Num63r5

In this entry, I am going to teach you how to talk a bit more about yourself.  Like where you are from, how old you are and what you are doing. We will then go on to talking about your family and friends. I will divide it into different blog posts, so that you don't have to learn too much at the time.

You now know how to introduce yourself by saying "mitt navn er Anna"(my name is Anna) or "jeg heter Anna"(I'm called Anna). I have also vaguely mentioned how to tell others your age. But today we will take a closer look at that. To be able to say your age, you must know Norwegian numbers.

null - zero
en/ett - one (remember how male/female substantives get en in front of it and neuters get et? when talking about age, it is normal to say "ett år gammel" rather than "en år gammel". That is because "år" is a neuter)
to - two
tre - three
fire - four
fem - five
seks - six
sju/syv - seven (you can choose the one you prefer the most, both are correct and will be understood)
åtte - eight
ni - nine
ti - ten

That's easy enough? Some of the numbers are quite similar to the English ones.

Now, if you are older than ten, then obviously you need to know other numbers as well(but keep reading, becausenumbers are used in so many situations, not only age) I will do the teens, and then mention how to say 20, 30, 40 etc.

elleve - eleven
tolv - twelve
tretten -thirteen
fjorten - fourteen
femten - fifteen
seksten - sixteen
sytten - seventeen
atten - eighteen
nitten - nineteen

Like in English, all the teens get "ten" at the end. TEENager is called TENåring. Do you see the connection?
The stem of some of the numbers has changed, like for instance atten. Eight is åtte, but you would never say åtten.
Sytten; Seven is sju/syv, but you would never say sjutten/syvten. Many Norwegians pronounce it "søtten" rather than "sytten", but you can do what you think is better.
Fjorten; Four is fire, but you would never say fireten.

Next, lets talk about higher numbers.
tjue/tyve - twenty (like with seven, this depends on what you prefer)
tretti - thirty
førti - fourty
femti - fifty
seksti - sixty
sytti - seventy (pronounced either "søtti" or "sytti", which ever you prefer)
åtti - eighty
nitti - ninety
If you want numbers in between, just add them after. For eksample "tjueen" "trettito". etc. It is just like you would do it in English. Simple? All of them follow the same patterns, apart from førti. This one is different, you would never say fireti. Åtti has gone back to its stem åtte, rather than calling it atti.

So this is how you say your age:
"Jeg er tjue/tyve år gammel" - I am twenty years old (swap 20 for your age)

Comparison

I'm sure by now you know that the three languages Danish, Swedish and Norwegian are quite similar. I found this on the back of a packet of Wasa crispbreag(the picture), and thought you might find it interesting. Notice that Norwegian and Danish look more alike than Swedish and Norwegian? That is because we were under Denmark for about 400 years, and under Sweden for only about 100 years. So Danish and Norwegian look quite similar, and maybe 200 years ago they looked almost identical. That being said, Swedish and Norwegian SOUND more alike. Not sure why, maybe because Sweden is closer to us, and Danish is more influenced by Germany.

Out and about part 3

Eating out may seem difficult when you're in Norway. You may think we only have weird food that you won't like. That is not true. Norway has lots of traditional meals, but we also have pizza and burgers, if that's what you like. Eating out in Norway isn't always that cheap. Though I guess you get what you pay for. A steak at Friday's will obviously be more expensive than a burger from McDonald's.

For now, lets pretend you're at a real restaurant rather than a take-out place. You might want to ask your waitress:
"Hva anbefaler du?" - What do you recommend?

"Kan jeg få en pepperoni pizza?" - Can I have a pepperoni pizza?
"Kan jeg få pizzaen uten ost?" - Can I get the pizza without cheese? (uten means without)
"Kan jeg få pizzaen med ekstra ost?" - Can I get the pizza with extra cheese? (med means with)

"En cola, takk" - A coke, please
"En øl, takk" - A beer, please
"Et glass vann, takk" - A glass of water, please.
Notice that I have made the two first ones easier by removing "glass". You can say "et glass cola/øl", but "en cola/øl" is right too. It works for "vann" as well, I just prefer to say "et glass vann". I think it is because I like tap water, and it will then come by the glass. Where as beer and coke come in bottles.

If you are worried about allergies or certain food items you simply don't like, don't worry, you can ask your waitress to remove them.
"Er det nøtter i denne retten?" - Are there nuts in this dish? (just change the word "nøtter" with the ingredient you are worried about)
"Kan jeg få retten uten nøtter?" - Can I get the dish without nuts?
"Har dere noen vegetariske alternativer?" - Do you have any vegeterian alternatives?


Here are some common words on a Norwegian menu:
"Biff" - Steak
"Salat" - Salad
"Kylling" - Chicken
"Pommes frites" - Chips/fries (we pronounce them "Pom Free")

Ingredients you might want to know:
"Løk" - Onion
"Ost" - Cheese
"Melk" - Milk
"Nøtter" - Nuts

I recommend you to write down new words in an adress book, that way you can easily find back to them.


