Norwegian phrasebook
Photo: Copyright(?) © Roar Johansen, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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 to varying extents. 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, German and English, and English has also borrowed substantially from Old Norse during the Viking Age.
Almost all of Norway's five million citizens speak Norwegian.
UnderstandUnlike many other languages, there is no standard spoken Norwegian, and Norwegians generally speak their native dialects even in the most formal situations.
Pronunciation GuideNorwegian spelling is pretty simple and regular (compared to, say, English), but like most real languages, it is unfortunately not completely regular.
Phrase list(nn) Det var hyggjeleg å treffe deg. Ha det bra! (De var hyg-yeh-lehg aw treff-eh dehg. Hah deh bra!)
Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Norwegian phrasebook" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: Copyright(?) © Roar Johansen, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons