Learn some common phrases you may hear every day while traveling in Norway
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| Jasmine: Welcome back to NorwegianClass101.com. |
| Filip: The place to learn and to love Norwegian. |
| Jasmine: This is All About Lesson 5: Top 5 Must Know Norwegian Phrases. In this lesson, we are taking years of experience in Norway and boiling it down to a few essential phrases. |
| Filip: These are a great place to start in Norwegian. |
| Jasmine: Yes. In this lesson, we'll introduce you to five phrases that will help you every day! |
| Filip: Yes, words that you will be really glad you learned. |
| Jasmine: What's more, we'll teach you not only the phrases, but when and where to use them. In this lesson, we are going to give you the phrase, pause for you to repeat it, explain it, and then jump to the next phrase. The first one is..: |
| Filip: "Hei." |
| Jasmine: By far, the most practical phrase in Norwegian is "Hei." |
| Filip: I agree. It is used like the English "hello," or "hi," but can also be used as an "excuse me" when stopping someone on the street. All in all it's a word you will be using very often. |
| Jasmine: When someone greets you with this word, you simply respond with…"Hei!" |
| Filip: "Hei!" |
| Jasmine: "Hei." The next one is..: |
| Filip: "Takk." |
| Jasmine: A well-placed and sincere "thank you" will always be appreciated when someone gives you a plate of food, a drink, or even a compliment. |
| Filip: "Thank you" in Norwegian is "Takk" . As simple as that, no need for a "you." |
| Jasmine: Yes, you might notice the strong resemblance to the English "thank." |
| Filip: These two words do share a common ancestor. And essentially they mean the same. |
| Jasmine: Saying "Takk" or to thank people for anything they do for you is just good manners. |
| Filip: Beyond that, it's often the only thing we will let you do in return! |
| Jasmine: Adding a "Nei" in front gives the word a whole new meaning though! |
| Filip: Yes. "Nei" means, "no," and "Nei takk" means, "No, thank you." |
| Jasmine: A well-timed "Nei Takk" will let you politely refuse anything offered to you. |
| Filip: "Takk" ("thank you") and "Nei, Takk" ("no, thank you") are equal to English in use and function. It makes it very easy to remember right? |
| Jasmine: Right. Just think of how you would phrase it in English and you have the Norwegian phrasing immediately. And the next one is..: |
| Filip: "Vær så snill." |
| Jasmine: Demanding things is considered bad manners pretty much anywhere and Norway is no exception. |
| Filip: To avoid any misunderstanding, say "Vær så snill" , which means "please," or "be so kind." |
| Jasmine: Usually you couple this at the end of a sentence. So phrase whatever you want, then add "Vær så snill." |
| Filip: It isn't used that much but it is certainly nice to hear it if someone demands a favor of you. |
| Jasmine: Should you forget the phrase, don't despair. The English "please" has almost entered the Norwegian dictionary. |
| Filip: Norwegians love to take after English and you'll hear a lot of words that have been added to Norwegian in recent years that sound more or less entirely like their English equivalent. |
| Jasmine: Let´s move on to the next phrase. The next phrase is..: |
| Filip: "Unnskyld meg." |
| Jasmine: Norwegian streets can be very busy and sometimes it can be hard to find your way around the cities. |
| Filip: Just shoving through people is a good way to make someone mad though. |
| Jasmine: That's why this phrase is a must. |
| Filip: Literally, "unnskyld meg" means, "Excuse me." |
| Jasmine: Simply saying "unnskyld meg" ("Excuse me") gets you through just about any human roadblock. The next phrase is..: |
| Filip: "Unnskyld." |
| Jasmine: In Norwegian, "unnskyld" means, "I'm sorry." |
| Filip: You're probably going to be saying this a lot. |
| Jasmine: I know I did when I first started speaking Norwegian. You know what? I still say "Unnskyld" a lot! |
| Filip: Literally, it's a request that means "unguilt" in the sense that you did something (anything) and now you feel guilty about it. |
| Jasmine: It is certainly very practical. The way I most often use it though, is to get people's attention or when stopping someone on the street and asking questions. |
| Filip: Knowing these phrases will take you a long way. |
| Jasmine: You'll probably use each of them every day. |
| Filip: So keep these phrases in mind and we'll see you next time! |
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