Norwegian phrasebook

Norwegian (norsk) is the language spoken in Norway. It's closely related to Danish and Swedish, and most speakers of the three languages can understand each other without much difficulty. Norwegian is historically closely related to Icelandic and Faroese, but is no longer mutually intelligible with them as it has diverged too much during the last millennium. Norwegian is also related to Dutch and German, and Old Norse had quite a lot of influence on English.

Understand

Written Norwegian is very close to Danish and phrasebooks for the two languages can largely be used interchangeably (noting some systematic differences in spelling). Almost all of Norway's five million citizens speak Norwegian, while most Norwegians also speak reasonably good English; and some know languages like French, German and Spanish from school or ones like Polish, Russian, Arabic, Persian, Urdu and Somali because of immigrant roots. The Sami language is the second official language of Norway and used by some municipal administrations primarily in Finnmark. Sami speakers also speak Norwegian. Except for some adopted words, the Sami language is completely unrelated to Norwegian. Sami is written with the Latin alphabet with some diacritics added.

Norwegian is written with the "standard Latin alphabet" (identical to the English alphabet) and three additional vowels ("Æ"/"æ", "Ø"/"ø" and "Å"/"å"; respectively added in that order to the end of the other 26 letters; the alphabet is identical to that of Danish). Some of these letters are used very rarely (notably "c", "w" and "x"), often because they may only be found in loanwords, or that they are disfavoured in comparison to more archaic or newer spellings. Like in English, diacritic marks are relatively rare (traits like the dot over the "i" and the circle above the "å" aren't considered diacritics, but as parts of distinct letters); the most common occurrence of them is the use of an acute accent with the final "e" in words of French origin where stress is to be put on that "e", such as in "idé" (idea), allé (avenue) and kafé (café).

Because Norwegian is a Germanic language, getting a grasp of some basics shouldn't be too hard if you already speak English, German and/or Dutch.

False friends

While the Danish and Norwegian vocabularies are almost identical, Swedish is easy to understand for Norwegians because of similar pronunciation. Norwegian and Swedish does however have many differences in vocabulary including "false friends". Swedes in Norway and Norwegians in Sweden often pick up local words to avoid confusion. For instance when a Swede says "rolig" that means "funny, amusing", whereas the Norwegian word "rolig" means "calm, quiet". In Sweden "semester" is vacation, whereas in Norway "semester" is spring or autumn part of school year (as in English). Danish "frokost" means lunch, but Norwegian "frokost" is "breakfast". When Swedes ask for "glass" they want ice cream, whereas "glass" in Norwegian means glass (as in windows) or drinkware.

There are a number of false friends in English and Norwegian. Many false friends in Norwegian will be recognisable to those who speak German, Low German, or Dutch, as they tend to have cognates with similar meanings in those languages.

Shopping and dining

For instance Norwegian "varehus" is a department store or shopping mall, whereas English "warehouse" translates to Norwegian "lager". The type of beer called "lager" in English is basically "pilsner" in Norwegian. Norwegian "koking" means "boiling", not cooking; English "cooking" instead translates as "lage mat" (prepare food). Norwegian "full" means drunk, whereas English "full" (after a good meal) translates as "mett". English "feast" is a grand meal, but Norwegian "fest" is a party (often with heavy drinking) or a formal celebration. Whipped cream is simply called "krem" in Norwegian, whereas the raw material (cream) is "fløte". The Norwegian word for pig, "gris", is pronounced as "grease" (fat or fatty lubricant). Norwegian "biff" is a steak, whereas Norwegian "steik/stek" is a roast. Grocery stores are called "dagligvareforretning" (literally "everyday products store") or simply "butikk" (general word for store, whereas "boutique" has the same meaning as in English). Grocery stores are also called "kolonial" because they sold products from European overseas colonies. Norwegian "truse" means short underwear (knickers, panties), whereas trousers (covering the legs to the ancle) are "bukse" in Norwegian.

Miscellaneous

Norwegian "storm" means whole gale (very strong winds below hurricane strength) and "snøstorm" is used informally (that is, not by the met office) about strong wind transporting snow horizontally. Weather forecast about "snø" (snow) means snowfall or snowstorm.

Norwegian "time" (pronounced "teame") means "hour", whereas English "time" is "tid" in Norwegian. Norwegian "fart" means "speed" and "prikk" means dot or point. Norwegian "fag" is a neutral word that means trade, craft or vocation. Another funny word is Norwegian "gift", which can mean either married or poison (toxic is "giftig"), whereas English "gift" (present) translates as "gave, presang". Norwegian "mugg" is a form of mold or mildew, whereas "mugge" is a jug and "krus" corresponds to English "mug".

When Norwegians mention "the state" ("staten"), they mean the government. Whereas the country as a whole is "landet" (the land) or more formally "riket" (the realm or the kingdom).

Norwegian "fabrikk" corresponds to English "factory", whereas "fabric" can be translated to Norwegian "stoff, tekstil". "Stoff" may on the other hand also mean drugs (illegal substance), subject matter or matter in physics. A Norwegian "gang" is a corridor or hallway, not a criminal organisation. The word "okkupere" (occupy) is in Norwegian used only in the context of military occupation, whereas a chair or a toilet is "opptatt" (taken). The Norwegian verb "realisere" means to make something come true or to fulfil a potential, whereas English "to realise" (understand and accept) translates as "forstå" and "innse". Norwegian "aktuell" means current or of interest at the moment, and does not correspond to "actual". Similarly, "eventuell" means possible or alternatively and does not correspond to English "eventual" (subsequent, final). Norwegian "hjem" (or "heim") is more than the English "home" a concept: an apartment or house where people live is a "bolig".

Norwegian "ansvar" means responsibility, whereas English "answer" corresponds to "svar, respons". Norwegian "argument" only means reasoning or logic supporting an opinion, English "argument" translates as "diskusjon, krangel". Norwegian "resept" is a prescription for medication. Norwegian use the same word, "sikkerhet", for security and safety. Norwegian "gå" resembles English "go" but should be translated as "walk".

Grammar and syntax

Norwegian grammar and syntax is similar to English and relatively easy compared to German. For example, the role of a word is determined by its place in the syntax, rather than by morphology. Norwegian basically only has two grammatical cases: nominative and genitive. Genitive differs from nominative by an "s" at the end of the noun – like in English, but without the apostrophe. Verbs are not conjugated according to person. Adjectives are (like in English) placed before the noun.

Norwegian has three grammatical genders, and nouns are inflected according to their grammatical gender, though many Norwegians use only two genders, both in speech and writing. Regular plural forms of nouns are formed with the suffix "-er", or just "-r" if the noun ends in an "e" (examples: "en katt, katter" = "a cat, cats"; "et bilde, bilder" = "a picture, pictures") and instead of using a definite article like English "the", Norwegian uses suffixes for this as well, along the same lines as how plurals are made (examples: "katten, kattene" = "the cat, the cats"; "bildet, bildene" = "the picture, the pictures").

Dialects

Although modern Norwegian is relatively easy to understand and practice at a superficial level, learning perfect fluent Norwegian is exceptionally difficult, for several reasons. The most important one is that there is a wide range of dialects in Norwegian, which could differ significantly from the standard written form. Differences among dialects are much more than accents and slight differences in pronunciation. Some dialects are almost like different languages and these differences have 1000 year old roots. Due to the country's geography, being extremely long and narrow and sparsely populated with mountains and other obstacles, these dialects have had the opportunity to survive and develop over time. Dialects are important in Norway and based on them, locals are often able to pinpoint exactly where a person is from.

