Praktisch · Kapitel 13
Norwegian Phrasebook
Almost all Norwegians speak excellent English — often better than many native speakers. Nevertheless, they appreciate it when you try a few words of Norwegian. The good news: Norwegian and German are Germanic sister languages — many things are surprisingly similar.
Basics & Pronunciation
Norwegian (Norsk) has two official written languages: Bokmål (the more common, similar to Danish) and Nynorsk (closer to Old Norse, prevalent in Western Norway). For travelers, Bokmål is completely sufficient.
Special Letters
- Æ/æ: Like “ä" in German
- Ø/ø: Like “ö" in German
- Å/å: Like an open “o" (similar to the “o" in “vor")
Pronunciation Tips
- kj: Like the “ch" in “ich" (e.g., kjøtt = meat)
- skj/sk: Like “sch" (e.g., ski = pronounced “schi")
- j: Like “j" in “ja" (e.g., fjord = pronounced “fjuhr")
- d: Often silent at the end of a word (e.g., god = pronounced “guh")
Important Words & Phrases
Greetings & Politeness
| German | Norwegian | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | Hei | Hai |
| Good morning | God morgen | Guh morgen |
| Good day | God dag | Guh dahg |
| Good evening | God kveld | Guh kvell |
| Goodbye | Ha det (bra) | Ha de (bra) |
| Thank you | Takk | Takk |
| Thank you very much | Tusen takk | Tüsen takk |
| You're welcome | Vær så god | Wär soh guh |
| Yes | Ja | Ja |
| No | Nei | Nai |
| Excuse me | Unnskyld | Unschüll |
| I don't understand | Jeg forstår ikke | Jai forschtohr ikkeh |
| Do you speak English? | Snakker du engelsk? | Snakker dü engelsck? |
| What's your name? | Hva heter du? | Wa heter dü? |
| My name is... | Jeg heter... | Jai heter... |
| Cheers! | Skål! | Skoal! |
On the Go
| German | Norwegian | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Where is...? | Hvor er...? | Wuhr är...? |
| How much does it cost? | Hva koster det? | Wa koster de? |
| The bill, please | Regningen, takk | Rainingen, takk |
| Help! | Hjelp! | Jelp! |
| Water | Vann | Wann |
| Food | Mat | Maht |
| Beer | Øl | Öl |
| Coffee | Kaffe | Kaffeh |
| Beautiful | Vakker | Wakker |
| Big | Stor | Stuhr |
| Small | Liten | Lieten |
| Mountain | Fjell | Fjell |
| Sea | Hav | Hahw |
| Island | Øy | Öy |
| Street | Vei / Gate | Wai / Gahteh |
| Left | Venstre | Wenstreh |
| Right | Høyre | Höyreh |
Useful Travel Phrases
| German | Norwegian |
|---|---|
| I would like... | Jeg vil gjerne... |
| Is there... nearby? | Er det... i nærheten? |
| Where is the nearest gas station? | Hvor er nærmeste bensinstasjon? |
| Where can one go hiking here? | Hvor kan man gå på tur her? |
| The weather is nice today! | Det er fint vær i dag! |
| It's raining | Det regner |
| When does the ferry leave? | Når går fergen? |
Tipp
Ordering or greeting in Norwegian almost always brings a smile — even if Norwegians immediately switch to perfect English. The words “takk" (thank you), “hei" (hello), and “skål" (cheers) are the three most important vocabulary words for a successful trip to Norway.
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