1. Reading
What does Kari want the other person to do?
Hei. Jeg heter Kari, og jeg snakker litt norsk. Unnskyld, jeg forstår ikke alt. Kan du snakke sakte? Takk, det er fint.
Unit 1
Greetings, yes and no, and the verb in second place.
You can greet, thank, apologize, and say that you do not understand.
This course teaches Bokmål, the written standard most people in Norway read and write. Nynorsk is the other official written Norwegian, and Sámi languages are official in some municipalities. Everyday speech is a dialect, so a slow textbook sentence is a kindness, not a correction. Hei works with a stranger or a friend. Takk is small and you will use it all day.
Learn these before the sentences. The English sits next to the Bokmål.
hei
hello
ha det
goodbye
takk
thank you
vær så god
here you are / you're welcome
unnskyld
excuse me / sorry
ja
yes
nei
no
snakker
speaks / speak
forstår
understands / understand
ikke
not
jeg
I
du
you (one person)
Listen
The Norwegian, out loud, with the translation beside it above.
Playback uses a Norwegian Bokmål voice when your browser has one. If it does not, the device still reads the Bokmål aloud. On a phone you can install a Norwegian voice in the system settings.
Grammatical order
In a main clause the finite verb is in second position: Subject + Verb + the rest. A yes/no question starts with the verb: Verb + Subject + the rest? A question with a question word is: Question word + Verb + Subject + the rest?
Jeg heter Anna.
My name is Anna.
Snakker du norsk?
Do you speak Norwegian?
Jeg forstår ikke.
I do not understand.
Hva heter du?
What is your name?
Listen
The Norwegian, out loud, with the translation beside it above.
A slow hello
Bokmål
Hei! Jeg heter Anna. Snakker du engelsk? Ja, jeg snakker litt engelsk. Unnskyld, jeg forstår ikke alt. Kan du snakke sakte? Takk. Ha det bra!
English
Hi! My name is Anna. Do you speak English? Yes, I speak a little English. Sorry, I do not understand everything. Can you speak slowly? Thanks. Goodbye!
Listen
The Norwegian, out loud, with the translation beside it above.
Two people at a counter
Bokmål
Hei. Jeg heter Lars, og jeg snakker litt norsk. Unnskyld, jeg forstår ikke. Kan du snakke sakte? Ja. Takk. Ha det. Mannen sier vær så god, og kvinnen sier takk en gang til. De sier ikke ha det med en gang. Først kommer takk.
English
Hi. My name is Lars, and I speak a little Norwegian. Sorry, I do not understand. Can you speak slowly? Yes. Thanks. Goodbye. The man says here you are, and the woman says thank you again. They do not say goodbye at once. Thank you comes first.
Listen
The Norwegian, out loud, with the translation beside it above.
Write four short Norwegian lines: a hello, your name, that you do not understand, and a thank you.
The draft is practice. The exam is what opens the next unit.
Multiple choice and open answers. Listening items play on demand, and the transcript stays hidden until you submit. You need 75% to open the next unit. Open answers count double.
Hei. Jeg heter Kari, og jeg snakker litt norsk. Unnskyld, jeg forstår ikke alt. Kan du snakke sakte? Takk, det er fint.
Jeg forstår ikke.
Hva heter du?
Hei. Jeg heter Kari, og jeg snakker litt norsk. Unnskyld, jeg forstår ikke alt. Kan du snakke sakte? Takk, det er fint.