In the middle ages Norse (old Norwegian) was spoken in Norway, Iceland and parts of the British isles. In Iceland the old Norse is largely retained while Norwegian has changed substantially, heavily influenced by Danish and low German. The dialect of Bergen is in particular influenced by low German. Dialects in western Norway are most similar to Icelandic. For instance West Norway dialects have retained more frequent use of diphthongs, for instance "ei" in stein (stone) or "au" in laurdag (saturday) is pronounced as one sound. In Trøndelag and Nordland there is widespread apocope whereby the last syllable of many words is not pronounced. For instance "what" is in East Norway "hva" pronounced almost like in English ("wha"), whereas in West and North Norway it is something like "qua" or "qa".

Foreign visitors may note the marked difference in melody: In western Norway pitch is high-to-low, whereas in eastern Norway pitch is low-to-high. Unlike most European languages Norwegian is a pitch-accent language and to foreigners may appear as "singing" and the "melody" differs by dialect. The meaning of some words depends on the pitch, a feature that is very difficult to capture for the untrained ear.

Pronunciation of R is one of the most distinct dialect differences. A powerful guttural R is the trademark of Bergen and surroundings, and variants are used along the South-West area from Bergen to Kristiansand. North of Sognefjorden a powerful rolling R (or trilled R) is used instead, similar to Spanish or Scottish. In the western areas R is usually a very distinct sound. In East Norway the R is a less powerful sound and are in some areas similar to L. Unique among European languages is the voiced retroflex flap, known as fat L, found in East Norway and Trøndelag, and otherwise primarily known from the Indian subcontinent and Japan.

There is no standard spoken Norwegian, and it is fully socially accepted (even highly regarded) to use your local dialect whatever the context or situation. Politicians and news reporters all do this. Norwegian has a number of idioms, many of which are used regularly but hardly make any sense to an outsider (they just have to be learned). Many idioms originate from playwright Henrik Ibsen, from the ancient sagas (compiled by Icelander Snorre Sturlason), or from the Bible, as well as from popular culture. The weak Norwegian verbs could also have one of five different endings.

Written Norwegian

There are two official variations of written Norwegian: Bokmål and Nynorsk. The differences are small, but important to a lot of Norwegians. Bokmål is by far the most common, and evolved from Danish. Nynorsk is a reconstructed standard written form, developed by Ivar Aasen, a teacher and linguist. Aasen travelled through most of the country, except for the eastern parts, because he felt those parts had been too heavily influenced by the Danish language and, in some border areas, by Swedish. Between 1848 and 1855, Aasen published grammar, lexicon, dialect samples, and a set of readings as he developed Nynorsk (then called landsmål). The language issue is touchy because of its connections with different partly historical political stances.

In 2003, approximately 15% of primary school pupils were in school districts that taught Nynorsk as the primary written standard.

While Norwegian and English have a lot in common (such as basic, everyday words and syntax), in Norwegian words, nouns in particular, are compounded at will to create new words. In written Norwegian the hyphen is generally not used to compound words. This system can just like in German produce very long nouns, or long names of places. New words are created constantly and may never be included in a dictionary because they are too local or quickly disused. Because the hyphen is not used, understanding compound nouns (including proper nouns) often requires proficiency in Norwegian.

Key takeaways

Numbers, time and dates: Norwegian uses comma as the decimal sign, for instance 12,000 means 12 (specified with three decimal places) not 12 thousand, whereas 12.000 means 12 thousand. Norwegians use both the 24 and 12 hour time system, the former finding more use in writing, the latter in spoken context. Norwegians do not use PM/AM to indicate morning or afternoon. Dates can be abbreviated in a number of ways, but the order is always DAY-MONTH-YEAR, for instance 12.07.08 is July 12, 2008. In Norwegian morgen corresponds to English early morning and is the time when people usually get up. The hours until high noon is called formiddag (literally "before noon"). Norwegian kveld more or less corresponds to english evening but lasts until common bed time or near midnight. The time when most are in bed is natt, typically from around 23:00 or later. Because of the highly variable daylight and midnight sun, time of day can not easily be related to sunrise and sunset.

Notable features:

Unlike some Germanic neighbours, in Norwegian the definite article is postfixed (a suffix) while the indefinite article is a separate word like in English (a house = et hus; the house = huset).
Verbs are not conjugated according to the person.
Capital letters are reserved for names of persons or places as well as the beginning of sentences; names of weekdays and months are not capitalized.
Norwegian has three letters not found in English: æ, ø, å (more below)
Norwegian has fewer French/Latin words than English, but still enough "international" words (usually adopted from English, French, Latin or Greek), understandable for most visitors. For instance: information = informasjon, telephone = telefon, post = post, tourist = turist, police = politi.
Unlike English, Norwegian words are compounded to form new nouns. There is in principle no limit to the number of new nouns that can be created, only the most common ones are found in dictionaries or phrasebooks without being "decomposed".
Unlike Swedish, Danish and Dutch, which have merged the male and female genders into a "common" gender, but similar to German and Icelandic, Norwegian retains all 3 grammatical genders from proto-Germanic for its nouns (male, female and neuter). Like most other European languages but unlike English, inanimate objects are often assigned a gender other than neuter.
Norwegians tend to have more clear and direct way of speaking than in many other European countries. Niceties like "please", "how are you", "excuse me" and "sorry" are used sparingly ("please" does not translate to Norwegian). But it is important to say "thank you" after a meal or a good party.

As most adult Norwegians are able to speak English, don't be surprised if you are replied to in English even if you attempt to start a conversation in Norwegian. If you really wish to practise your Norwegian, simply let the other person know, and they will usually oblige and be encouraging about it.

Pronunciation Guide

Norwegian spelling is pretty simple and regular (compared to, say, English), but like most real languages, it is unfortunately not completely regular.

Vowels

Each vowel can be pronounced either as "long" or "short". A "short" vowel will almost always be followed by a double consonant (i.e. two similar consonants, such as ll or tt). A long vowel is not.

For example, in Norwegian "it" will be pronounced as in eet, whereas "itt" will be pronounced as English it.

(There are some exceptions to this rule: if the consonant is followed by another consonant, it does not always need to be doubled to make the vowel short.)

The Norwegian vowels are pronounced in almost the same way as in German. The Norwegian alphabet has three letters more than the English alphabet, vowels æ (Æ), ø (Ø), and å (Å). Here's the full list:

a: like 'a' in "father"
e: like 'e' in "where" (but like æ if it is followed by an 'r') (some exceptions, see below)
i (short): like 'i' in "pin"
i (long): like 'ee' in green
o (short): mostly like 'o' in how the British say "Ox", rendering it a short 'å'; but in a few cases simply a short "oo", just like a short 'u'
o (long): similar to a common pronunciation of 'oo' in "fool" or "cool"
u: (long) like the "oo" in "shoot" or "ou" in a possible rendering of "route"
u: (short) same sound as a long 'o' only short (much like the English "put")
y: like 'i' in "pin" (but narrower; y doesn't correspond to any sound in English. English speakers may have difficulty distinguishing Norwegian's i and y. It's similar to German ü or French u.) Halfway between "ee" and "ewwww".
æ: like 'a' in "mad"; almost always long. A short "ær" sound is spelled 'er'.
ø: like 'u' as in "burn" ("bu:n"). One starts with e and rounds one's lips to produce ø.
å: like 'o' as in "lord" (Note: in older texts or names written as "aa"); it is long unless followed by a double consonant.

