Lessons for English speakers

Learn to read Norwegian

A short, active path into reading Norwegian: three extra letters and the silent ones, nine real words decoded before any grammar, why the verb sits second in a statement, how “the” hides on the end of the noun, and two short fables before your first book.

13 core sections · ≈ 33 min + 3 optional lookups · ≈ 44 min with everything

How sentences work

3 sections

First sentences: people, “is”, and saying no

≈ 3 min

What you'll learn

Eight short words stand in for a name, and Norwegian always writes them out.
One gift: erair“is, am, are” is the only present form of “to be” — it never changes for the person.
In a statement, ikkeIK-kuh“not” comes straight after the doing word.
A thing is denden or detday, depending on the little word the noun takes, not on what it is.

A standing-in word takes the place of a name: “she sees the bird”. Norwegian always writes them out. A direct order is the one place the doer is dropped, as in English.

The eight standing-in words, doing and receiving

English	doing	receiving
I · me	jegyay“I”	megmay“me”
you — one person	duduu“you”	degday“you”
he · him	hanhan“he”	hamham“him”
she · her	hunhuun“she”	henneHEN-nuh“her”
it — an en thing	denden“it”	den
it — an et thing	detday“it”	det
we · us	vivee“we”	ossoss“us”
they · them	dedee“they”	demdem“them”

Two words for “it”; a later step sorts them out. dereDEH-ruh“you all” covers more than one “you”. After the doing word the receiving shape is used: Reven ser meg.RAY-ven sair may“The fox sees me.” han also serves for “him”.

I am Mina. That is not my house.

Jeg heter Mina. Det er ikke huset mitt.

yay HAY-ter MEE-nah. day air IK-kuh HUU-suh mit

For a name Norwegian uses heterHAY-ter“am called”. And ikkeIK-kuh“not” sits straight after the doing word, where English puts it too. huset mittHUU-suh mit“my house” puts the owner last; a later step takes that apart.

Yes, no, and three ways to open or close a scene

jayah“yes” · neinay“no” · takktak“thanks”

Heihay“hi” · God daggoo dahg“good day” · Ha dethah day“bye”

Hei works at any hour with anybody, God dag is the polite one, and Ha det is the everyday goodbye — word for word, “have it”, with the silent t on det the spelling step promised.

Read the sentence before revealing it

Hun er ikke trist.
she · is · not · sad
Show answer +Hide answer −
Hun er ikke trist.huun air IK-kuh trist“She is not sad.”
Jeg heter Tobi.
Word for word: I am called Tobi.
Show answer +Hide answer −
Jeg heter Tobi.yay HAY-ter TOH-bee“My name is Tobi.”