Learing Norvegian

SITE: PRONUNTIE IN NORVEGIANA: HTTP://NO.THEFREEDICTIONARY.COM/NEI

Norweg. IPA, Notes

A [], very open

B [b]

C [s] or [k] depending on word, very rare

D [d], silent in consonant clusters

E [e] or [], [] in her and der, [i] in de

F [f]

G [g], [j] before an i; silent before a j; silent after an i and sometimes

an a or o

H [h], silent before v

I [i] like the e in email or ebook, [] before two consonants

J [j], like the y in yes or yellow

K [k]

kj, ki, ky [], like the sharp h in human

L [l]

M [m]

N [n]

O [u] like the oo in soon, but longer, [] before two consonants

P [p]

R [], tap, like the tt in North American butter; some in Norway use [],
1
 Norweg. IPA, Notes

the so-called French R

rs [], r + s combinations produce sh sound, even between words

S [s]

skj, ski, sky, [], like the sh in ship or shell

sl

T [t], silent after an e sometimes, ex. det

U [], like the ew in new, but more closed

V [v]

Y [y] or [], like the e in email, but more closed

Norwegian also has three special vowels, , and .

- Similar To IPA

the a in add or apple []

no real equivalent, but not far from the vowel sounds [] or []

in bird or earth

the o in open or old [o] or []

Special Notes on Common Words

Norweg. Meaning Pronunciation

jeg I yai, rhymes with English guy

er am, is, are r, similar to English are but with tapped r

det it, that deh, silent t

de they dee

Tips and notes

MEASURE WORDS
2
Remember that in Norwegian, the word for of, av, is omitted where one would normally use it in
English to join a measure word with another noun.

Norwegian English

en kopp kaffe a cup of coffee

et glass vin a glass of wine

Frokost ('fukust) breakfast Iskrem ('iskem) ice cream

Maten food Kylling ('yl) chicken

Mlted ('moltid ) meal Kjtt (t) meat

Kaffe ('kf ) coffe Restaurant (st) restaurant

Brus soda Vegetarianer (gtn)

vegetarian
l (l ) beer
Skje (e) spoon
Appelsin (plsin) orange
Gaffel ('gfl) fork
Tomat (tumt) tomato
Teskje ('tee) teaspoon
Sitron (stun) lemon
Kniv (kni) knife
Jordbr ('jub) strawberry
Tallerken (t'lkn) plate
Ost (ust) cheese
Kokk (kk) cook
Olje ('lj) oil

I notice that when du is followed by et.....it sounds or flows like one word....duet!!

Ansewer: It doesnt says the T (eplet) in the end. Why? Is the speech software's bad?

Answer: All neuter nouns in singular definite is pronounced without the t at the end. Unless you
put on an s to show ownership, where both t and s is pronounced.

We use s like in english, just without the '. So "Eplets farge" = The apple's colour.

"Bilens dr" = The car's door

3
"Hans eple" = His apple. You use the non-conjugated form like in english for apple.

Also, when a name or word ends in s and you want to use the s, you write just ' instead.

"Anges' eple" = Agnes's apple

Question: Is the ending "-ten" in "Restauranten" pronounced like "ghen"?

Answer: Indeed it is, and you'll see the same pattern in other French loan words - with a couple of
exceptions thrown in for good measure. ;)

Tallerken = Dish | Tallerkenen = The dish | Tallerkener = Dishes | Tallerkenene = The dishes

Tips and notes

Animals

Many animal names in Norwegian share etymological ties with English ones, but the meaning has
drifted over time in one direction or another. Below are some examples.

Beware these false friends!

Norwegian Translation Related Word

hund dog hound

fugl bird fowl

elg moose elk

dyr animal deer

The following words are true friends, meaning that the words are similar in both spelling and meaning.

Norwegian English

katt cat

4
 Norwegian English

bjrn bear

krabbe crab

elefant elephant

ulv wolf

mus mouse

You know more Norwegian than you thought you did!

Hest horse

Hund (hn) dog

Fugl (fl) bird