Jeg Lærer Norsk

En norsk setning skal normalt ha et subjekt, og vi kan bruke det som et innholdstomt, formelt subjekt når det ikke er noe annet naturlig subjekt. Det har samme plassering som vanlige subjekter:

Det blåser på toppene. I dag er det mye å gjøre. Det kan bli mye stress her.

Ofte bruker vi det som subjekt selv om det er andre mulige subjekter:

Vi kan bruke det som formelt subjekt i setninger som har et egentlig subjekt. Det egentlige subjektet kan være et substantiv i ubestemt form, en infinitiv eller en leddsetning:

En kollega satt i kantina. -> Det satt en kollega i kantina. Å leve her i byen er dyrt. -> Det er dyrt å leve her i byen. At alle tar ansvar, er viktig. -> Det er viktig at alle tar ansvar.

Setningene inneholder mye informasjon, og vi foretrekker oftest å sette denne typen informasjon lenger bak i setningen of ha et formelt det på subjektplassen. At-setningene er i tillegg ganske tunge ledd, og tunge ledd velger vi gjerne å sette i slutten av setningen.

Uttrykk med med Her har vi også et subjekt i ubestemt form:

Erfaring er nyttig. -> Det er nyttig med erfaring. Regler i arbeidslivet er viktig. -> Det er viktig med regler i arbeidslivet.

Tilfeldige Norske Ord og Uttrykk (Mellomnivå/Avansert) Random Norwegian Words and Phrases (Intermediate/Advanced)

å innynde seg (v1) - å gjøre seg likt, å innsmigre seg (to ingratiate oneself)

Jeg vil ikke støtte en president som innynder seg med diktatorer. (I don’t want to support a president who ingratiates himself to dictators)

Måten hun forsøkte å innynde seg hos sjefen var helt ynkelig. (The way she was trying to ingratiate herself to the boss was totally pathetic)

å ha overtaket (uttrykk) - å ha mer styrke eller være bedre i en kamp osv (to have the upper hand)

Gjennom hele kampen hadde vårt lag overtaket. (Throughout the entire match, our team had the upper hand)

Han nektet å innrømme at motstanderen hans hadde overtaket. (He refused to concede that his opponent had the other hand)

å oppheve (v1/v3) - å sette ut av kraft (to repeal)

Norges hytteforbud ble opphevet 20. april. (Norway’s cabin ban was repealed on the 20th of April)

Mange av de omstridte tiltakene ble opphevet etter mye opprør. (Many of the controversial measures were repealed after much uproar)

framtredende (adj) - framstående, kjent (prominent)

Flere framtredende ernæringseksperter var på konferansen. (Many prominent nutrition experts were at the conference)

Hun er en framtredende politikker og forkjemper for menneskerettigheter. (She’s a prominent politician and champion of human rights)

troverdig (adj) - verdig til tillit (credible, believable)

Med disse nye konsollene vil spillere få en mer troverdige spillopplevelse enn før. (With these new consoles, gamers will get a more believable gaming experience than before)

Jeg tror ikke den avisa er en troverdig kilde. (I don’t think that newspaper’s a credible source)

etter hensikten (uttrykk) - som det hadde blitt håpet (as intended)

Studien var for liten til å bevise at vaksinen virket etter hensikten. (The study was too small to prove that the vaccine worked as intended)

Planen fungerte ikke helt etter hensikten, men den var nok effektiv. (The plan didn’t work quite as intended, but it was still effective)

til punkt og prikke (uttrykk) - nøyaktig (to the T)

Jeg forstår ikke hvorfor det smaker så jævlig - jeg fulgte oppskriften til punkt og prikke! (I don’t understand why it tastes so horrible - I followed the recipe to the T!)

Jeg tror de fleste kristenene ikke følger bibelen til punkt og prikke. (I think most Christians don’t follow the Bible to the T)

det gjenstår å se (v) - vi får se om det (remains to be seen)

Om denne nye kunnskapen også kan utnyttes til ny medikamentell behandling av kreft, gjenstår å se. (Whether this new knowledge can also be used for new medical treatment of cancer remains to be seen)

Det gjenstår å se om folk egentlig bruker appen. (It remains to be seen whether people will actually use the app)

trinnvis (adj/adv) - gradvis, steg for steg (step by step, incrementally)

Utviklingen av appen går trinnvis, og vi jobber med å kunne lansere det før påske. (The development of the app is going step by step, and we’re working to be able to launch it before Easter)

Det nye systemet blir trinnvis innført over hele landet. (The new system will gradually be rolled out over the whole country)

sulteforet på (adj) - hå måtte gå uten noe lenge og savne det (starved)

