Norwegian for beginners

Happy New Year

2012-12-29T14:50:00.001-08:00

With the new year coming, I thought it would be appropriate to write about it in Norwegian. In my family, we have usually had Turkey for dinner on new years eve. You can serve it with whatever you want, but a personal classic is creamed potatoes (dauphinoise potatoes). Not very Norwegian, I guess.

nyttårsaften - new years eve
første nyttårsdag - new years day
en kalkun - a turkey
fyrverkeri - fireworks
nyttårsfest/party - new years party
totusen og tretten - twothousand and thirteen

nyttårsforsetter - new years resolutions
"Jeg skal trene mer" - I shall work out more
"Jeg skal spise sunnere" - I shall eat healthier
"Jeg skal spare mer penger" - I shall save more money
"Jeg skal ringe mamma oftere" - I shall call mom more often
"Jeg skal ikke glemme noen bursdager" - I shall not forget any birthdays
"Jeg skal bli flinkere til å lese til eksamen" - I shall get better at reading for the exams

Do you have any resolutions you'd like to say in Norwegian? What do you do on new years eve?

Christmas is coming

2012-12-06T10:15:00.001-08:00

With the holidays coming up, I thought it would be appropriate to do a Norwegian Christmas entry. In Norway, we celebrate on Chrismas eve - 24. December. In my family, the tradition has been to eat pork belly, sausages and meatballs, served with potatoes, various vegetables and sauerkraut....and off course cranberry sauce. This is one tradition. Some families have lamb on Chrismas eve, and some families even have fish. After dinner we have dessert...we usually have homemade rice pudding and a fruity red sauce. When we were younger, we would then walk around the christmas tree, singing songs. After we open presents while eating cakes and drinking coffee.

Here are some words you might want to learn...

en jul (julen) - a Christmas (the Chrismas)
et juletre (juletreet) - a Chrismas tree (the Chrismas tree)
juletrepynt - Christmas tree decoration
en adventskalender (adventskalenderen) - an advent calender (the advent calender)
gløgg - mulled wine
en pepperkake - a gingerbread
et pepperkakehus - a gingerbread house
en julegave/presang - a Christmas gift/present
en julestrømpe - a Christmas stocking
julenisse - Santa Claus

...

I have tried to add the gender on all the words. As you may have noticed, some of the words are constructed by two or even three words, like 'juletre'. 'Jul' is technically female, but as I've said before, to make it easier it is perfectly fine to apply the rules for male words on it. So it will then be 'en jul'. The word 'tre'(tree) is neuter, therefore 'et tre'. With words like 'juletre', the last words gives you the gender. Therefore 'et juletre'.In english this would be "a Christmas tree". When you want to say "the Christmas tree", siply just move "et" to the end of the word... "juletreet".

Num63r5

2012-11-09T09:28:00.003-08:00

In this entry, I am going to teach you how to talk a bit more about yourself. Like where you are from, how old you are and what you are doing. We will then go on to talking about your family and friends. I will divide it into different blog posts, so that you don't have to learn too much at the time.

You now know how to introduce yourself by saying "mitt navn er Anna"(my name is Anna) or "jeg heter Anna"(I'm called Anna). I have also vaguely mentioned how to tell others your age. But today we will take a closer look at that. To be able to say your age, you must know Norwegian numbers.

null - zero
en/ett - one (remember how male/female substantives get en in front of it and neuters get et? when talking about age, it is normal to say "ett år gammel" rather than "en år gammel". That is because "år" is a neuter)
to - two
tre - three
fire - four
fem - five
seks - six
sju/syv - seven (you can choose the one you prefer the most, both are correct and will be understood)
åtte - eight
ni - nine
ti - ten

That's easy enough? Some of the numbers are quite similar to the English ones.

Now, if you are older than ten, then obviously you need to know other numbers as well(but keep reading, becausenumbers are used in so many situations, not only age) I will do the teens, and then mention how to say 20, 30, 40 etc.

elleve - eleven
tolv - twelve
tretten -thirteen
fjorten - fourteen
femten - fifteen
seksten - sixteen
sytten - seventeen
atten - eighteen
nitten - nineteen

Like in English, all the teens get "ten" at the end. TEENager is called TENåring. Do you see the connection?
The stem of some of the numbers has changed, like for instance atten. Eight is åtte, but you would never say åtten.
Sytten; Seven is sju/syv, but you would never say sjutten/syvten. Many Norwegians pronounce it "søtten" rather than "sytten", but you can do what you think is better.
Fjorten; Four is fire, but you would never say fireten.