The letters 'o' and 'u' may give you the most trouble. Some examples to help clarify:

egg (egg or edge) has a short "e" because of the double consonant;

elg (moose) also has a short "e"; the 'lg' qualifying as a doubling;

ed (oath) has a long "e";

er (is) has a long "æ", as does her (here) and der (there).

erke (arch) has a short "ær";

eller (or) starts with a short "e" and ends in a short unaccented 'er' where the "e" is reduced to a short "uh" -- "EL-uhr";

fil (file) has a long 'i' ("ee" in English);

fille (rag) has a short 'i';

komme (come) has a short "å" sound ("aw!");

for (for) also has a short "å" sound; therefore -

fôr (animal feed or food) is often given the ^ accent to convey its long "oo";

mor (mother), jord (earth), and sol (sun) all have a long "oo" (the 'd' in jord is silent);

hjort (deer) has a short "å" sound;

onkel (uncle) has a short "oo" very similar to a Scouse pronunciation;

kum (manhole) has a short "oo" just like 'onkel' (an '-mm' ending is not allowed);

jul (Christmas) has a long 'u' ("ewww");

ugle (owl) has a short 'u' (like "ewh!");

ære (honor/honour) has a long 'æ'

Some exceptions: The following words have a long "e" despite the 'er' convention:

ber, ler, ser, skjer, ter -- note that these are present-tense forms of verbs that end in -e: be, le, se, skje, te.

flere and mer also have a long "e" (not "æ").

Consonants

b: like 'b' in "book"
c: like 'c' in "cat" (mostly foreign words, no function in Norwegian)
ch: same as 'k' or 'kk' (Christian = "kristian", Bache = "bakke"; but in loanwords usually like in English, as in "chips" ("chips")), rarely used
d: like 'd' in "dog", silent at end of syllable or at end of word. (In eastern dialects d, t, and n are pronounced with the tongue touching the front teeth, producing a "flatter" sound than in English)
f: like 'f' in "face"
fj: as in "fjord"
g: like 'g' in "good", but like 'y' in "yes" before i or j, silent at the end of some words
h: like 'h' in "hat", silent before j or v
j: like 'y' in "yes"
k: like 'k' in "keep", but like 'ch' in German "ich" before i or j (IPA: [ç])
l: like 'l' in "late" (some variation, see below)
m: like 'm' in "mouse"
n: like 'n' in "nice"
p: like 'p' in "push"
q: like 'q' in "quick" (mostly foreign words, generally not used in Norwegian)
r: like 'tt' in "kitty" (many different variations ranging from Spanish to French sounding, in west Norway typically powerfully and distinctly pronounced. In Bergen and Stavanger regions the guttural R as in France and the Netherlands, further the rolling R as in Spanish.)
s: like 's' in "sun" (but in eastern Norway, followed by an 'l' or following an 'r', it becomes "sh")
t: like 't' in "top"; silent at the end of the word "det" and in determinate neuter nouns (e.g. "huset")
rt: a quick rap of the tongue, starting with the tip upward behind the hard palate (start saying "tch" but stop before you get to the "sh"); no native English equivalent (but heard in some Indian accents)
v: like 'v' in "viper"
w: most often, like 'v'; the letter only appears in proper names (e.g., Waldemar, Wenche, or the unit Watt); other than that, it may appear in foreign loan words and names where the pronunciation generally follows the original language (see below for more examples)
x: like 'x' in "box" (mostly foreign words, rarely used in Norwegian); words with this sound are generally spelled with 'ks' ('x' has no real function in Norwegian)
z: like 'z' in "zipper" (officially), but usually pronounced like 's' in "sun" (mostly foreign words, no function in Norwegian)

More on the letter L: There are three basic ways of pronouncing the letter 'L'. Generally speaking, if you stick with #1 or #2 below, you will never be misunderstood. #3 typically appears in eastern dialects but even there it may be considered informal and is avoided by many. The consonants b, f, g, k, and p, plus the vowel 'ø' take either L #1 or #3 as outlined further below, and the vowel 'å' takes L #2 or #3. (Note that this is an unofficial numbering.)

L #1: a thin-sounding 'l' where the tip of the tongue is on the hard part of the palate, not touching the front teeth, and slightly farther back than in English;

L #2: a thicker, flatter sounding 'l' with the tip of the tongue firmly against the back of the front teeth;

L #3: a flap of the tongue with the tip farther back in the mouth than with an 'r'.

(Some dialects use a 4th pronunciation where the middle of the tongue is on the soft palate; as a novice you should probably disregard this)

L #1 is what you will hear in the beginning of words: Lillehammer, lakk, lese, ligge, lomme, løpe...

- after 'i' and 'y' (both short and long): ille, spill, vil, vill, hvil, fil, fille, fyll, fylle, syl, sylte...

- after short 'u': full, gull, hull, kull, null, pulje, tull, rulle...

- after 'e': fjell, fjel, sel, tele, telefon, vel...

- after short 'yk': sykle, Myklebost...

- after 'g' or 'k' if followed by a long 'e': glede, klebe...

- after 't': atlas, Atle

- after 'd': middel, midler, seddel, sedler...

- after 'r' (the 'r' becomes silent): farlig, Berlin, berlinerkrans, særlig, herlig...

- after some 'ø's (long or short): føle, følge, føll, sølv, Sølve...

- after 's' (note that the 's' then becomes "sh" in Eastern Norwegian):

slag, slakk, slepe, slegge, slik, slikke, slips, slott, sluke, slukke, slutte, slør, slåss, rasle, rusle, vesle...

- in the words vafler, vaflene (plural of vaffel) and gafler, gaflene (pl. of gaffel)

L #2 is heard after 'a' (short or long): ball, sal, tall, falle, gal, kalle...

- after all short "å" sounds, including the short 'o' which is like "å": Dolly, Holmenkollen, olje, rolle, troll, volleyball...

- after long 'å': bål, mål, Pål, stål, Ståle, stråle, såle...

L #3 is applied somewhat irregularly but is often heard after long 'u': jul, fugl (the 'g' is silent here), smule, bule...

- after some long 'o's (single syllable words or unaccented second syllable): bol, gol, skole, sol, sole, stol, stoler...

- after some long 'ø's: høl, søle, Bøler, pøl, døl, fjøl, køl, møl...

- after short vowel + 'g': øgle, trygle, ugle (the 'g' is not silent), smugle, juggel (the 'u' is short and the 'e' unaccented)...

- after short vowel + 'k': nøkler, tråkle

- and after b, most f's, g's, k's, and p's : blad, bli, bly, blå, fly, flue, glad...

blekk, flagg, flink, fløte, gløppe, glass, klippe (meaning "to cut"), klubb, klump, plukke, plagg, plass...

(all of the preceding examples of L #3 can also take L #1)

- after 'æ': pæle, sæle, fjæl, gæli, tæl, tæle

(these never take L #1 but are rather replaced by other forms that do: pele, sele, fjel, galt, tel, tele)

- in the word 'dårlig'

- overlapping the use of L #2 for the following words (i.e. you may hear either one, with little or no consistency):

mål, måle, kål, såle, stål (but not the name Ståle), trål, tråle, tral, tåle, påle (but not the name Pål)

Certain factors have a softening effect on the 'l' in 'kl' and 'pl' combinations. Look for long 'a' or 'o', words of non-Germanic origin, or stress on the second or third syllable. The following examples all have L #1 and should never take L #3:

klar, klarinett, klassisk, klor, kloroform, plassére, plast, plastikk...

The vowel 'i' influences 'f', 'k', and 'p' in the same way and usually gives them L #1 (although L #3 is sometimes heard):

flid, flittig, klima, klippe (meaning "cliff"), plikt...

Some words that belong in "high society" are ideally given L #1 in the eastern dialects even if conventional wisdom would expect L #3: flygel, klimpre

The following words usually have L #1 even in eastern dialects: glede, gløde, nitroglyserin, globoid

More on the letter W: "Watt" as a unit is pronounced like "vatt" but the name James Watt would still be pronounced as in English; "William" can sound like "Villiam" or the English "William" depending on his nationality; "Wien", being (linguistically) German, is pronounced "veen".

Diphthongs and letter combinations

ei: like 'a' in Cockney or Australian pronunciation of "babe" (æ-i)
ai: like 'i' in "pine" (a-i)
au: similar to 'ow' in "how" (æ-u)
oi: like 'oy' in "boy" (å-y)
øy: like the 'u' in "burn" followed by the 'y' in "yet" (ø-y)
sj: like 'sh' in "shirt"
skj: like 'sh' in "shirt"
kj: like 'ch' in "church"
hj: like 'y' in "yes"
gj: like 'y' in "yes"
hv: like 'v' in "victory"
lj: the 'l' is silent if in the beginning of a word (e.g. "ljå": "yo")
gn: like 'in' in "rain"
aa: old form of 'å'

The letter 'j' often disappears if either of the letter combinations 'skj', 'kj' or 'gj' are used in front of diphthongs. There is also a convention that the letter 'j' cannot be followed by an 'i' or 'y'. Examples:

skøyte (skate) is pronounced "shøite";

kylling (chicken) is pronounced "chylling";

kiste (coffin) is pronounced "chisste";

gi (to give) is pronounced "yee" [note that 'gir' as the present tense of "gi" is pronounced "yeer" but the word for "gear" is still pronounced "geer" even though it is also spelled 'gir']

Exceptions

de: (the bokmål word, meaning "they") : like "dee" in "deer" (just as a whole word)
De: (meaning "you" in a formal setting): same pronunciation as 'de'
jeg: (the bokmål word, meaning "I") : like "Ya" in "Yale" or "yay"
og: (the bokmål and nynorsk word for "and") : the 'g' is silent if the word is unstressed (thus pronounced the same as "å"); "awg" if stressed.
[Note that many Norwegians struggle with the grammatical difference between "å" and "og" because of their similar pronunciation]

Phrase list

Basics

Bokmål, followed by nynorsk:

Good morning.

God morgen. (goo moh-ohrn) - God morgon. ("Go' Morgon")

Basically applies to early morning.

Good evening.

God kveld. (goo kvel)

Good night (to sleep)

God natt. (goo naht)(with a short 'a')

Hello. (formal)

God dag.
This greeting that can be used at most occasions (except funerals) and times of day.

Hello. (informal)

Hei. (hay)("hæy")

How are you?

Hvordan går det? (voord-ahn gawr deh?) Korleis går det? ("kor-læis gohr deh')

Note: Not used among strangers. This question is not a nicety for Norwegian.

Fine, thank you.

(Jo) takk, bare bra. (yoo tak, bar-e brah) (Jau) takk, bærre brah ("Jauh tak, bere brah")

What is your name?

Hva heter du? (Vah he-ter du) Kva heiter du? ("Kvah hæi-ter du")

My name is ______ .

Jeg heter ______ . (yei he:h-t'r _____ .) Eg heiter ("eg hei-ter")

Nice to meet you.

Hyggelig å treffe deg. (Hygg-e-li å treff-e dei) Hyggjeleg å møte deg ("Hyggj-eleg å mø-te deg")

Please.

Vær så snill. (...)(you may hear "væh shaw snil") (Meaning "be so kind")
Not used nearly as often as in English. It can also be considered as to plead, you do not take something for granted.

Yes.

Ja. (ya)

Yes (in reply/opposition to a no in a discussion).

Jo. (yoo) Jau. ("Ja-u")

No.

Nei. (naye)("næi")

Excuse me. (getting attention)

Unnskyld (meg). (Unn-shill mei) Orsak meg ("Or-sak meg")

Excuse me. (begging pardon)

Unnskyld (meg). (Unn-shill mei) Orsak meg ("Or-sak meg")

I'm sorry. (for a slight mistake)

Beklager (be-klag-er) Beklagar ("Be-kla-gar")

I'm sorry. (I really didn't mean it)

Jeg beklager så mye (Jei be-klag-er så mye) Eg er lei for det ("Eg er leih for det")

I'm sorry.

Jeg er lei meg. (Jei ær lei mei) Eg er lei meg ("Eg er leih megh")
Not used nearly as often as in English, this sincerely means you are sorry, or can even be interpreted to mean you are sad (usually not associated with guilt).

Goodbye

Ha det bra! (Ha de bra) Farvel ("far-vel")

Goodbye (informal)

Ha det! (Ha-de)

It was nice seeing/meeting you. Goodbye.

(bm) Det var hyggelig å treffe deg. Ha det bra! (De var hygg-e-li å treff-e dæi. Ha de bra!)

(nn) Det var hyggjeleg å treffe deg. Ha det bra! (De var hyg-yeh-lehg aw treff-eh dehg. Hah deh bra!)

I can't speak Norwegian.

Jeg snakker ikke norsk. (Jei snakk-er ikk-e nåsjk) Eg snakkar ikkje norsk.

I only know a little Norwegian.

Jeg kan bare litt norsk (Jei kan ba-re litt nåsjk) Eg kan berre litt norsk.

Excuse me, do you speak English?

Unnskyld, snakker du engelsk? (Unn-skyll, snakker du eng-elsk?)

Is there someone here who speaks English?

Er det noen/nokon som kan snakke engelsk her? (Ær de no-en såm kann snakk-e eng-elsk hær?)

Help!

Hjelp! (Yelp!)

Good morning.

God morgen/morgon. (Go må-årn)
See hello above

Good evening.

God kveld. (Go kvell)
See hello above

Good night.

God natt. (Go natt)
Never used as a greeting, unless you want to make a joke. This is potentially troublesome. If you must greet someone at night, use Hallo, Hei, or Hyggelig å møte deg (Nice to meet you), God kveld (good evening) or even God dag (even though it's in the middle of night).

Good night (to sleep)

God natt. (Go natt)

Note: Used when separating and going to bed.

I don't understand (you).

Jeg forstår [deg] ikke/ikkje. (Jei forst-år [dei] ikk-e)

I'll translate through Google

Jeg/eg skal oversette/omsetje via Google.
: Note: Only if the conversation is completely stuck!

Where is the toilet/bathroom?

Hvor/Kvar er toalettet? (Vor ær toa-lett-et?)

May I get a cup of coffee?

Kunne jeg/eg få en kopp kaffe? (Kuh-ne jæi få æn kåpp kaffæ?)
This is the usual way to order something you take for granted. (If it is uncertain whether you get something, add "væh shaw snill" [please])

May I borrow your pen?

Kunne jeg/eg låne pennen din? (Kuhn-ne jæi lå-ne pennen din?)

