Greetings and polite phrases
| Norwegian | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| hei | hi / hello | HAI | Hei, hvordan har du det?Hi, how are you? |
| god morgen | good morning | goo MOR-gen | God morgen, sov du godt?Good morning, did you sleep well? |
| god kveld | good evening | goo KVELL | God kveld, velkommen.Good evening, welcome. |
| god natt | good night | goo NAHT | God natt, sov godt.Good night, sleep well. |
| ha det | goodbye | hah DEH | Ha det, vi sees snart.Bye, see you soon. |
| takk | thank you | TAHK | Takk for hjelpen.Thanks for the help. |
| vær så snill | please | vair saw SNIL | Kan du hjelpe meg, vær så snill?Can you help me, please? |
| unnskyld | excuse me / sorry | UN-shil | Unnskyld, hvor er toalettet?Excuse me, where is the bathroom? |
| ja | yes | YAH | Ja, jeg forstår.Yes, I understand. |
| nei | no | NAY | Nei takk.No thank you. |
Numbers
| Norwegian | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| en | one | EHN | Jeg har en katt.I have one cat. |
| to | two | TOO | Jeg har to hunder.I have two dogs. |
| tre | three | TREH | Klokken er tre.It's three o'clock. |
| fire | four | FEE-reh | Jeg har fire søsken.I have four siblings. |
| fem | five | FEM | Jeg er fem år gammel.I am five years old. |
| seks | six | SEKS | Klokken er seks.It's six o'clock. |
| sju | seven | SHOO | Uken har sju dager.The week has seven days. |
| åtte | eight | AW-teh | Jeg har åtte bøker.I have eight books. |
| ni | nine | NEE | Klokken er ni.It's nine o'clock. |
| ti | ten | TEE | Jeg teller til ti.I count to ten. |
Colors
| Norwegian | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| rød | red | RUH | Bilen min er rød.My car is red. |
| blå | blue | BLAW | Himmelen er blå.The sky is blue. |
| grønn | green | GRUHN | Gresset er grønt.The grass is green. |
| gul | yellow | GOOL | Bananen er gul.The banana is yellow. |
| svart | black | SVART | Katten er svart.The cat is black. |
| hvit | white | VEET | Snøen er hvit.The snow is white. |
| brun | brown | BROON | Bjørnen er brun.The bear is brown. |
| lilla | purple | LILL-ah | Blomsten er lilla.The flower is purple. |
Family
| Norwegian | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| mor | mother | MOOR | Min mor er snill.My mother is kind. |
| far | father | FAHR | Min far jobber mye.My father works a lot. |
| bror | brother | BROOR | Jeg har en bror.I have one brother. |
| søster | sister | SUR-ster | Jeg har en søster.I have one sister. |
| sønn | son | SURN | Sønnen min er liten.My son is small. |
| datter | daughter | DAH-ter | Datteren min er smart.My daughter is smart. |
| bestefar | grandfather | BES-teh-fahr | Bestefaren min er gammel.My grandfather is old. |
| bestemor | grandmother | BES-teh-moor | Bestemoren min lager god mat.My grandmother makes good food. |
| familie | family | fah-MEE-lee-eh | Familien min er stor.My family is big. |
| onkel | uncle | ON-kel | Onkelen min bor i Norge.My uncle lives in Norway. |
Food and drink
| Norwegian | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| brød | bread | BRUH | Jeg spiser brød til frokost.I eat bread for breakfast. |
| vann | water | VAHN | Jeg drikker vann.I drink water. |
| melk | milk | MELK | Jeg drikker melk.I drink milk. |
| egg | egg | EGG | Jeg spiser et egg.I eat an egg. |
| ost | cheese | OOST | Jeg liker ost.I like cheese. |
| eple | apple | EP-leh | Eplet er søtt.The apple is sweet. |
| kylling | chicken | CHYL-ling | Jeg spiser kylling til middag.I eat chicken for dinner. |
| fisk | fish | FISK | Fisken er fersk.The fish is fresh. |
| ris | rice | REES | Jeg spiser ris.I eat rice. |
| grønnsaker | vegetables | GRURN-sah-ker | Jeg spiser grønnsaker hver dag.I eat vegetables every day. |
| frukt | fruit | FROOKT | Denne frukten er god.This fruit is good. |
| kaffe | coffee | KAH-feh | Jeg drikker kaffe om morgenen.I drink coffee in the morning. |
Time and days
| Norwegian | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| i dag | today | ee DAHG | I dag er det mandag.Today is Monday. |
| i morgen | tomorrow | ee MOR-gen | I morgen skal jeg jobbe.Tomorrow I will work. |
| i går | yesterday | ee GORR | I går var jeg hjemme.Yesterday I was home. |
| uke | week | OO-keh | Denne uken er travel.This week is busy. |
| måned | month | MAW-ned | Denne måneden er kald.This month is cold. |
| år | year | AWR | Dette året er bra.This year is good. |
| mandag | Monday | MAHN-dahg | På mandag hviler jeg.On Monday I rest. |
| time | hour | TEE-meh | Denne timen er tidlig.This hour is early. |
| minutt | minute | mee-NUT | Gi meg ett minutt.Give me one minute. |
| nå | now | NAW | Jeg må gå nå.I have to go now. |
Travel and directions
| Norwegian | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| gate | street | GAH-teh | Denne gaten er stille.This street is quiet. |
| by | city | BEW | Byen er vakker.The city is beautiful. |