Next, lets talk about higher numbers.
tjue/tyve - twenty (like with seven, this depends on what you prefer)
tretti - thirty
førti - fourty
femti - fifty
seksti - sixty
sytti - seventy (pronounced either "søtti" or "sytti", which ever you prefer)
åtti - eighty
nitti - ninety
If you want numbers in between, just add them after. For eksample "tjueen" "trettito". etc. It is just like you would do it in English. Simple? All of them follow the same patterns, apart from førti. This one is different, you would never say fireti. Åtti has gone back to its stem åtte, rather than calling it atti.

So this is how you say your age:
"Jeg er tjue/tyve år gammel" - I am twenty years old (swap 20 for your age)

Comparison

2012-11-01T10:12:00.001-07:00

I'm sure by now you know that the three languages Danish, Swedish and Norwegian are quite similar. I found this on the back of a packet of Wasa crispbreag(the picture), and thought you might find it interesting. Notice that Norwegian and Danish look more alike than Swedish and Norwegian? That is because we were under Denmark for about 400 years, and under Sweden for only about 100 years. So Danish and Norwegian look quite similar, and maybe 200 years ago they looked almost identical. That being said, Swedish and Norwegian SOUND more alike. Not sure why, maybe because Sweden is closer to us, and Danish is more influenced by Germany.

Out and about part 3

2012-10-30T15:34:00.002-07:00

Eating out may seem difficult when you're in Norway. You may think we only have weird food that you won't like. That is not true. Norway has lots of traditional meals, but we also have pizza and burgers, if that's what you like. Eating out in Norway isn't always that cheap. Though I guess you get what you pay for. A steak at Friday's will obviously be more expensive than a burger from McDonald's.

For now, lets pretend you're at a real restaurant rather than a take-out place. You might want to ask your waitress:
"Hva anbefaler du?" - What do you recommend?

"Kan jeg få en pepperoni pizza?" - Can I have a pepperoni pizza?
"Kan jeg få pizzaen uten ost?" - Can I get the pizza without cheese? (uten means without)
"Kan jeg få pizzaen med ekstra ost?" - Can I get the pizza with extra cheese? (med means with)

"En cola, takk" - A coke, please
"En øl, takk" - A beer, please
"Et glass vann, takk" - A glass of water, please.
Notice that I have made the two first ones easier by removing "glass". You can say "et glass cola/øl", but "en cola/øl" is right too. It works for "vann" as well, I just prefer to say "et glass vann". I think it is because I like tap water, and it will then come by the glass. Where as beer and coke come in bottles.

If you are worried about allergies or certain food items you simply don't like, don't worry, you can ask your waitress to remove them.
"Er det nøtter i denne retten?" - Are there nuts in this dish? (just change the word "nøtter" with the ingredient you are worried about)
"Kan jeg få retten uten nøtter?" - Can I get the dish without nuts?
"Har dere noen vegetariske alternativer?" - Do you have any vegeterian alternatives?

Here are some common words on a Norwegian menu:
"Biff" - Steak
"Salat" - Salad
"Kylling" - Chicken
"Pommes frites" - Chips/fries (we pronounce them "Pom Free")

Ingredients you might want to know:
"Løk" - Onion
"Ost" - Cheese
"Melk" - Milk
"Nøtter" - Nuts

I recommend you to write down new words in an adress book, that way you can easily find back to them.

What is your favourite meal/drink? Let me know, and I will tell you how to order it in Norway.

Out and about part 2

2012-10-29T15:48:00.001-07:00

After you have made your way from the airport to the hotel, it will be time to check in. This will of course be done at a check-in desk, like any other normal hotel. So what do you say now?

"Jeg vil gjerne sjekke inn" - I would like to check in.

"Når kan jeg sjekke inn?" - when can I check in?

"Reservasjonen er under Anna Burdal" - The reservation is under Anna Burdal (notice how "reservasjon" ends with -en. This indicates a male word and would be translated to THE reservation. If you move -en to the front "en reservasjon", it means a reservation).

"Hvilket romnummer?" - which room number?

"Hvilken etasje?" - which floor?
(On the last two, the gender comes at the end of the question word "hvilke". The first one indicates a neuter word(nummer), because it ends with -et, the second one ends with -en and is therefore male(etasje))

"Er frokost inkludert?" - is breakfast included? (our word is a bit similar to the German word Frühstück. Like in German, "fro" means early, but "kost" in this context means diet).

"Hvordan kommer jeg meg til Karl Johans Gate?" -How do I get to Karl Johans Street?

Hope this is helpful and that you are writing down any new words. Audio will come soon!