May I get the bill, (please)?

Kunne jeg/eg få regningen/rekningen, (takk)?
Note: In this context, it is common practice to end the question with "takk" ("thanks") instead of "vær så snill" ("please").

Are there any good sights in the area?

Finnes/Finst det noen/nokon gode severdigheter/sjåverdegheiter i området? (Fin-nes deh non god-he seværdi-het-er i åm-råde)

You are not Norwegian unless you know five names for different textures of snow

Man/Ein er ikke/ikkje norsk med mindre man/ein kan navngi/namngje fem typar snø. (Mann ær ikke nåshk me mindre mann kann navnji femm typ-er snø)

Are they joking about these prices?

Skal jeg/eg tolke disse/dei her prisene/prisane som en/ein spøk? (Skall jei tålke dis-se pris-ene såmm en spøk)

Where can I purchase a viking helmet?

Hvor/Kvar kan jeg/eg kjøpe en/ein vikinghjelm? (Vohr kann jei ch[German: Chemie]ø-pe en vi-kingyelm)

Does this bus take me to Hafrsfjord?

Kjører denne bussen til Hafrsfjord? (ch[German: Chemie]ører den-ne buss-en til Hafrs-fjoord?)

Thanks

Thanks.: Takk (...)
Thank you so much: Mange takk (...)
Thank you very much.: Tusen takk (...)
Thank you (personally).: Takk/mange takk/tusen takk skal du ha (...)

Note: In Norway it is also common to say "thank you for today/this evening" when you part - "takk for i dag/ i kveld" to say you have enjoyed the experience. You also say "thank you for last time" "takk for sist" when you meet them again, or preferably "thanks for yesterday" "takk for i gaar" if it was indeed yesterday. It will be considered rude if you don't say "thank you for the meal" "takk for maten" if someone served you a meal (this does not apply in restaurants or if you have bought a meal) You also say "thank you for having me over" "takk for meg" when leavig the house of someone. "thank you for now" " takk for naa" is a nice way of saying you enjoyed your time and will return some time.

You're welcome.: Vær så god (væ-shaw-go); Another expression, almost synonymous, that occurs after thanking for foods or drinks may be velbekomme (Wellbacomma)
My pleasure.: Bare hyggelig (Bar-e hygg-e-li), Berre hyggjeleg ("ber-e hyg-eleg")

Problems

Leave me alone (please).: Kan du (være så snill å) la meg være alene. (...)
Note: være så snill å means be so kind as to, directly translated, but there are no direct replacement for please. The English word is sometimes used if said imparatively or beggingly.
Don't touch me!: Ikke rør meg! (...)
I'll call the police.: Jeg ringer politiet. (...)
Note: This really means dial the police on the phone. Since there aren't many street cops in Norway, if it's really an emergency, it would make more sense to simply cry Hjelp! (Help), and hope a random person will come to your rescue. The emergency phone number in Norway is 112.
Police!: Politi! (...)
See above...
Stop! Thief!: Stopp tyven! (...)
Fire!: Brann! (...)
or it's burning! : Det brenner! (dæ brennar); Note that in Norwegian there are several expressions that mean fire. Fire alarm/fire alert: Brannalarm/brannvarsling, open fire: åpen ild, get on fire: få fyr på, camp fire: leirbål.
Call the fire brigade!: Ring brannvesenet! (...); Note: emergency phone number in Norway is 110.
Call for an ambulance!: Ring etter en ambulanse!/Ring en-en-tre! (...); Note: emergency phone number in Norway is 113.
I need your help.: Jeg trenger din hjelp. (...)
Might sound too strong. See below for a more reasonable alternative...
May I ask you for a little assistance?: Kan jeg spørre deg om litt hjelp
It's an emergency.: Det er et nødstilfelle. (...)
I'm lost.: Jeg har gått meg bort. (...)
Even though this is under the problems section, this phrase comes out sounding like you have wandered the woods for days without food or rest, having no idea where you are or where to go (in which case it would be obvious anyway). Either that, or you're 5 year old, in which case getting lost from your parents is equally serious. See below for a more reasonable alternative. More neutral is "Jeg har gått meg vill"
Can you tell me where I am?: Kan du si meg hvor jeg er? (...)
Can you tell me the way to ___?: Kan du si meg veien til ___? (...)
I lost my ___.: Jeg har mistet ___ [min (sg. m./f.)/mitt (sg. neu.)/mine (pl.)]. (...)
While almost any kind of carry-on item can be called bag in English, in Norwegian it means a duffle bag. You usually have to be more specific, here are a few alternatives, as part of this sentence, you should also read the part in parenthesis to get the grammar right.

luggage = baggasje(n)
all the clothes = alle klærne
suitcase = koffert(en)
backpack = ryggsekk(en)
duffle bag = bag(en)
shoulder bag = skulderveske(-a)
handbag = håndveske(-a)
plastic bag = plastikkpose(n)
computer bag = data bag(en)
passport = pass(et)
money/cash =penger/kontanter
ticket = billett(en)
wallet = lommebok(a)
credit card = kreditkort(et)
cell phone = mobiltelefon(en)
charging cable for the cell phone = ladeledningen til mobiltelefonen
key/key card/keyring = nøkkel(en)/nøkkelkort(et)/nøkkelknippe(-et)
glasses = briller
sunglasses = solbriller
umbrella = paraply(en)
jacket = jakke (-a)
shirt / t shirt = skjorte (-a)/t-skjorte (-a)
knit sweater = strikkegenser(en)
trousers = bukser
skirt = skjørt
briefs = truser
stockings = strømper
shoe = sko
booties/boots = støvletter/støvler
headgear = lue (-a)
gloves = hansker
scarf = skjerf(et)
child/children = barn(et)/barn(a) (I certainly hope not)

I'm sick/ill.: Jeg er sjuk. (...)
Is it contagious?: Er det smittsomt? (...)
Is a sanitary napkin/face mask advisable here?: Er det tilrådelig å bruke munnbind her? (...)
I've been injured.: Jeg har blitt skadd. (...)
I've contracted an injuriy.: Jeg har fått en skade. (...)
I need a doctor.: Jeg trenger (å få treffe) en lege. (...)
May I borrow your phone?: Kan jeg få låne telefonen din? (...)

Numbers

0: null (...)
1: en/ein (..)
2: to (...)
3: tre (...)
4: fire (...)
5: fem (femm)
6: seks (sekks)
7: sju (...)
Another variant (below) also in common use. New system
7: syv (...)
Another variant (above) is slightly more common in some age groups and geographical regions. Old system
8: åtte (...)
9: ni (...)
10: ti (...)
11: elleve (ell-ve)
12: tolv (tåll)
13: tretten (...)
14: fjorten (...)
15: femten (...)
16: seksten (seis-ten)
17: sytten (søtt-en)
18: atten (...)
19: nitten (...)
20: tjue (kju-e)
Note: Used in new counting system (see below)
20: tyve (...)
Note: Used in old counting system (see below)

21 and on

Larger numbers than twenty can be written several ways in Norwegian. Sometimes each word is written separately. Sometimes hyphens are used. And sometimes, the whole number is written as one large word; there are two ways of counting from 21-99.

New counting system

The new counting is what most people use nowadays. And probably what they would consider using to someone having problems understanding. This is what you should learn.

21: tjue en (kju-e en)
22: tjue to (...)
23: tjue tre (...)