Alt er nok litt sulteforet på sosialt samvær. (Everyone’s a bit starved for social interaction)

Han hadde lyst til å skrive den slags boka han selv hadde vært sulteforet på som barn. (He wanted to write the kind of book he himself had been starved of as a child)

å presisere (v2) - gjøre noe klart (clarify)

Hun presiserte at hun brukte kun egg fra frittgående høner. (She clarified that she only used eggs from free range hens)

Bonden sa de fleste ga seg etter kort tid i åkeren, men han presiserte at noen var flinke og jobbet hardt. (The farmer said most people gave up after a short time working the field, but he clarified that some were good at their job and worked hard)

skjenkestopp (m/n) - når barer eller puber slutter å servere drikker (last orders)

Det er skjenkestopp klokka 23. (Last orders are 11pm)

Snart er det skjenkestopp - vil du ha en øl til eller skal vi stikke? (It’s last orders soon - do you want another beer or shall we head off?)

Music is a great way to get exposure to a language and with that being said here are some of my recomendations!

RAZIKA

Pikekyss

No.4

Kajander

Just some charts/diagrams/notes I made while studying Norwegian temporal prepositions. 

When something happened in the past ➡️ for … siden

When something will happen in the future ➡️ om / til 

How long something is lasting ➡️ i / på / siden

How long it takes to do/complete something ➡️ på

Sorry, no charts for…

før (before) - før jul (before Christmas)

etter (after) - etter ferien (after the holidays)

fra … til … (from … to …) - fra fem til sju (from five to seven)

i løpet av (during) - i løpet av studiene (during the studies)

under (during - *ongoing through or during the time something lasts*) - under krigen (during the war)

innen (by, within) - innen fredag (by Friday)

omkring (about, around) - omkring ti minutter (about ten minutes)

omtrent (approximately) - omtrent 20 barn (approximately 20 children)

And here’s a summary I made… I also included the matching German prepositions (in blue) and German translation of the example sentences.

Time adverbials in Norwegian-Germam-English - comparison

In Norwegian, adverbials (which tell you when, where, how, or why something is done) can be first or last in a sentence. In German, adverbials coming first is also not a problem. If the adverbial is first, in both Norwegian and German the verb will come second. In English, the subject still comes before the verb:

Nå skinner sola i Oslo. / I Oslo skinner sola nå.

Jetzt scheint die Sonne in Oslo. / In Oslo scheint jetzt die Sonne.

Now the sun is shining in Oslo. / In Oslo the sun is shining now.

However, in a sentence where both time and place are mentioned together after the verb in Norwegian, place is usually before time in the sentence (like in English). In German, time comes before place.

Sola skinner i Oslo nå.

Die Sonne scheint jetzt in Oslo.

A (er) på størrelse med B ✨ A (is) the size of B

Hagl på størrelse med golfballer forårsaket store skader på biler. (Hail the size of golfballs caused major damage to cars.)

Etter seks uker er embryoet på størrelse med et bringebær. (After six weeks the embryo is the size of a raspberry.)

Han har et ego på størrelse med solsystemet. (He has an ego the size of the solar system.)

Innen ett år ble et område på størrelse med Jamaica ødelagt i Brasils del av Amazonas. (Within one year, an area the size of Jamaica was destroyed in Brazil's part of the Amazon.)

Prostata er omtrent på størrelse med en kastanje. (The prostate is about the size of a chestnut.)

Flekkene på veggen var på størrelse med en mynt. (The spots on the wall were the size of a coin.)

Asking for information

the verb kunne (could) is what you should use to espress politeness when asking for information. While the present tense kan (can) is acceptable, the preterite kunne is much more polite, and indicates that the speaker is requesting a favor:

Kan du si meg hvor...? Can you tell me where...? Kunne du si meg...? Could you tell me...? Kunne du si når neste buss går? Could you tell me when the next bus leaves?

It is also common to start the questions with unnskyld:

Unnsklyd, kunne du si meg... Excuse me, could you tell me...

slapsete, adjektiv sloppy (in reference to snow) som består av våt, sørpet snø ''Snøen faller på flere måter, i tunge driver i løpet av natten eller i vindkast fra siden om dagen, som deprimerende, slapsete sludd...'' Snow falls in dozens of ways, in heavy overnight dumps and daytime, sideways squalls, in demoralizing sloppy sleet...