The US/GB

2012-10-23T12:10:00.001-07:00

I have noticed that a lot of my views are coming from America, in particular The United States, but also some from Canada. And second most views are coming from the United Kingdom. So I thought I would make a little something for you guys as a thank you for following my blog. First of all, did you know that Norway has adopted many English words into the Norwegian language. Now, many Norwegians say they are against this, but to be honest, it helps the understanding between two languages. I guess it is especially younger people who adopt these words. So here are some words we use in Norwegian as well(sometimes written the same ways, and other times spelt in a "Norwegian" way):
- Snowboard/skateboard
- Snowblades
- Scooter (often combined with "vann" or "snø, meaning water and snow)
- Surfing
- TV(only pronounced with the Norwegian letters)
- Radio
- Internett
- Gitar/bassgitar
(If you are Norwegian and reading this, please send me more words that we have adopted from either English or other languages)

Words that English have adopted from Norwegian...the only words I can think of are:
- Fjord (because they basically only exist in Norway)
- Troll (because let's face it, they only exist in Norway)
- Viking (well it is technically an old norse word, but the vikings came from Norway/Sweden, so therefore I will say it is a Nordic word)

Please let me know if there's any particular words/sentences about The US or GB you would like to learn.
- Great Britain = Storbirtannia
- The United States of America = Amerikas Forente Stater (though we would normally just say U.S.A)

Soundclip will come soon!

Tones and melodies

2012-10-23T10:14:00.001-07:00

Have you ever thought about that Norwegian (and Swedish as well) sounds a bit like a song? This is because we have certain patterns to follow when it comes to pronunciation. You can for instance have two words that are WRITTEN the same, but means two completely different things. How can you tell the difference? Well, when you read it, you will most likely know from the context of what you are reading. But when you are speaking, it is the tone that tells you which word you are saying.

There are two types of "tones": single tone and double tone. Listen while reading, then repeat after me:

Single tone:
Used in words with only ONE syllable, but also for longer words enging in -el, -en and -er. The single tone starts low and rises at the end of the word. For example

Kul (cool)                                                               Finger (finger)

Double tone:
Usually in words with two or more syllables. Starts on a high tone, drops and rises back to the original tone.

Dame (lady)                                                              Nydelig (beautiful)

Pairs of words:
Single tone:                                                             Double tone:
Henger (hanging)                                                   Henger (trailer)
Ånden (the spirit)                                                   Ånden (the breath)

Out and about part 1

2012-10-21T09:52:00.001-07:00

Are you planning to travel to Norway anytime soon? Then this entry might be of use to you. I do recommend you to follow the rest of my blog as well, but this entry will be about doing stuff in Norway such as getting the train, checking into a hotel or eating out. First:

"Jeg reiser med fly til Norge" - I'm travelling with aeroplane to Norway
"Jeg reiser alene" - I'm travelling alone
"Jeg reiser med familien" - I'm travelling with the family.
"Jeg reiser i morgen" - I'm travelling tomorrow(I'm going tomorrow)

At the Airport

Airports in Norway have English signs, but it might be fun to be able to READ the Norwegian signs too. When you arrive at the airport in Norway, the first thing you want to do is find your luggage. Look for a sign saying "bagasje"(luggage).

You then want to look for a way out of the airport. If you want to travel by bus, look the sign "flybuss"(airport bus). If you want to travel by train look for the sign "flytog" (airport train).

Things you might find yourself asking at a Norwegian airport:
"Hvor er bagasjen?" - Where is the luggage?
Or perhaps more formally:
"Hvor kan jeg finne bagasjen?" - Where can I find the luggage?

"Hvor kan jeg kjøpe togbillett/bussbillett?" - Where can I buy a train ticket/bus ticket?
"Én enkelbillett til Oslo, takk" - One single ticket to Oslo, please.

If you are travelling by bus, a question you might want to ask the bus driver is:
"Hvilket stopp for Radisson Hotell?" - Which stop for Radisson Hotel? (Insert the name or your hotel).

Next time we will go through how to check into hotels.

