Here are a few useful (and not so useful) words and phrases that you might come across, and probably want to learn when you come to Norway and Trondheim in particular.
ENGLISH - NORWEGIAN
- Hello - Hei
- Goodbye - Ha det
- I’ll see you around - Snakkes
- How are you? - Hvordan har du det?/Hvordan går det?
- Thank you - Takk
- Thank you very much - Tusen takk
- Excuse me - Unnskyld meg
- Please - Vær så snill
- Sorry - Unnskyld
- What’s your name? - Hva heter du?
- Where’s the toilet? - Hvor er toalettet?
- I love you (could be useful if you’re lucky!) - Jeg elsker deg
TRØNDERSK - ENGLISH
- Karsk - Home made booze mixed with coffee. Trønder specialty you will encounter at a rural party.
- Skinnvæst – Leather vest. Popular Trønder fashion.
- Mokkasina – Suede leather shoes. Popular Trønder fashion.
- Hell – Nothing to do with eternal damnation, but the place name of a small town north of Trondheim.
- Æ e så klar! – I am so exhausted! (Not to be confused with the southern Norwegian ”Jeg er så klar”/I’m so ready.)
NORWEGIAN – ENGLISH
- Tur/Søndagstur/Skitur – Typical Norwegian activity involving taking a walk, seemingly purposeless, but which to a Norwegian means fitness, freedom and tradition. Søndagstur is a tur on Sundays, often so institutionalised in the Norwegian’s mind that it will take place in any type of weather. A variation of this is skitur, which is a tur done in winter on cross-country skis.
- Ski – Skis, usually of a cross-country kind.
- Votter – Mittens
- Lue – Beanie/hat
- Raggsokker – Woolen socks, you will own a pair by November.
- Bunad – Traditional national costumes, different designs from different regions. Particularly worn on May 17th, the Norwegian national day.
If you want to know more about the technicalities of the Norwegian language please visit Omniglot.