Translate Norwegian to English
Norwegian text appears in shipping documents from Bergen, oil industry correspondence, government forms, travel bookings for fjord cruises, and messages from Norwegian-speaking friends and family. The language looks similar to Danish and Swedish on paper, but the translator handles the specific Norwegian vocabulary and grammar. Paste your text above.
Common Norwegian to English translations
| Norwegian | English | Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hei | Hello | hay | ||
| God morgen | Good morning | goo MOR-en | ||
| Takk | Thank you | tahk | ||
| Vær så snill | Please | vehr saw snil | ||
| Hvor mye koster dette? | How much is this? | vor MOO-eh KOS-ter DEH-teh | ||
| Hvor er toalettet? | Where is the bathroom? | vor ehr too-ah-LET-eh | ||
| Jeg forstår ikke | I do not understand | yay for-STOR ik-keh | ||
| Kan du hjelpe meg? | Can you help me? | kan doo YEL-peh may | ||
| Jeg vil gjerne ha en kaffe | I would like coffee | yay vil YEHR-neh hah en KAH-feh | ||
| Regningen, takk | The bill, please | RAY-ning-en tahk | ||
| Hyggelig å møte deg | Nice to meet you | HOO-geh-lee aw MUH-teh day | ||
| Ha det | Goodbye | hah deh | ||
| Jeg trenger en lege | I need a doctor | yay TRENG-er en LEH-geh | ||
| Unnskyld | Excuse me | OON-shoold |
Tips for Norwegian to English translation
Norwegian Bokmål and Danish look very similar in writing. If you are not sure which language a text is in, check for the word ikke (Norwegian) vs. common Danish sentence patterns. Translators usually detect the language correctly, but mixed or ambiguous texts can cause misidentification.
Norwegian has two grammatical genders in Bokmål (common and neuter) and three in Nynorsk (masculine, feminine, neuter). Articles are suffixed to nouns: hus (house) becomes huset (the house), bil (car) becomes bilen (the car). This suffix system carries over into compound words and can make long Norwegian words look complex.
Norwegian spoken language varies enormously by region. Dialects from Bergen, Trondheim, and northern Norway can sound very different from the Oslo standard. Written Norwegian, however, is much more uniform. If you are translating spoken Norwegian that has been transcribed, dialectal words may produce less accurate results than standard Bokmål.
Norwegian uses du for almost everyone in modern conversation. The formal De is essentially extinct in daily use, surviving only in very formal written contexts. This simplifies translation because there is no formal/informal distinction to worry about.
About the Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language descended from Old Norse, the language of the Vikings. It sits between Danish and Swedish in the Scandinavian language continuum and is mutually intelligible with both to a significant degree. Norway became independent from Sweden in 1905, and the language question (Bokmål vs. Nynorsk) has been a lively cultural debate ever since.
Norway has one of the highest GDP per capita figures in the world, driven by its petroleum sector, shipping industry, and seafood exports. Norwegian is the working language of major companies like Equinor, DNB, and Telenor. The country also has a strong literary tradition: three Norwegian authors have won the Nobel Prize in Literature (Bjornson, Hamsun, and most recently Jon Fosse in 2023).
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Unlimited, no account needed.
Yes. The tool processes both written forms and translates them to English.
Yes. Click the speaker icon.
Written Norwegian Bokmål and Danish are very similar but not identical. They are separate languages with distinct vocabularies.
Good for everyday communication. For legal or official texts, use a professional.
Æ, Ø, and Å are the last three letters of the Norwegian alphabet. They represent sounds that do not exist in the basic Latin alphabet.
Visit our English to Norwegian page.
Written standard Norwegian is processed well. Heavy dialect vocabulary may be less accurate.
No. Real-time processing, nothing saved.
Over 60 pairs including Danish, Swedish, Finnish, German, and more.
Looking for the reverse? Try English to Norwegian translation.