More on consonants

2012-10-21T08:59:00.000-07:00

Combining consonants can be seen as quite complicated for some people. But with the right practice, you should be able to master this. Though it is dependant on which dialect you speak. I am teaching you the dialect you can find in and around Oslo, because that is what is normal to learn(also it is almost the dialect I have so I can't start teaching a dialect I don't fully know). Here are some examples (listen and read at the same time. Repead after me):

The ng sound - the g isn't really sounded - "ting"(thing) "ring"(ring)
The gn sound - the g isn't really sounded - "tegn" (sign) "regn" (rain)
The sk sound - becomes sh before some vowels - "skitt" (dirt) "skille" (divide)
                       - can be sk before other vowels - "skalle" (scull) "sko" (shoe)
The skj sound - becomes sh                       - "skjorte" (shirt) "skjørt" (skirt)
The rs sound - often becomes sh              - "norsk" (Norwegian) "torsk" (cod)

Some consonants can be silent. Here are some examples of those words(listen and read at the same time. Repead after me):

D - is almost always silent at the end of a word - "ved" (wood) "bred" (wide)
      but there are some exeptions where the D is sounded - "ned" (down) "sted"(place)
G - is silent in adjectives/adverbs ending with ig - "ledig" (free) "deilig" (delicious)
H - is silent before j and v                                      - "hjem" (home) "hva" (what)
T - is silent at the end of a definite neuter noun   - "huset" (the house)
      and at the end of "det"(it)
V - is silent at the end of some words                  - "tolv" (twelve) "halv" (half)

Stress

2012-10-21T08:54:00.001-07:00

It is normal to have the stress on the first syllable in a word. BUT there are many exceptions to this rule. This is mainly with words of foreign origin.

Words that are of Latin/Greek origin are stressed on the last syllable. For example:
"universitetet"(university)
"stasjon"(station)
"telefon"(telephone)

Words with German prefixes usually have the stress on the second syllable. For example:
"betale"(pay)
"forklare"(explain)

Introducing yourself

2012-10-20T10:47:00.002-07:00

Although the theory/grammar behind a language is very important, I also think it is important to keep the people you are teaching interested. So I thought I would move on to introducing yourself, and I will get back to more grammar later.

Remember: keep a book with the words that you learn. Perhaps an address book, because you can then organise the words more easily, and find back to the words you have learned.

Here is a soundclip of how you pronouce it. Listen while reading everything below. Pause it as you repeat what I've just said.

How to greet people casually:
"Hei" - hi
"Hallo" - hello

How to greet people formally:
"God dag" - good day
"God morgen" - good morning

How to say goodbye casually:
"Ha det" - bye (directly translated: have it, but you wouldn't say that in English)
"Ha det bra/godt" - goodbye (directly translated: have it good
"God natt" - good night

How to say goodbye formally(people hardly do that):
Farvel - goodbye (technically it means Farewell)
Adjø - goodbye (in my opinion, this is quite old fashioned)

This is how you say a few facts about yourself. Try reading what's below while listening to the clip.

How to indroduce yourself to a stranger:
"Hei, jeg heter Anna/mitt navn er Anna" - hi, I'm Anna/my name is Anna
"Jeg kommer fra Norge" - I come from Norway (you will of course have to replace Norway with your country. Feel free to ask me what it is called in Norwegian)
"Jeg er 20 år gammel" - I am 20 years old (20 is pronounced tyve/tjue. - will explain the last one when we start talking about numbers)

Keeping a conversation(preferably try it with a friend):
Du: "Hei, jeg heter Anna. Hva heter du?" - You: "Hi, my name is Anna. What is your name?"
Gutt: "Hei, mitt navn er Hans." - Boy: "Hi, my name is Hans."
Du: "Hvor kommer du fra?" - You: "Where do you come from?"
Gutt: "Jeg kommer fra Norge. Og du?" - Boy: "I come from Norway. And you?"
Du: "Jeg kommer fra England. Hvor i Norge bor du?" - You: "I come from England. Where in Norway do you live?
Gutt: "Jeg bor i Oslo. Hvor i England bor du?" - Boy: "I live in Oslo. Where in England do you live?"

Consonants

2012-10-20T09:04:00.001-07:00

Norwegian consonants are not that different to English consonants.
Here is a soundclip with the content below. Try reading while listening. Repeat after me.

B - prounounced like in English - "bad" (bath)
C - only used in foreign words - "centimeter"(c is prounounced s)
                                                       "camping" (c is pronounsed k)
D - pronounced like in English - "dame" (lady)
F - pronounced like in English - "finne" (find)
G - can be used two ways      - "gate" (gate) -> the g is pronounced like in English
   - "gi" (give) -> pronounced yee
H - pronounced like in English - "han" (he)
J- pronounced like y in yes        - "ja" (yes)
K - can be pronounced two ways - "klær" (clothes) -> pronounced like k in kite
   - "kyss" (kiss) -> pronounced almost like sh in ship
L - pronounced like in English - "lys" (light)
M - pronounced like in English - mamma (mom)
N - pronounced like in English - "nei" (no)
P - pronounced like in English - "pen" (pretty)
Q - only used in foreign words - "quiz"
R - can be rolled or pronounced - "reise" (travel
       like German R
S - pronounced like in English   - "se" (see)
      OR like "sh" in front of L.     - "slippe" (let go)
T - pronounced like in English - "tog" (train)
V - pronounced like in English - "vel" (well)
W - pronounced like Englisv V - WC (toilet)
       Only used in foreign words
X - pronounced like s                 - "xylofon" (xylophone)
      only used in foreign words
Z - pronounced like s                  - zoom (zoom)
      only used in foreign words

Consonants you need to be extra careful with is K and R. I will make a soundclip which shows this better. But don't worry if you can't get it right yet. There's many people who can't - even Norwegian people.

Vowels

2012-10-20T08:36:00.000-07:00

The Norwegian alphabet has nine vowels. These are: A, E, I, O, U, Y, Æ, Ø, Å.

There are two types of Norwegian vowels; vowels that are short and vowels that are long.

Explaination:

Take the words "tak"(roof) and "takk" (thank you). "Tak" has a long vowel, because it DOESN'T end with two K's (a double consonant). The word "takk" has a short vowel, because it DOES end with a double consonant. This can be applied to most Norwegian words:
hat (hatred) - hatt (hat)
dit (there) - ditt (yours)

Some words cannot end with a double consonant, for example "rom"(room). Eventhough it ends with a single consonant, it still has a short vowel. Other examples of words ending with a single consonant, but has a short vowel are "han"(he), "hun"(she) and "den"(it)

Another thing to remember are words that doesn't end with a consontant at all. As a general rule, these vowels are long. For example "gi"(give), "si"(say), "ti"(ten), "se"(see) etc.

This may look difficult right now, but don't worry, it will make sense after a while.

Here are some exercises with sound. Try reading them out loud:

A - long vowel - pronounced like a in father - "hat" (hatred)
A - short vowel - pronounced like a in father - "hatt" (hat)

E - long vowel - pronounced like ai in air - "sted" (place)
E - short vowel - pronounced like e in bed - "sett" (seen)

I - long vowel - pronounced like ee in sheep - "dit" (there)
I - short vowel - pronounced like i in kiss - "ditt" (yours)

O - long vowel - pronounced like o in lose - "kos" (hug)
O - short vowel - pronounced like o in stock - "kokk" (chef)

U - long vowel - pronounced like ue in cue - "kul" (cool)
U - short vowel - pronounced like u in Hull - "hull" (hole)

Y - long vowel - pronounced like ee(w. rounded lips) - "by" (city)
Y - short vowel - pronounced like ee(w. rounded lips) - "kyss" (kiss)

Æ - long vowel - pronounced like a in cat - "lære" (learn)
Æ - short vowel - pronounced like a in cat - "lærd" (learned)

Ø - long vowel - pronounced like ir in bird - "dør" (door)
Ø - short vowel - pronounced like ir in bird - "dødt" (dead)

Å - long vowel - pronounced like aw in awful - "gå" (go/walk)
Å - short vowel - pronounced like o in hot - "åtte" (eight)

The Alphabet

2012-10-18T13:30:00.001-07:00

The Norwegian alphabet is based on the latin alphabet. It has 29 letters (three more than the English alphabet).

This is how you pronounce the letters (try reading it out loud like you would say it in English). For example: the first letter is pronounced "ah" rather than "ay" like in English.

Listen to this video while reading the letters below. Try repeating what I'm saying out loud.

A - ah
B - beh
C - seh
D - deh
E - eh
F - ef
G - geh
H - haw
I - ee
J - jod/jeh
K - kaw
L - el
M - em
N - en
O - o
P - peh
Q - koo
R - air (role the R)
S - ess
T - teh
U - oo
V - veh
W - dobbeltveh
X - eks
Y - ee (not completely accurate)
Z - set

Here are the extra letters...
Æ - a (like in "sad")
Ø - ir (like in "bird")
Å - aw (like in "awful")

Introduction

2012-10-18T13:11:00.001-07:00

On this blog I will be trying to teach you basic Norwegian. Hopefully I will be able to record some sound so that you can hear the pronounciation of the different words. I will be teaching what I think is important, but feel free to ask me any questions about both the language and the country.

It is said that Norwegian is like listening to a song. In some way this is true. We do like to use our phonetics a lot. You will also see that some words that look the same on paper, can mean completely different things - it depends on how you pronounce it(where you put the pressure and so on). All this will be clearer after a while, and you will be singing your way out of my blog.

Remember that Norwegian is a very complicated language, and you will get frustrated at times, but the key is to practice and not give up. And as I said, if something is unclear, just ask and I will try to make it clearer.