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Introduction to Norwegian: 1

Hei! Welcome to this free interactive Norwegian course. We’ll start from scratch and teach some Norwegian to you, and then we'll ask you to write certain things in Norwegian in the form below. You’ll need to type in the answers before moving on.

Norwegian comes from the same family as English does so it is very similar to English. Moreover, contrary to popular belief, Norwegian is also pretty easy to learn for English speakers. You will find both of these things out in the course of this course. Let’s get to learning now.

Norwegian for I is jeg.

Norwegian for to have is å ha.

It’s practically the same as in English, just å is to and ha is have.

The next word is almost the same as well:

Norwegian for it is det.

Look carefully at this word det: it ends with et. This et is neutral (you will learn what that means soon). You'll also learn it can also serve as the word for a or the. Anyhow, what we need to know for now is that det means it.

To put this all together, let’s learn the basic rule:

To make to do into any other form (I do, you do, etc.) you simply remove the word to (which is å) in Norwegian and add an r on the end of the word.

Could you work out how to say:

  1. Type in your answer in the field above. For example, for this lesson, try "Jeg har det."
  2. It is just the same as in the last lesson, except you have "Du" instead of "Jeg".
  3. Mind the fact that the word order in Norwegian will be, literally, "I have it not". It just sounds better, doesn't it?
  4. The word order is the same as in English.
  5. Remember that "here" is "her".
  6. This will have the exact same word order as English.
  7. Remember that you will have you word order as "she has it not".
  8. Remember "handhun" to get the word for "he". Also, just add an "r" to "snakke" to get the word for "speaks".
  9. Your word order will be almost exactly the same as in English: "Speak you Norwegian?"
  10. Remember the word "snakker".
  11. Your word order will be "they speak not Norwegian because they are English". Remember the final "e" for plural.
  12. Don't forget the final "e"
  13. Your word order is "Speak you all English?"
  14. Remember that "vil" already means "want to", thus you will only need four words in this phrase.
  15. The word you're looking for is probably være. Your word order has to be: "we want not be here". 
  16. The word "vil" already means "want to", thus this sentence is four words long (and yes, it includes the word være).
  17. The word you need is være.
  18. The word for "speak" was "snakke".
  19. This is a phrase exactly like in English, except in Norwegian words.
  20. Use "skal" for "will".
  21. Yes, write in the word "gjøre". This phrase is four words long in Norwegian.
  22. Literally: "Want you do it?", and using the word "gjøre".
  23. You use the word "gjøre" twice. Be careful to use "skal" and not "vil" in the sentence.
  24. Remember that you have to say "they want have something" in Norwegian.
  25. "I do not have it" will be literally "I have it not".
  26. "Trenger" already means "need to", thus you will not need that word in the sentence.
  27. "Will" was "skal", remember?
  28. Put "et" right after "hus" (without any spaces).
  29. Remember you are saying "the time".
  30. Think carefully whether it is "det" or "den" this time.
  31. Just put "good" and "night" together.
  32. Use the word "hjelpe".
  33. Use "handhun" to remember the word for "he".
  34. Remember that "the car" is just one word. And, again, "England" is "England".
  35. Use the same word order as in English.
  36. Literally: "what want you?"
  37. Literally: "what have you?"
  38. Use the same word order as in English. From was "fra".
  39. Don't forget to make "house" into "the house".
  40. Use the word order "why speak you Norwegian?"
  41. Remember that this is literally "how have you it?" The word "how" was "hvordan".
  42. This is "I have it good, thanks".
  43. You are saying "have it good", and using the word "bra" instead of "god". The imperative word for "have" is only two letters long, and comes from the infinitive form.
  44. Do you remember that "hi" was "hei"? Also, you are asking "how have you it?" (Remember that "how" was "hvordan".)
  45. You are saying "I have it good, thanks". Moreover, "morning" was "morgon".
  46. The same word order as in English. "From" was "fra", and where was "hvor".
  47. Norway was "Norge".
  48. Literally: "No, I speak not English."
  49. This sounds similar to "whatfor?"
  50. Your car comes with a bill, remember?
  51. Be careful to use "en" and "et" where appropriate.
  52. You will be saying "the car", thus add the right article to end the word.
  53. Use the word "være" for "be". Be careful as to whether you use "det" or "den".
  54. This is, remember, literally "have it good". Use the word "bra" for "good".
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