Learning a new language is always an enriching experience, as it is a great exercise for your brain, a beautiful way to learn about new cultures and so forth. But why learn Norwegian? 

We believe several reasons make it a great idea, therefore, we prepared this blog post to talk about the interesting aspects of the Norwegian language and why learning it is kjempefint – really great!

1. Ja, vi elsker dette landet!

The Norwegian National Anthem begins with the line “yes, we love this land”, and really, how could you not? With some of the most beautiful places you’ll ever see, Norway must be in the top 5 most Instagrammable countries you’ll ever visit! 

In our opinion, this is reason enough if you are thinking ‘Why learn Norwegian?’. Especially because if you can speak litt norsk a little Norwegian, then your experience there will be all the more fulfilling.

2. Two for the price of one

Believe it or not, there are actually two official, recognised versions of written Norwegian. They’re called Bokmål (literally book tongue) and Nynorsk (new Norwegian). Children in Norwegian schools have to learn both forms, but no one really speaks either form: everyone speaks their own dialect! 

Don’t worry, though – most dialects will likely be understood by most Norwegian speakers, as Norwegians are used to hearing different dialects all the time.

3. One word + one word = much more than two words

Another answer to the question ‘Why learn Norwegian?’ is the versatility that the words have in the language. There are a huge number of compound words in the Norwegian language, and very often, the word takes on a whole new meaning. 

Take, for example, soloppgang, which literally means sun up going. This is the word used for sunrise. However, our favourite compound word in Norwegian has to be the word for outer space. Going back to Norse mythology, Odin established the different realms (or “rooms”) of the universe, making outer space verdensrommet, or the room of the world.

4. Sitt under the tre with your søster and read your bok

Guess what? There are already many words in the Norwegian language that you already know! There are a huge number of cognates – words with similar roots – between English and Norwegian and you’ll be able to work out the meaning of many Norwegian words simply by listening to them or reading them. 

Some examples are bok book, tre tree, over  over, familie family, søster sister, telefon telephone and there are lots more! English and Norwegian are both Germanic languages and so they’re related.

 5. Jeg er, du er, han er, hun er…

Why learn Norwegian? Another reason is the fact that, grammatically, it’s really quite easy! If you’re used to six forms of conjugated verbs in other languages such as Spanish or French, worry no more. 

In Norwegian, there’s just one form for each tense! So I am is jeg er; you are is du er;  he is is han er; and she is translates as hun er. That means that “am”, “are” and “is” in English are all simply translated by one word in Norwegian: er. Så lett – so easy!

6. Three for the price of one

There’s another bargain to consider! If you understand Norwegian then you’ll be able to understand a fair bit of Swedish as many words are similar: to say “I understand a little English” a Norwegian would say jeg forstår litt engelsk and a Swede would say jag förstår lite engelska. 

And that’s not all: since written Norwegian (Bokmål) was based on written Danish, Norwegians can understand written Danish very easily. You’ll even be able to recognise words in Icelandic and Faroese, two other languages which derived from Old Norse.

7. You can learn in minutes – for free!

If you are wondering ‘Why learn Norwegian?’ or ‘Should I learn Norwegian?’, here is one final reason to go for it: you can learn in minutes, for free! We have prepared a playlist, presented by native speaker Dag, where you’ll quickly pick up the basics of this beautiful language. 

The lessons cover greetings, introductions, and counting and you’ll learn to say that you speak a little Norwegian. Although Norwegians generally speak amazing English, you can guarantee that when you say jeg snakker litt norsk to a native speaker they’ll smil from øre to øre!

So, whether you’re interested in travelling to this beautiful country, have a go at learning a different language, or want to get your foot in the door of understanding all that Scandinavia has to offer, Norwegian could be the key to a treasure chest of Nordic delights: