Learn About Norwegian

Norsk • 5.3 million speakers worldwide

Indo-European Family•Medium Difficulty•ISO: no
Language Sample

"Hei! Hvordan har du det?"

Pronunciation: Hi! Vordan har du de?

Translation: Hi! How are you doing?

Language Overview

Speakers

5.3 million

Language Family

Indo-European (North Germanic)

Writing System

Latin alphabet

Official Status

Official in Norway

Regions (2 countries)

NorwaySvalbard
History & Origins

Norwegian evolved from Old Norse and has been influenced by Danish due to centuries of Danish rule. Modern Norwegian has two official written forms: Bokmål (more Danish-influenced) and Nynorsk (based on Norwegian dialects). The language underwent significant reforms in the 20th century.

Language Characteristics

  • Two official written standards: Bokmål and Nynorsk

  • Pitch accent system with two tones

  • Three grammatical genders in Nynorsk, two in Bokmål

  • Relatively simple grammar compared to other Germanic languages

  • V2 word order (verb-second) in main clauses

  • Rich system of dialects with significant variation

Common Words
hello:hei
goodbye:ha det
please:takk / vær snill
thank you:tusen takk
yes:ja
no:nei
water:vann
food:mat
house:hus
family:familie
Numbers 0-10
0:en/ett
1:to
2:tre
3:fire
4:fem
5:seks
6:syv/sju
7:åtte
8:ni
9:ti
Major Dialects

Eastern Norwegian (Oslo area)

Western Norwegian (Bergen area)

Trøndelag Norwegian

Northern Norwegian

Bokmål (written standard)

Nynorsk (written standard)

Learning Tips

  • Choose between Bokmål and Nynorsk early (Bokmål is more common)

  • Don't worry about perfect pronunciation - Norwegians speak many dialects

  • Learn the pitch accent system to sound more natural

  • Practice with Norwegian TV shows and podcasts

  • Focus on common irregular verbs first

  • Use cognates with English and German to build vocabulary quickly

Cultural Notes

  • Norwegians value equality and informality - even with authority figures

  • Outdoor life (friluftsliv) is central to Norwegian culture

  • Coffee culture is important - Norwegians drink a lot of coffee

  • Janteloven (Law of Jante) discourages standing out or boasting

  • Work-life balance is highly valued

  • Norway has a strong tradition of folk music and storytelling

Fun Facts

Norwegian has two official written forms but hundreds of spoken dialects

All dialects are considered equally valid - there's no 'standard' pronunciation

Norwegian is mutually intelligible with Swedish and Danish

The word 'ski' comes from Norwegian

Norwegian was heavily influenced by Low German during the Hanseatic period

Norway has more dialects per capita than most other countries

Ready to test your Norwegian knowledge?

Try our interactive language guessing game and see if you can identify Norwegian from text samples.