å inntre, verb to enter om forhold, tilstand: finne sted, komme ''Etter hvert skjer det imidlertid noe. Langsomt inntrer en vending.'' Eventually, however, something happens. A slow reversal begins. et byks, substantiv a big leap brått og kraftig hopp ''Moren minn gikk til slutt ut i arbeid igjen, like etter at jeg begynte på videregående , tok et byks ut av huset og nabolaget og inn i Chicagos tettpakkede skyskraperherte...'' My mother ultimately did go back to work, right about the time I began high school, catapulting herself out of the house and into the dense, skyskrapered heart of Chicago...

kjærkommen, adjektiv welcome kjær, velsett, ønsket ''For henne var jobben en kjærkommen forandring i rutinene...'' The job, for her, was a welcome shift in routine...

å slentre, verb to stroll gå makelig og avlappet, slenge ''På sin slentrende, smilende måte hadde Craig beleilig ryddet vei for meg.'' Craig, in his ambling and smiley way, had conveniently broken every trail for me.

Ordering and Requesting

The key word to remember if you want to be polite while requesting something is gjerne, which does not translate directly into English. This is because it modifies other words in the sentence , instead of having a straightforward meaning itself. It can mean many things depending on context, but when it comes to requests, the phrase Jeg vil gjerne ha can be translated as I would like. Gjerne is frequently used along with the verb vil as an indication of politeness whenever one orders or buys something, and also whenever one expresses a desire:

Jeg vil gjerne ha en cappuccino. I would like a cappuccino. Jeg vil gjerne ha fisk of kokte poteter. I would like fish and boiled potaotes.

Vil gjerne is the most common way of expressing a polite request. Ville gjerne has a similar effect, but is a more restrained request. It implies the speaker's acceptance of the possibility of disappointment:

Jeg vil gjerne ha ris i stedet for poteter. I would prefer rice instead of potatoes.

Skal (will) cannot be used along with gjern when ordering something or asking for something, but skulle (should) can be, and has the faint implication that the speaker is apologising for bothering the person they are talking to:

Jeg skulle gjerne ha... I should like to have... Jeg skulle gjerne vite... I should like to know...

These phrases, wile conveying slightly different nuances, are largely interchangeable. If you prefer to stick to one phrase only, vil gjerne is the most versatile.

The word takk is also useful:

En kaffe, takk! A coffee, please! En øl til, takk! Another beer, please!

Pay attention to your tone when you use this phrase, however. Some people, accidentally or otherwise, turn the request into something sounding like a demand.

You will sometimes hear people use skal when ordering/buying something, and this is always used without gjerne:

Jeg skal ha en cappuccino. I'm having a cappuccino.

This can easily come across as curt and impolite, so it is better to stick to phrases that contain gjerne or takk.

The waiter in the restaurant, on the other hand, can use skal without being impolite. It occurs in a common, and deliberately impersonal, expression in restaurants. the waiter comes up to you after you have had time to look at the menu and asks:

Hva skal det være? What may I get you (lit: What will it be?)

Despite the bluntness of the question, this is actually correctly polite. It conveys an eager readiness to get you anything you might desire. Other expressions the restaurant staff might use include:

hva vil dere ha? What would you like? Hva har dere lyst på? What do you feel like/fancy?

Music is a great way to get exposure to a language and with that being said here are some of my recomendations!

RAZIKA

Pikekyss

No.4

Kajander

visst

Visst is yet another word that suggests that the speaker has some reservations. But by using visst rather than, for example, nok, the speaker indicates that their information comes from someone else, and that they are merely repeating what they've heard.

Han kommer visst i morgen. He'll be here tomorrow, apparently (someone said so). Det skal visst bli pent vær. The weather is supposed to be nice tomorrow (according to the weather report).

Nok, sikkert, and visst can be made negative by adding ikke after the adverb:

Han kommer nok ikke i morgen. He probably won't be here tomorrow. Jeg klarer det sikkert ikke. I'm sure I won't manage it.

Learn some nynorsk. Because there is no official spoken language, a lot of spoken Norwegian is somewhere between nynorsk and bokmål, and learning even the basic differences can help you with understanding (for example, å begynne in nynorsk is å byrja, which is obviously very different. So, if someone speaks a dialect closer to nynorsk, then unless you already know that å byrja = å begynne, you might miss the meaning of the sentence).

Active listening is key. I found it helpful to listen to a podcast and take notes so that I could summarise it (you’ll probably have to pause it and rewind it a few times, but that’s all good!) Smartere på ti minutter is good because it’s short and the presenter speaks quite clearly.

If you have the opportunity to talk to native speakers, do it. Get them to repeat things slowly/write down what they say. Ask them about a bit of podcast/TV show that’s giving you trouble.

