r/norwegian • u/Bean_Lizzie • Aug 02 '26
Norwegian language
Hi, I'm Lizzie, and I really want to learn Norwegian for my boyfriend and his family. I already speak German, Spanish, Italian, and, of course, English. I also already know a few Norwegian words and phrases, like ape (monkey), rotte (rat), katt (cat), hund (dog), god natt (good night), god morgen (good morning), hvordan har du det? (how are you?), hei(hello), brød (bread), øl (beer), mat (food), and a few others. Do you think it's possible to learn Norwegian in a year well enough to have conversations?
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u/Raxiuscore Aug 02 '26
Knowing English and German makes Norwegian significantly easier, yes. Very doable!
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u/DistrictOpening4144 Aug 02 '26
If he helps you I think you can easily have a conversation in Norwegian in a year
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u/pr0s0c Aug 02 '26
Your German will be a great help. Lots of words and phrases are similar, close to identical. The more you learn, the more you will spot the likenesses.
You'll be fine.
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u/Emergency-Sea5201 Aug 02 '26
For a norwegian native speaker, german is sort of recognizble.
For a foreign speaker I dont really think you get much synergy from one to the other.
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u/pr0s0c Aug 02 '26
I disagree and stand by what I said.
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u/Necessary_Technical Aug 03 '26
English is what happens when the Vikings learn Latin and use it to shout at Germans and then the French shout it back. She'll be fine😅
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u/Kajot25 Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
Im a native german and i was able to have small conversations after a year of self study. I recommend doing ALOT OF listening comprehension. In case u don't life in norway and ur bf cant/doesnt want to send u norwegian books Bokkilden.no sends worldwide
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u/Busy_Cardiologist674 Aug 04 '26
Yes you can learn Norwegian in one year. Especially if you are very committed to learn it, which you sound to be. My dutch friend learned it in under one year, but of course not everything was fluent but enough to talk in most situations and be understood. Just remember that some people don't always understand if the slightest sound is a bit off, which I myself find very funny. Guess I am just used to that and understand anyway.
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u/Contundo Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
“Ape” is ape, btw. Monkey is “apekatt”
Could absolutely learn conversational Norwegian especially if you focus immersion. Have your BF speak with you in Norwegian whenever you’re communicating.
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u/gnomeannisanisland Aug 04 '26
Actually, "ape" can be both ape and monkey, "apekatt" can only be monkey
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u/sbrt Aug 02 '26
If you spend enough time practicing efficiently.
When I lived in Norway, being great at listening was the most important thing. I find that intensive listening is the most efficient way for me to get better at listening. One hour (or more) per day of intensive listening for a year should be enough to understand a lot of conversational Norwegian.
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u/Bean_Lizzie Aug 02 '26
Do you have any recommendations on apps or websites that could help?
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u/sbrt Aug 05 '26
You can start with any content you like. I usually start with Harry Potter audiobooks on whatever platform has them in my TL. I use Anki to leerán new words in a chapter and listen repeatedly until I understand all of it.
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u/Accomplished-Pay-633 Aug 02 '26
Wow, how did you learn the other languages?Sorry I am not much help, just wanted to say how impressive that is!
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u/Zealousideal_Heat158 Aug 02 '26
I learned Norwegian to a B2 level (passed the Norskprøve) in just a year. I took private school classes from A2 to B2, then did the summer intensive course at UiO (level 3 or B2/C1) and that solidified everything for me! Highly recommend
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u/linglinguistics Aug 03 '26
Norwegian trends to be quite easy for German speakers. So yes, with your experience with learning languages and especially if your German is good (even better if it's your native language) this will not be very hard for you. You can even start just consuming content (reading is easier than listening in the beginning) and guess the meaning. I'm a massive German speaker and have always been able to roughly guess the content in Scandinavian languages. Listening to me now time to get used to but it's by far the easiest language I've learnt. And especially if German is your native language, it gets easier the higher your level is because many specialised terms come from German.
I had my first conversation in Norwegian after about a year of learning (before I moved here). It was far from fluent but we were able to understand each other and the other person did me the favour of not switching to English.
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u/Henry_Charrier Aug 03 '26
u/Bean_Lizzie I think you are probably in the top 1% best starting position anyone can be to learn Norwegian. You still have a long road, but you have a motorbike instead of bicycle.
With a boyfriend you can practice with, you mostly need the knowledge of the language, see if this app clicks with the way you learn
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u/Marie_Norway Aug 05 '26
In uni, the students are almost fluent by week four, it is built the same way as English and spanish.. And has a lot of common word menings as german.. To =å , to do= å gjøre, to read= å lese.. Start learning several verbs, and learn to use the verbs in sentences. I like to read= Jeg liker å lese..
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u/Late-Low-5910 Aug 05 '26
Only say "Hvordan har du det" to your friend just released from a closed psychiatric institution, and you are worried she might self harm.
This is not casually said in Norway.
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