(Vi) Snakkes (senere).	Talk to you later.
Ha det (bra / fint / godt).	Have it (good / fine).	Adjø Farvel	Goodbye (For a long time; usually used by older people).
På gjensyn.	Until we meet again. (Usually used by older people).	Morna	Bye (slang).
Det var hyggelig å se deg.	It was nice to see you.	Det var hyggelig å treffe deg.	It was nice meeting you.
Ha en god dag / kveld.	Have a good day / evening.	God ferie / tur / helg!	Have a good holiday / trip / weekend!

Norwegian

English

Norwegian

English

Hei sann.

Hi.

Hallo der.

Hi, there.
(Not commonly used anymore)

Hei, du…øøø…

Hi, you…erm….

God morgen.
God dag.*
God kveld.*

*(Not used often)

Good morning.

Good day.

_Good evening.
_

Hei på deg.

Hello to you.

Morn.

Morning.

Hva skjer?
Skjer ’a?
Skjer?

What’s up?

Takk for sist.

Thank you for the last time (we saw each other).

*Technically, a greeting when seeing someone again*

(Vi) Ses senere.

See you later.

(Vi) Snakkes (senere).

Talk to you later.

Ha det (bra / fint / godt).

Have it (good / fine).

Adjø
Farvel

Goodbye

(For a long time; usually used by older people).

På gjensyn.

Until we meet again.

(Usually used by older people).

Morna

Bye (slang).

Det var hyggelig å se deg.

It was nice to see you.

Det var hyggelig å treffe deg.

It was nice meeting you.

Ha en god dag / kveld.

Have a good day / evening.

God ferie / tur / helg!

Have a good holiday / trip / weekend!

Short Phrases

Here are some basic short phrases that can help start a conversation after greeting someone.

Norwegian	English	Norwegian	English
Har du et øyeblikk?	Do you have a moment?	Har du tid et lite øyeblikk?	Do you have time for a short moment?
Forstyrrer jeg?	Am I disturbing / interrupting you?	Kan jeg få forstyrre deg litt?	May I interrupt you for a little bit?
Passer det nå?	Is this a good time?	Kan jeg komme inn?	May I come in?
Jeg leter etter… (i.e. Peter)	I’m looking for… (i.e. Peter)	Er du opptatt?	Are you busy?
Jeg skulle gjerne ha spurt deg om noe…	I would like to ask you something….	Hvordan står det til? Står til? Hvordan går det? Hvordan har du det?	How is it going? (How are you?)
Alt bra med deg?	Everything good with you?	Har du hørt (fra)…?	Have you heard (from)…?
Har du sett…?	Have you seen…?	Har du snakket med…?	Have you spoken to…?
Har du spurt (om)…?	Have you asked (about)…?	Har du noen planer for i dag?	Do you have any plans for today?

Norwegian

English

Norwegian

English

Har du et øyeblikk?

Do you have a moment?

Har du tid et lite øyeblikk?

Do you have time for a short moment?

Forstyrrer jeg?

Am I disturbing / interrupting you?

Kan jeg få forstyrre deg litt?

May I interrupt you for a little bit?

Passer det nå?

Is this a good time?

Kan jeg komme inn?

May I come in?

Jeg leter etter… (i.e. Peter)

I’m looking for… (i.e. Peter)

Er du opptatt?

Are you busy?

Jeg skulle gjerne ha spurt deg om noe…

I would like to ask you something….

Hvordan står det til?

Står til?

Hvordan går det?
Hvordan har du det?

How is it going?

(How are you?)

Alt bra med deg?

Everything good with you?

Har du hørt (fra)…?

Have you heard (from)…?

Har du sett…?

Have you seen…?

Har du snakket med…?

Have you spoken to…?

Har du spurt (om)…?

Have you asked (about)…?

Har du noen planer for i dag?

Do you have any plans for today?

Høflighet (Politeness / Courteousness)

Norwegian does not have a direct translation for “please.” Instead, they will say “vær så snill” which literally translates into “be so kind.” Let’s look at some other polite words/phrases used in Norwegian:

Norwegian	English	Norwegian	English
Takk	Thank you	Takk for maten.	Thank you for the food.
Takker.	Thanks.	Det var snilt av deg.	That was kind of you.
Tusen takk.	Thanks a lot. (Thousand thanks)	Takk skal du ha.	Thank you (Literally “Thank you, shall you have”)
Tusen hjertelig takk, (du er en engel).	Thank you a lot, from the heart, (you are an angel).	Takk for i dag.	Thanks for today.
Takk som byr.	Thank you for offering.	Takk, i like måte. (actually pronounced “lige måde”) Takk, like (␣) ens	Thank you, likewise. (When someone wishes you well).
Ja, takk. Nei, takk.	Yes, thanks. (Yes, please). No, thanks.	Vær så god.	You’re welcome.
Det var da så lite.	You’re welcome / It’s nothing.	Unnskyld.	Sorry.
Beklager.	I’m sorry. (A bit more formal / serious).	Unnskyld meg.	Excuse me.
Unnskyld, kan du vise meg veien til…	Excuse me, can you show me the way to…	Dessverre	Unfortunately
Kan du hjelpe meg?	Can you help me?	Hjelp meg, er du snill.	Help me, please.
Kan jeg hjelpe deg?	Can I help you?

Norwegian

English

Norwegian

English

Takk

Thank you

Takk for maten.

Thank you for the food.

Takker.

Thanks.

Det var snilt av deg.

That was kind of you.

Tusen takk.

Thanks a lot.

(Thousand thanks)

Takk skal du ha.

Thank you

(Literally “Thank you, shall you have”)

Tusen hjertelig takk, (du er en engel).

Thank you a lot, from the heart, (you are an angel).

Takk for i dag.

Thanks for today.

Takk som byr.

Thank you for offering.

Takk, i like måte.
(actually pronounced “lige måde”)

Takk, like (␣) ens

Thank you, likewise.

(When someone wishes you well).

Ja, takk.
Nei, takk.

Yes, thanks. (Yes, please).
No, thanks.

Vær så god.

You’re welcome.

Det var da så lite.

You’re welcome /

It’s nothing.

Unnskyld.

Sorry.

Beklager.

I’m sorry.

(A bit more formal / serious).

Unnskyld meg.

Excuse me.

Unnskyld, kan du vise meg veien til…

Excuse me, can you show me the way to…

Dessverre

Unfortunately

Kan du hjelpe meg?

Can you help me?

Hjelp meg, er du snill.

Help me, please.

Kan jeg hjelpe deg?

Can I help you?

Other useful phrases

Norwegian	English	Norwegian	English
Hyggelig å møte deg.	Nice to meet you.	Vel bekomme.	You’re welcome (When thanked for food) / Bon appétit
Kan du snakke saktere?	Can you speak slower?	Kan du prate langsommere?	Can you speak more slowly?
Jeg forstår iikke.	I don’t understand.	Jeg vet ikke.	I don’t know.
Hva koster dette?	How much is this?	Bli med meg!	Come with me!
Jeg savnet deg!	I missed you!	Lykke til!	Good luck!
Ro deg ned.	Calm down.	Slappe av.	Relax
Skål!	Cheers!	Prosit.	Bless you. (When someone sneezes).
God bedring.	Get well soon.	Kondolerer.	My condolences.

Norwegian

English

Norwegian

English

Hyggelig å møte deg.

Nice to meet you.

Vel bekomme.

You’re welcome

(When thanked for food) / Bon appétit

Kan du snakke saktere?

Can you speak slower?

Kan du prate langsommere?