Norskpodden is great because it has a transcript with each episode. Listen and try to understand as much as possible without the transcript, then listen again with the transcript, then try one more time without the transcript

Try to understand without subtitles. I actually found subtitles super distracting because a lot of the time - especially on NRK - the subtitles match the sentiment of what’s being said, but not the actual words. If you don’t catch something, turn the subtitles on and rewatch, and see if you can work out what the other words might be.

Songs! Listen and try to understand without lyrics, then pull the lyrics up and listen again. Try to learn the song too (and what it means, of course - I recommend trying to translate it yourself first rather than just looking up a translation).

Work on your own pronunciation/speaking abilities. You can use Google Translate to hear the pronunciation of individual words. I found by learning to pronounce things properly, I was better at picking out particular sounds (and therefore words). I’m pretty sure Norsklærer Karense has some videos on pronunciation tips for particular sounds.

This sounds weird but listen out for small words like jo, vel and nok. I wanted to understand how they were used in natural speech, so I started listening for specifically those words. And somehow (I guess because I was listening more actively), I realised I could understand a lot more than I had while not listening for specific words, even though I barely heard those words at all. (Does this make sense? If not, I can try to explain better lol)

være skråsikker på noe

være helt/urokkelig sikker på noe, være (overdrevent) selvsikker i en sak

to be completely certain of something

Hun er skråsikker at det var hunden som spiste pølser fordi hunden kaster opp og gjemmer. She's certain it was the dog who ate the hot dogs because the dog is throwing up and hiding.

Origin

Førsteleddet i skråsikker har ikke noe med adjektivet 'skrå' (skjev, hellende) å gjøre. Det kan derimot være et gammelt substantiv 'skrå' (skinn, lovbok). Den opphavelige betydning av uttrykket skulle i alle fall være at noe var 'like sikker(t) som om det var skrevet og stadfestet i skråen.' En annen mulig forklaring er at førsteleddet har sammenheng med et forsterkende prefiks: skrubb (skrubbsulten). Den danske prefikset 'skrup-' ble opphavelig brukt om en rasende, sterk lyd og deretter kan det ha fått en rent forsterkende betydning.

The first part in 'skråsikker' has nothing to do with the adjective 'skrå' (crooked, sloping). It can, however, be an old noun 'skrå' (leather, law book). The original meaning of the expression would likely be that something was 'as certain as if it had been written and confirmed in the law book.' Another possible explanation is that the first part is related to a reinforcing prefix: 'skrubb' (skrubbsulten - exgtremely hungry). The Danish prefix 'skrup-' was originally used for a furious, strong sound and then it may have later acquired a purely reinforcing meaning.

Nok

Nok normally indicates that the speaker has an opinion or conviction that something is true, but isn't completely certain:

Det slutter nok snart å regne. It will probably stop raining soon. De kommer nok i morgen. I think they'll be here tomorrow.

A statement or a demand can be made less harsh by the inclusion of nok:

Du har nok misforstått. You have probably misunderstood. Dere må nok vente litt til. I'm afraid you'll have to wait.

110 Random-But-Quite-Useful words in Norwegian - in alphabetical order!

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substantiver / nouns

(m) = masculine, (m/f) = masculine and feminine, (n) = neuter some words have multiple forms (and they are all equally correct to use), are separated with a /

diskusjon (m) = discussion forfølger (m) = stalker; someone who chases/pursues/follows at speed; someone who persecutes fornærmelse (m) = insult forståelse (m) = understanding følelse (m) = feeling handling (m/f) = act, deed; action; plot or storyline (in work of fiction); shopping (the action of visiting shops) hemmelighet (m/f) = secret hygge (m/f) = cosiness, hygge innlegg (n) = post; a contribution (to a debate); inlay, insole inspirasjon (m) = inspiration inspirasjonskilde (m) = source of inspiration interesse (m) = interest katastrofe (m) = catastrophe konkurranse (m) = competition; contest kilde (m) / kjelde (m/f) = spring (a place where water emerges from the ground); source; fountain; fount kos (m) = look at this krangel (m) = quarrel, argument lagring (m/f) = storage, save; saving, storing lykke (m) = happiness; (good) luck, fortune; blessing lykketreff (n) = stroke of luck; meeting of luck løgn (m/f) = lie løgnhals (m) = (lit. lie neck/throat) lier, someone who lies magefølelse (m) = gut feeling mening / meining (m/f) = opinion; meaning; intention misforståelse (m) = misunderstanding motivasjon (m) = motivation nysgjerrigper (m) = (lit. curious/nosy Per) busybody, one who is intrusive or nosy oppbevaring (m/f) = storage, safekeeping optimist (m) = optimist pessimist (m) = pessimist problem (n) = problem rot (n) = root (of plant, tooth, hair); mess, untidyness sammenkomst (m) = gathering (of people), get-together samtale (m/f) = conversation sannhet (m) = truth skryt (n) = boast, bragging skrytepave (m) = (lit; boasting/bragging pope) someone who boasts/brags (a lot)  skryting (m/f) = boasting, bragging smil (n) = smile tanke (m) = thought; intent; idea; an imaginary small unit of something (a tad) tilbud (n) = offer; bid tro (m/f) = belief, faith; trust, confidence vurdering (m/f) = assessment; consideration; evaluation ærlighet (m) = honesty