What is your favourite meal/drink? Let me know, and I will tell you how to order it in Norway.

Out and about part 2

After you have made your way from the airport to the hotel, it will be time to check in. This will of course be done at a check-in desk, like any other normal hotel. So what do you say now?

"Jeg vil gjerne sjekke inn" - I would like to check in.

"Når kan jeg sjekke inn?" - when can I check in?

"Reservasjonen er under Anna Burdal" - The reservation is under Anna Burdal (notice how "reservasjon" ends with -en. This indicates a male word and would be translated to THE reservation. If you move -en to the front "en reservasjon", it means a reservation).

"Hvilket romnummer?" - which room number?

"Hvilken etasje?" - which floor?
(On the last two, the gender comes at the end of the  question word "hvilke". The first one indicates a neuter word(nummer), because it ends with -et, the second one ends with -en and is therefore male(etasje))

"Er frokost inkludert?" - is breakfast included? (our word is a bit similar to the German word Frühstück. Like in German, "fro" means early, but "kost" in this context means diet).

"Hvordan kommer jeg meg til Karl Johans Gate?" -How do I get to Karl Johans Street?

Hope this is helpful and that you are writing down any new words. Audio will come soon!

The US/GB

I have noticed that a lot of my views are coming from America, in particular The United States, but also some from  Canada. And second most views are coming from the United Kingdom. So I thought I would make a little something for you guys as a thank you for following my blog. First of all, did you know that Norway has adopted many English words into the Norwegian language. Now, many Norwegians say they are against this, but to be honest, it helps the understanding between two languages. I guess it is especially younger people who adopt these words. So here are some words we use in Norwegian as well(sometimes written the same ways, and other times spelt in a "Norwegian" way):
- Snowboard/skateboard
- Snowblades
- Scooter (often combined with "vann" or "snø, meaning water and snow)
- Surfing
- TV(only pronounced with the Norwegian letters)
- Radio
- Internett
- Gitar/bassgitar
(If you are Norwegian and reading this, please send me more words that we have adopted from either English or other languages)


Words that English have adopted from Norwegian...the only words I can think of are:
- Fjord (because they basically only exist in Norway)
- Troll (because let's face it, they only exist in Norway)
- Viking (well it is technically an old norse word, but the vikings came from Norway/Sweden, so therefore I will say it is a Nordic word)



Please let me know if there's any particular words/sentences about The US or GB you would like to learn.
- Great Britain = Storbirtannia
- The United States of America = Amerikas Forente Stater (though we would normally just say U.S.A)


Soundclip will come soon!

Tones and melodies

Have you ever thought about that Norwegian (and Swedish as well) sounds a bit like a song? This is because we have certain patterns to follow when it comes to pronunciation. You can for instance have two words that are WRITTEN the same, but means two completely different things. How can you tell the difference? Well, when you read it, you will most likely know from the context of what you are reading. But when you are speaking, it is the tone that tells you which word you are saying.

There are two types of "tones": single tone and double tone. Listen while reading, then repeat after me:

Single tone:
Used in words with only ONE syllable, but also for longer words enging in -el, -en and -er. The single tone starts low and rises at the end of the word. For example

Kul (cool)                                                               Finger (finger)

Double tone:
Usually in words with two or more syllables. Starts on a high tone, drops and rises back to the original tone.

Dame (lady)                                                              Nydelig (beautiful)

Pairs of words:
Single tone:                                                             Double tone:
Henger (hanging)                                                   Henger (trailer)
Ånden (the spirit)                                                   Ånden (the breath)

Out and about part 1

Are you planning to travel to Norway anytime soon? Then this entry might be of use to you. I do recommend you to follow the rest of my blog as well, but this entry will be about doing stuff in Norway such as getting the train, checking into a hotel or eating out. First:

"Jeg reiser med fly til Norge" - I'm travelling with aeroplane to Norway
"Jeg reiser alene" - I'm travelling alone
"Jeg reiser med familien" - I'm travelling with the family.
"Jeg reiser i morgen" - I'm travelling tomorrow(I'm going tomorrow)

At the Airport

Airports in Norway have English signs, but it might be fun to be able to READ the Norwegian signs too. When you arrive at the airport in Norway, the first thing you want to do is find your luggage. Look for a sign saying "bagasje"(luggage).

You then want to look for a way out of the airport. If you want to travel by bus, look the sign "flybuss"(airport bus). If you want to travel by train look for the sign "flytog" (airport train).

Things you might find yourself asking at a Norwegian airport:
"Hvor er bagasjen?" - Where is the luggage?
Or perhaps more formally:
"Hvor kan jeg finne bagasjen?" - Where can I find the luggage?

"Hvor kan jeg kjøpe togbillett/bussbillett?" - Where can I buy a train ticket/bus ticket?
"Én enkelbillett til Oslo, takk" - One single ticket to Oslo, please.

If you are travelling by bus, a question you might want to ask the bus driver is:
"Hvilket stopp for Radisson Hotell?" - Which stop for Radisson Hotel? (Insert the name or your hotel).

Next time we will go through how to check into hotels.