Old counting system

The old counting system is slightly more illogical, but still quite a few people use it. Its popularity increases with the age of the speaker. Most people will probably revert to the new counting system if they realize the speaker is not fluent in Norwegian, but here it is for completeness (In English this system was used in the past, but a change analogous to the new system in Norwegian occurred a long time ago. Few realise this now, although the reminders exist in the teen numbers and the Four and twenty blackbirds nursery rhyme).

21: en og tyve (en å tyv-e)
22: to og tyve (to å tyv-e)
23: tre og tyve (...)
30: tredve (old system)
30: tretti (...) (new system)

Regardless of counting system

40: førti (...)
50: femti (...)
60: seksti (...)
70: sytti (...)
80: åtti (...)
90: nitti (...)
100: (ett) hundre (...)
121: (ett) hundre og 21 (100 å 21)
200: to hundre (...)
300: tre hundre (...)
1000: ett tusen (...)
1021: ett tusen og 21 (ett tu-sen å 21)
1100: ett tusen ett hundre / elleve hundre (ett tu-sen ett hun-dre / ell-ve hun-dre)
1121: ett tusen ett hundre og 21 (...)
2000: to-tusen (...)
1,000,000: en million (en milli-on)
1,000,000,000: en milliard
1,000,000,000,000: en billion
number _____ (train, bus, etc.): nummer _____ (tog, buss, etc) (nomm-er)
half: halv (hall)
less: mindre (minn-dre)
more: mer (...)

Time

now: nå (...)
later: seinere (...)
before: tidligere (tid-li-ere)
early morning: morgen (må-årn)
morning: formiddag (until noon)
afternoon: ettermiddag (...)
evening: kveld (kvell)
night: natt (...)

Clock time

Note that whenever you say one o'clock, you use ett instead of en.

24h system

The simplest way to say time is to use the 24 hour system.

08.00: klokka åtte null null (...)
19.37: klokka nitten tretti sju (..)
01.01: klokka ett null en (...)

12 hour system

AM/PM is not used in Norway. If people are not familiar enough with English to understand you saying the time, they will probably not understand AM or PM either. To disambiguate time, you can look at the Time section (morning, evening, etc). It can be hard to choose the correct preposition/grammar to use for these (which depends a lot on context, past, future, etc), so the easiest is to simply append it after having said the time.

The clock-hour can be divided as follows

10.00: klokka 10 (...)
10.05: fem over 10 (femm åv-er ti)
10.10: ti over 10 (...)
10.15: kvart over 10 (...)
10.20: ti på halv 11 (...)
10.25: fem på halv 11 (...)
10.30: halv 11 (hall 11)
10.35: fem over halv 11 (...)
10.40: ti over halv 11 (...)
10.45: kvart på 11 (...)
10.50: ti på 11 (...)
10.55: fem på 11 (...)

Duration

_____ minute(s): _____ minutt(er) (...)
_____ hour(s): _____ time(r) (...)
_____ day(s): _____ dag(er) (...)
_____ week(s): _____ uke(r) (...)
_____ month(s): _____ måned(er) (må-ned/månt-er)
_____ year(s): _____ år (...)

Days

the day before yesterday: overigår (åverigår) / forrigårs (fårrigårs)
yesterday: i går (igår)
today: i dag (idag)
tomorrow: i morgen (usually i måern, but occasionally "i mårrgenn")
the day after tomorrow: overimorgen (usually åverimåern, but occasionally "åverimårrgenn")
this week: denne uka (...)
last week: forrige uke (fårr-je u-ke)
next week: neste uke (...)

Sunday: søndag (...)
(The week begins on a Monday in Norway, and days are not capitalised)
Monday: mandag (...)
Tuesday: tirsdag (in Nynorsk: "tysdag") (...)
Wednesday: onsdag (...)
Thursday: torsdag (...)
Friday: fredag (...)
Saturday: lørdag (in Nynorsk: "laurdag") (...)

Months

January: januar (...)
February: februar (...)
March: mars (...)
April: april (...)
May: mai (...)
June: juni (...)
July: juli (...)
August: august (...)
September: september (...)
October: oktober (...)
November: november (...)
December: desember (...)

Writing Time and Date

Jan 5. 1979: 5. jan. 1979
Jan 5. 1979: 5/1-1979

Colors/colours

black: svart (...)
Note: svart can in some contexts mean dirty
black: sort (...)
Note: mostly archaic, the color of black
white: hvit (vit) or kvit (kvit)
gray/grey: grå (...)
red: rød (rø) or raud
blue: blå (...)
yellow: gul (...)
green: grønn (...)
orange: orange (o-ransj)
purple/violet: lilla/fiolett (...)
brown: brun (...)
pink: rosa (...)
brigth: lys (...)
dark: mørk (...)

Weather conditions

warm: varm/varmt (...)
cold: kald/kaldt (...)
freezing: iskald/iskaldt (...)
sunny: sol (...)
rain: regn (...)
snow: snø (...)
slippery: glatt (...)
icy: isete (...)
windy: vind (...)
strong wind: kratig vind (...)
troubled sea: urolig sjø (...)
blowing snow: snøfokk (...)

Directions

How do I get to _____ ?: Hvordan kommer jeg meg til _____ ? (...)
...the train station?: ...togstasjonen? (...)
...the bus stop?: ...bussholdeplassen? (...)
...the bus terminal?: ...bussterminalen? (...), rutebilstasjonen? (...)
...the airport?: ...flyplassen? (...)
...the ferry terminal?: ...fergeleiet? (...)
...downtown?: ...sentrum? (...)
...the youth hostel?: ...ungdomsherberget? (...)
...the _____ hotel?: ... _____ hotell? (...)
...the American/Canadian/Australian/British embassy/consulate?: ...den amerikanske/kanadiske/australske/britiske ambassade/konsulat? (...)
Where are there (a lot) of...: Hvor kan jeg finne (mange)... (...)
...hotels?: ...hoteller? (...)
...restaurants?: ...restauranter? (res-tu-rang-er)
...bars?: ...barer? (...)
...sites to see?: ...turistattraksjoner? (tu-rist-att-rak-sjo-ner)
Can you show me ____ on the map?: Kan du vise meg ___ på kartet? (...)
street: gate (ga-tæ)
road: vei/veg (vay/veeg)
Turn left.: Snu til venstre. (...)
Turn right.: Snu til høyre. (...)
left: venstre (venn-stre)
right: høyre (høy-re)
straight ahead: rett fram/rett framover (...)
towards the _____: mot _____ (...)
past the _____: forbi _____ (...)
before the _____: rett før _____ (...)
Watch for the _____.: Se etter _____. (...)
intersection: kryss (...)
roundabout: rundkjøring (runn-kjø-ring)
north: nord (nor)
south: sør (...)
east: øst (...)
west: vest (...)
uphill: oppover(bakke) (åpp-åv-er-bakk-e)
downhill: nedover(bakke) (ned-åv-er-bakk-e)

Driving

For more information on driving and traffic rules in Norway, see the Driving in Norway article.
car: bil (beel)
electric car: elbil (...)
truck: lastebil (...)
trailer: vogntog (...)
motorcykel: motorsykkel (...)
driver license: førerkort (...)
No parking.: Parkering forbudt.
I want to rent a car.: Kan jeg få leie en bil? (...)
Can I get insurance?: Kan jeg få forsikring? (...)
Can you help me, please?: Kan du hjelpe meg? (...)
May I help you with your vehicle?: Skal jeg hjelpe deg med bilen? (...)
I'm stuck: Jeg sitter fast (...)
I need road side assistance.: Jeg trenger bilberging. (...)
stop (on a street sign): stop (...)
one way: enveiskjørt/enveiskjøring (...)
For directions, see above.
yield: vikeplikt (...)
junction: veikryss (...)
traffic light (intersections): lyskryss (...)
roundabout: rundkjøring (runn-kjø-ring)
detour: omkjøring (...)
no parking: parkering forbudt (...)
stop banned: stopp forbudt (...)
speed limit: fartsgrense (...)
toll plaza: bomstasjon (...)
toll road: bomvei (...)
gas (petrol) station: bensinstasjon (...)
plug-in station: ladestasjon (...)
petrol: bensin (...)
diesel: diesel (...)
credit card machine: kortautomat (...)

Public transportation

Aircraft: Fly (...)
Airport: Lufthavn/lufthamn (...)
Airfield: Flyplass (...)

Boat

Ferry: Ferge/ferje (...)
Car ferry: Bilferge/bilferje (...)
Ferry Terminal: fergeleie/ferjeleie (...)
Liner (vessel): Rutebåt (...)
Port: Havn/hamn (...)

Bus and Train

Bus: Buss (...)
Train: Tog (...)
all vehicles on a rail track, except a tram (= trikk(en))
(Train) car: Vogn(a)
Bus stop: Holdeplass (...)
Tram stop: Trikkeholdeplass (...)
Light rail stop: Bybaneholdeplass (...)
Railway station: Jernbanestasjon (...)
Subway station: T-banestasjon (...)
Where is the nearest ______ (stop / station)?: Hvor er nærmeste ______ (holdeplass / stasjon)?
How much is a ticket to _____?: Hvor mye koster en billett til _____? (...)
One ticket to _____, please.: Kan jeg få en billett til _____. (...)
Where does this train/bus go?: Hvor går dette toget/denne bussen? (...)
Where is the train/bus to _____?: Hvor finner jeg toget/bussen til _____? (...)
Does this train/bus stop in _____?: Stopper dette toget/denne bussen i _____? (...)
When does the train/bus for _____ leave?: Når reiser toget/bussen til _____? (...)
When will this train/bus arrive in _____?: Når kommer vi fram til _____? (...)

Taxi

Taxi!: Taxi! (...)
Cultural note: Shouting or whistling for a taxi is considered rude in Norway, and drivers are likely to ignore you if you do. Wave your hand at, phone, order online or simply walk up to one with a lighted sign on the roof.
Can you book a taxi for me, please?: Kan du bestille en taxi til meg?
Take me to _____, please.: Kan du kjøre meg til _____. (...)
How much does it cost to get to _____?: Hvor mye vil det koste å kjøre til _____? (...)
Note: Unless it's a really long (several hours) and thus ridiculously expensive drive where you can make a special deal with the driver, it's gonna cost as much as the meter shows. Expect an approximate reply if any.
Take me there, please.: Kan du kjøre meg dit? (...)

Lodging

Campsite: Campingplass (...)
Cabin: Hytte(r) (...)
Youth hostel: Ungdomsherberge (...)
Hotel: Hotell (...)
Do you have any rooms available?: Har du noen ledige rom? (...)
How much is a room for one person/two people?: Hvor mye koster et enkelt/dobbelt-rom? (...)
Are bedsheets included in the price?: Er sengetøy inkludert i prisen? (...)
I would like some bedsheets: Kan jeg få med sengetøy? (...)
I don't need/I bring my own bedsheets: Jeg trenger ikke/Jeg har mitt eget sengetøy (...)

Does the room come with...: Har rommet ... (...)
...a bathroom?: ...eget bad? (...)
...a telephone?: ...egen telefon? (...)
...free wireless internet (Wi-Fi)?: ...gratis trådløst internett (Wi-Fi)? (...)
...a TV?: ...TV? (te-ve)
May I see the room first?: Kan jeg få se rommet først? (...)
Do you have anything _____?: Har du et _____ rom? (...)
...quieter: ...mer stille (...)
...bigger: ...større (...)
...cleaner: ...renere (...)
...cheaper: ...billigere? (...)
OK, I'll take it.: OK, jeg tar det. (o-kå, jei tar de)
I will stay for _____ night(s).: Jeg blir her _____ natt/netter. (...)
Can you suggest another hotel?: Har du et annet hotell å foreslå? (...)
Do you have a safe?: Har du en safe? (har du en seif)
Do you have a locker?: Har du ett låsbart skap? (...)
Is breakfast/supper included?: Er frokost/middag inkludert? (...)
What time is breakfast/supper?: Når er det frokost/middag? (...)
Please clean my room.: Kan du vaske rommet mitt. (...)
Can you wake me at _____?: Kan du vekke meg klokka _____? (...)
I want to check out.: Kan jeg få sjekke ut nå?. (...)

Money

Do you accept American/Australian/Canadian dollars?: Godtar du amerikanske/australske/kanadiske dollar? (...)
Do you accept (British) pounds?: Godtar du (britiske) pund? (Go-tar du brit-isk-e punn)
Do you accept euros: Godtar du Euro?
Do you accept credit cards?: Godtar du kredittkort? (...)
Can you change money for me?: Kan du hjelpe meg å veksle penger? (...)
Where can I get money changed?: Hvor kan jeg få vekslet penger? (...)
Can you change a traveler's check for me?: Kan du veksle en reisesjekk for meg? (...)
Where can I get a traveler's check changed?: Hvor kan jeg få vekslet reisesjekker? (...)
What is the exchange rate for ___?: Hva er valutakursen for ___? (...)
Where is an automatic teller machine (ATM)?: Hvor er nærmeste minibank? (...)
ATM = minibank