| hotell | hotel | hoh-TELL | Hotellet er nær.The hotel is close. |
| flyplass | airport | FLOO-plahss | Flyplassen er langt unna.The airport is far away. |
| tog | train | TOHG | Toget er raskt.The train is fast. |
| buss | bus | BOOSS | Bussen er sen.The bus is late. |
| kart | map | KART | Vis meg kartet.Show me the map. |
| høyre | right (direction) | HOY-reh | Sving til høyre.Turn right. |
| venstre | left (direction) | VEN-streh | Sving til venstre.Turn left. |
| rett fram | straight ahead | RETT frahm | Fortsett rett fram.Continue straight ahead. |
Common verbs
| Norwegian | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| å spise | to eat | aw SPEE-seh | Jeg spiser et eple.I eat an apple. |
| å drikke | to drink | aw DRIK-keh | Jeg drikker vann.I drink water. |
| å gå | to go / walk | aw GAW | Jeg går til jobben.I go to work. |
| å snakke | to speak | aw SNAHK-keh | Jeg snakker norsk.I speak Norwegian. |
| å se | to see | aw SEH | Jeg ser en film.I watch a movie. |
| å høre | to hear | aw HUR-reh | Jeg hører musikk.I hear music. |
| å lese | to read | aw LEH-seh | Jeg leser en bok.I read a book. |
| å skrive | to write | aw SKREE-veh | Jeg skriver et brev.I write a letter. |
| å jobbe | to work | aw YOB-beh | Jeg jobber mye.I work a lot. |
| å sove | to sleep | aw SOH-veh | Jeg sover tidlig.I sleep early. |
Adjectives
| Norwegian | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| stor | big | STOOR | Huset er stort.The house is big. |
| liten | small | LEE-ten | Hunden er liten.The dog is small. |
| varm | hot | VARM | Teen er varm.The tea is hot. |
| kald | cold | KAHL | Vannet er kaldt.The water is cold. |
| pen | pretty / beautiful | PEHN | Blomsten er pen.The flower is pretty. |
| stygg | ugly | STIGG | Bygningen er stygg.The building is ugly. |
| ny | new | NEW | Bilen er ny.The car is new. |
| gammel | old | GAHM-mel | Boken er gammel.The book is old. |
| god | good | GOO | Maten er god.The food is good. |
| dårlig | bad | DOR-lee | Været er dårlig i dag.The weather is bad today. |
Question words
| Norwegian | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| hva | what | VAH | Hva er dette?What is this? |
| hvem | who | VEM | Hvem er du?Who are you? |
| hvor | where | VOOR | Hvor er toalettet?Where is the bathroom? |
| når | when | NOR | Når kommer toget?When does the train arrive? |
| hvorfor | why | VOR-for | Hvorfor er du trist?Why are you sad? |
| hvordan | how | VOR-dahn | Hvordan har du det?How are you? |
| hvor mye | how much | voor MEW-eh | Hvor mye koster dette?How much does this cost? |
| hvilken | which | VIL-ken | Hvilken bok leser du?Which book are you reading? |
Weather and nature
| Norwegian | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| sol | sun | SOOL | Solen skinner i dag.The sun is shining today. |
| regn | rain | RAYN | Det regner ute.It's raining outside. |
| snø | snow | SNUR | Det snør om vinteren.It snows in winter. |
| vind | wind | VIN | Vinden blåser sterkt.The wind is blowing strongly. |
| sky | cloud | SHOO | Himmelen har mange skyer.The sky has many clouds. |
| tre | tree | TREH | Treet er høyt.The tree is tall. |
| blomst | flower | BLOMST | Blomsten lukter godt.The flower smells good. |
| fjell | mountain | FYELL | Fjellet er høyt.The mountain is tall. |
| hav | sea | HAHV | Havet er blått.The sea is blue. |
| skog | forest | SKOOG | Skogen er stor.The forest is big. |
Study tips for Norwegian
- Norwegian nouns have grammatical gender, and Bokmål lets you treat feminine nouns as common gender, so learn each noun's article (en/ei/et) alongside its meaning.
- Word stress usually falls on the first syllable, and Norwegian uses pitch accent, which can subtly change the meaning of otherwise similar words.
- Practice the vowels æ, ø, and å on their own, since they don't exist in English but appear in many everyday words.
- Norwegian and English share many cognates, such as hus (house) and bok (book), which can speed up your vocabulary learning.
- Listen to Norwegian audio alongside reading, since consonant clusters like kj and skj are not pronounced the way they look.
Frequently asked questions
Is Norwegian vocabulary similar to English?
Yes, Norwegian and English are both Germanic languages and share many cognates, such as hus (house) and bok (book), which makes basic vocabulary easier for English speakers to recognize.
How many words do I need to know to have basic conversations in Norwegian?
Around 100 to 150 high-frequency words covering greetings, numbers, family, and everyday objects, like the ones on this page, are enough to build simple beginner sentences and follow basic conversations.
Is Bokmål or Nynorsk used in this vocabulary?
This page uses Bokmål, the more widely used of Norway's two official written standards, which is also what most learning materials and media use.