verber / verbs

å beholde = to keep, retain å erte = to tease å forfølge = to stalk; to chase, pursue, follow at speed; to persecute å fornærme = to offend, insult å fraråde = to advise from å gjemme (seg) = to hide (oneself), conceal (oneself) å gråte = to cry, weep å inkludere = to include å interessere (noen) = to interest (someone) (to attract attention or concern) å kaste bort = to throw away; to waste  å kjefte (på noen) = to scold (someone) å konkurrere = to compete å lagre = to save; to store; to mature (cheese, whisky, wine) å legge ut (et innlegg) = to post (a post); to put out å lyge = to lie å mase = to nag å misforstå = to misunderstand å motivere = to motivate å omhandle / handle om = to be about å oppbevare = to keep, preserve, save, store å overvelde = to overwhelm å rote = to untidy, make a mess å rydde = to tidy å rydde bort = to clear, put away å råde = to advise å skryte = to brag, boast å smile = to smile å tenke seg om = to think twice, think about oneself’s actions å tilby = to offer å tro på (noe) = to believe in (something) å vurdere = to consider, put into consideration; assess; evaluate

adjektiver / adjectives

[ ] = neuter form some words have multiple forms (and they are all equally correct to use), are separated with a / 

annerledes = different bortkastet / bortkasta = wasted ekkel [ekkelt] = gross, disgusting,  ertende = teasing (can be adverbial: le ertende = laugh teasingly) første = first (adverb: først) gråtende = crying, weeping glad = happy, glad hemmelig = secret hjelpsom [hjelpsomt] = helpful hjemmekoselig = homey hyggelig = nice, pleasant; cozy, comfortable inkludert = included (can be prepositional: inkludert deg = including you) interessant = interesting koselig = cozy, comfortable; nice, pleasant motiverende = motivating nysgjerrig = curious; inquisitive; nosy nyttig = useful overveldende = overwhelming overveldet / overvelda = overwhelmed rasende = enraged (is also an adverb: rasende = awfully, terribly) rotete / rotet = untidy, messy ryddig = tidy, clean sann [sant] = true, real, genuine  siste = last (adverb: sist) tilfeldig = random (can be adverbial: velge tilfeldig = choose randomly) trist = sad  uhyggelig = cheerless, dismal, dreary; uncomfortable, unpleasant; ominous, sinister, eerie, uncanny, weird umotivert = unmotivated ærlig = honest

adverber / adverbs

emosjonelt = emotionally (can also an adjective: emosjonell = emotional) fysisk = physically (can also be an adjective: fysisk = physical) mentalt = mentally (can also be an adjective: mental = mental) sammen = together; simultaneously; into each other sist, men ikke minst = last but not least ærlig talt = honestly, honestly said

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(et) pågangsmot, substantiv courage, drive mot til å gå på "Jeg var antagelig ikke bedre enn de andre elevene hennes, ikke mindre famlende, men jeg var full av pågangsmot." I was probably no better than her other students, no less fumbling, but I was driven.

opprømt, adjektiv excited glad, munter, i høy stemmning "Jeg fikk en slags opprømt tilfredsstillelse av det." I got a buzzy sort of satisfaction from it.

ærbødig, adjektiv respectful som viser stor aktelse eller respekt "Det er mulig at vi kunne ha fortsatt på denne måten, Robbie og jeg, hadde jeg vært mindre nysgjerrig og mer ærbodig når det gjaldt pianometodene hennes." It’s possible that we might have continued this way, Robbie and I, had I been less curious and more reverent when it came to her piano method.

en kverulant, substantiv a complaining, argumentative person person som stadig klager og føler seg forurettet, trettekjær person, kranglefant "Jeg var en kverulant, men kunne også ha en tendens til å bli diktatorisk..." I was lawyerly and also veered toward dictatorial...

langdryg, long and boring langvarig, kjedelig "Pianotimene ble en langdryg prøvelse, noe som for en stor del skyldes at jeg nektet å følge den foreskrevne metoden..." Piano lessons became epic and trying, largely due to my refusal to follow the prescribed method...