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.
Word lists: colours, people, numbers, and more than one
- Open this when a book uses a word the main path did not give you; the next step needs none of it.
- Eight colours, ten people, and one to ten.
- More than one is nearly always -er, and “the” on top of that is -ene.
- A handful of very common nouns change their vowel instead, as English does in “foot” and “feet”.
You do not need this section to finish the lesson. Neither reading uses a colour, a number, a family word or a plural. Open it when a book hands you a word the main path did not, and then go back to reading.
Eight colours
| rødrur“red” · blåblaw“blue” · grønngrurn“green” · gulguul“yellow” |
| svartsvart“black” · hvitveet“white” · brunbruun“brown” · grågraw“grey” |
The d of rødrur is silent and the h of hvitveet is silent. They take the same coats as any describing word: et rødt huset rurt huus“a red house”.
Ten people
| en moren moor“a mother” · en faren fahr“a father” · et barnet bahrn“a child” |
| en gutten guut“a boy” · en jenteen YEN-tuh“a girl” |
| en mannen man“a man” · en koneen KOO-nuh“a wife” · en vennen ven“a friend” |
| en broren broor“a brother” · en søsteren SURS-ter“a sister” |
With the endings on: morenMOO-ren“the mother”, farenFAH-ren“the father”, barnetBAHR-nuh“the child”. And an owner still follows: konen hansKOO-nen hans“his wife”.
One to ten
| enen“one” · totoo“two” · tretray“three” · fireFEE-ruh“four” · femfem“five” |
| seksseks“six” · sjushuu“seven” · åtteAW-tuh“eight” · ninee“nine” · titee“ten” |
One is the same word as the little word for “a”, and an et thing counts as ettet. Older books print syvsewv for seven; both are correct Bokmål. Two vague amounts come with them: mangeMANG-uh“many” and fåfaw“few”.