Eating

A table for one person/two people, please.: Kan jeg få et bord for en/to personer? (...)
Can I look at the menu, please?: Kan jeg får se på menyen? (...)
Can I look in the kitchen?: Kan jeg få se kjøkkenet? (...)
Note: This is usually a grave insult. If you feel that bad about eating there, go somewhere else instead.
Is there a house specialty?: Hva er spesialiteten deres? (...)
Is there a local specialty?: Er det en lokal rett jeg bør smake på? (...)
I'm glutenintolerant.: Jeg er glutenintolerant / Jeg har cøliaki (...)
I'm a vegetarian.: Jeg er vegetarianer. (...)
I don't eat pork.: Jeg spiser ikke svinekjøtt. (...)
I only eat kosher food.: If this is a concern, try another country. Shechita is forbidden in Norway, and meat needs to be specially imported. Try to order fresh fish ("fersk fisk") or something vegetarian instead. Tell the waiter you are an orthodox jew ("ortodoks jøde"), and try to reach an understanding. You will have to compromise, as you can't expect the cook to keep a separate set of pans/knives/etc just for you. If it is a large expensive restaurant, they might be able to do so, but if you are very pedantic about this, you should prepare your own food from carefully selected food in grocery shops.
I'm on a diet. Can you make it "lite", please? (less oil/butter/lard): Jeg slanker meg. Kan jeg få så lite fett som mulig? (mindre olje/smør/fett) (...)
fixed-price meal: dagens rett (...)
a la carté: a la carté (...)
breakfast: frokost (...)
lunch: lunsj (...)
tea (meal): kaffe og kaker (...)
The Norwegian equivalent of tea as a meal is kaffe og kaker – coffee and cakes. You could of course still order tea, if you prefer that.
supper: middag (...)
main course: hovedrett (...)
I would like _____.: Kan jeg få _____. (...)
I want a dish containing _____.: Jeg vil ha en rett med _____. (...)
chicken: kylling (kjyll-ing)
beef: oksekjøtt (...)
fish: fisk (...)
ham: skinke (...)
sausage: pølse (...)
cheese: ost (...)
eggs: egg (...)
hard boiled egg/soft boiled egg: hardkokt egg/bløtkokt egg
fried eggs: speilegg (...)
scrambled eggs: eggerøre (...)
salad: salat (...)
(fresh) vegetables: (ferske) grønnsaker (...)
(fresh) fruit: (fersk) frukt (...)
bread: brød (...)
toast: ristet brød (...)
noodles: nudler (...)
rice: ris (...)
potatoes (boiled/french fries/baked/grated/fried/small): poteter (kokte/pommes frites/bakte/gratinerte/stekte/små)
beans: bønner (...)
onion: løk/lauk (...)
garlic: hvitløk/kvitlauk (...)
May I have a glass of _____?: Kan jeg få et glass _____? (...)
May I have a cup of _____?: Kan jeg få en kopp _____? (...)
May I have a bottle of _____?: Kan jeg få en flaske _____? (...)
coffee: kaffe (...)
tea (drink): te (...)
juice: juice (jus)
cream: fløte/fløyte
milk: melk/mjølk
low-fat milk: lettmelk/lettmjølk
In Norway, two types are sold - lettmelk/lettmjølk and ekstra lettmelk/ekstra lettmjølk
skimmed milk: skummet melk/skumma mjølk
sour/cultured milk: surmelk/surmjølk, kulturmelk, kefir.
(bubbly) water: farris (...)
soft drink: brus (...)
water: vann (...)
beer: øl (...)
red/white wine: rødvin/hvitvin (rø-vin/vit-vin)
May I have some _____?: Kan jeg få litt _____? (...)
cutlery: bestikk (...)
knife/spoon/fork: kniv/skje/gaffel (...)
plate: tallerken (...)
sugar: sukker (...)
salt: salt (...)
(black) pepper: (sort) pepper (...)
butter: smør (...)
margarine: margarin (...)
Excuse me, waiter? (getting attention of server): Unnskyld, kelner? (...)
I'm finished.: Jeg er ferdig. (...)
It was delicious.: Det smakte utmerket. (...)
Please clear the plates.: Kan du ta med tallerknene. (...)
The check, please.: Kan jeg få regningen?. (...)

Bars

Do you serve alcohol?: Serverer dere alkohol? (...)
Is there table service?: Kommer dere til bordene? (...)
A beer/two beers, please.: Kan jeg få en/to øl? (...)
A glass of red/white wine, please.: Kan jeg få et/to glass rødvin/hvitvin? (...)
A pint, please.: Kan jeg få en halvliter? (hall-i-ter); Note: Then you get a lager (pilsner draft beer).
In a bottle, please.: Kan jeg få det på flaske? (...)
_____ (hard liquor) and _____ (mixer), please.: Kan jeg få _____ og _____? (...)
whiskey: whiskey (...)
vodka: vodka (...)
rum: rom (romm)
water: vann (...)
club soda: club soda (...)
tonic water: tonic (...)
orange juice: appelsinjuice (app-el-sin jus)
Coke (soda): Cola (brus) (...)
alcohol-free: alkoholfritt (...)
Do you have any bar snacks?: Har du noe barsnacks? (...)
One more, please.: Kan jeg få en til?. (...)
Another round, please.: En runde til! (...)
Cheers!: Skål! (Scawl)
When is closing time?: Når stenger dere? (...)

Shopping

Do you have this in my size?: Har du denne i min størrelse? (...)
How much is this(that)?: Hvor mye koster denne(den)? (...)
That's too expensive.: Det er for dyrt. (...)
Would you take _____?: Ville du godtatt _____? (...)
Note: Bargaining or haggling prices will in most cases get you nothing but puzzled looks and/or angry vendors. The price is on the tag, and unless the item you want is damaged or highly overpriced (higher than usual in Norway) haggling will usually not get you anywhere.
expensive: dyrt (...)
sale: salg
special offer: tilbud
discount: rabatt
cheap: billig (...)
I can't afford it.: Jeg har desverre ikke råd. (...)
I don't want it.: Nei, jeg trenger den ikke. (...)
(I think) You're cheating me.: (Jeg tror) Du lurer meg. (...)
This is what you would say right before you call the police.
I'm not interested.: Dessverre, jeg er ikke interessert. (..)
OK, I'll take it.: OK, jeg tar den. (...)
Can I have a bag?: Kan jeg få en pose? (...)
Do you ship to ____?: Kan du sende ting til ___? (...)
I need...: Jeg trenger... (...)
...toothpaste.: ...tannkrem, tannpasta. (...)
...a toothbrush.: ...en tannbørste. (tann-bøsj-te)
...tampons.: ...tamponger. (...)
...soap.: ...såpe. (...)
...shampoo.: ...shampoo. (sjam-po)
...ointment: ...salve. (sal-ve)
...lip balm: ...leppepomade. (leppe-po-madæ)
...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen): ...smertestillende. (f.eks Paracet eller Ibux) (...)
...cold medicine.: ...hostesaft. (...)
literally cough juice. If that doesn't come close to what you need, go to a doctor.
...stomach medicine.: ... noe mot dårlig mage.
Go to a drugstore (Norwegian: "apotek"), or doctor (Norwegian: "lege"), and explain your condition.
...a razor.: ...en barberhøvel. (...)
...an umbrella.: ...en paraply. (...)
...sunscreen lotion: ...solkrem (...)
...sunblock lotion.: ...sunblock. (...)
...a postcard.: ...et postkort. (...)
...postage stamps.: ...frimerker. (...)
...batteries.: ...batterier. (...)
...writing paper.: ...skrivepapir/brevpapir. (...)
...a pen.: ...en penn. (...)
...English-language books.: ...engelske bøker. (...)
...English-language magazines.: ...engelske blader. (...)
...an English-language newspaper.: ...en engelsk avis. (...)
...an English-Norwegian dictionary.: ...en engelsk-norsk ordbok. (...)

Authority

I haven't done anything wrong.: Jeg har ikke gjort noe galt. (...)
It was a misunderstanding.: Det var en misforståelse. (...)
I'm sorry.: Jeg beklager. (...)
What am I accused of?: Hva er jeg beskyldt for? (...)
I have been subjected to a crime myself: Jeg har selv blitt utsatt for en forbrytelse (...)
Where are you taking me?: Hvor tar dere meg? (...)
Am I under arrest?: Er jeg arrestert? (...)
I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen.: Jeg er en amerikansk/australsk/britisk/kanadisk statsborger. (...)
I demand to talk to the American/Australian/British/Canadian embassy/consulate.: Jeg forlanger å få snakke med den amerikanske/australske/britiske/kanadiske ambassade / det amerikanske/australske/britiske/kanadiske konsulat (...)
I want to talk to a lawyer.: Jeg vil ha en advokat. (...)
Can I just pay a fine now?: Kan jeg bare betale boten nå? (...)
Note: Usually you can't. That would mean accepting a bribe. One exception: public transport in Oslo (maybe elsewhere too) if you forgot to buy a ticket.

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