Pronunciation
Norwegian pronunciation: vowels, pitch accent, tricky sounds and silent letters
By the SnakkTrygt team · Updated
Norwegian pronunciation comes down to four things: telling long from short vowels (tak “roof” vs takk “thanks”), learning the vowels English lacks (y, æ, ø, å), the kj and sj sounds, and the letters that are written but not pronounced. On top of that, Norwegian has two word tones and many dialects. To start with, the most practical choice is to copy Eastern Norwegian (the Oslo area), which is what most courses use.
Is Norwegian pronunciation hard for English speakers?
Less than you might think: many sounds are familiar and stress usually falls on the first syllable (snakke, jobbe), except in many loanwords (stasjon, butikk, universitet). The harder parts are the new vowels, vowel length and spelling that doesn’t always match the sound. English speakers also need to drop two habits: turning vowels into glides (Norwegian e stays “e”, never “ay”) and swallowing the r, which Norwegians always pronounce. For the bigger picture, see is Norwegian hard to learn?.
How do long and short vowels work in Norwegian?
A vowel is long before a single consonant and short before a double one: tak has a long a and takk a short a with a firmer k. English also has vowel pairs, but in Norwegian the same vowel letter simply gets shorter or longer, and the meaning changes.
tak / takk
roof / thanks
mat / matt
food / tired, matt
hat / hatt
hatred / hat
So “hat” in Norwegian is not a hat!
- O often sounds like “oo”: bok (“book”), sol (“sool”), god (“goo”).
- E before r sounds like æ: er (like “air”), her (“hair”).
- Y is “ee” with rounded lips, ø is “e” with rounded lips and å is like “aw” in “law”. See the Norwegian alphabet for more.
What is pitch accent (tonemes) in Norwegian?
Norwegian has two word tones, tone 1 and tone 2: different melodies that can separate words that otherwise sound the same. In Eastern Norwegian, tone 1 is a simple rise, while tone 2 falls and then rises again, which gives the language its famous sing-song quality.
| Word | Tone 1 | Tone 2 |
|---|---|---|
| bønder / bønner | bønder (farmers) | bønner (beans, prayers) |
| tanken | tanken (the tank) | tanken (the thought) |
| hender | hender (hands) | hender (happens) |
Tip: Don’t let pitch accent stop you speaking: context nearly always makes the meaning clear and people will understand you. Copy the melody of whole sentences by repeating after audio, and the tones will follow.
How do you pronounce kj, sj and rs?
Kj is a soft hiss like the “h” in “huge” or German “ich”, while sj and skj sound like English “sh”. In Eastern Norwegian, rs is also pronounced “sh”: norsk sounds almost like “noshk”.
kjøre
to drive
Also k before i/y: kino, kirke.
tjue
twenty
tj sounds like kj.
skje
spoon / to happen
skj = “sh”.
sjø
sea
sj = “sh”.
ski
ski
sk before i/y sounds “sh”: roughly “shee”.
norsk
Norwegian
rs → “sh” in the east.
- Many younger speakers pronounce kj like sj, so you will hear both.
- G before i, y and ei sounds like “y”: gi (“yee”, to give), geit (“yate”, goat).
- Gj, hj and lj sound like “y”: gjøre (“to do”), hjem (“home”).
- Hv sounds like “v”: hva (“what”), hvor (“where”).
- In the east, r + t, d, n, l merge into one sound made with the tongue curled back: kort, bord, barn.
Which letters are silent in Norwegian?
The main ones are a final d after a vowel or in -nd/-ld (often, not always), the t in det and the neuter definite ending, the g in -ig, and the g in jeg, meg, deg, seg. Jeg sounds roughly like “yay” or “yai”.
god
good
“goo”
med
with
“meh”
land
country
“lann”
det
it, that
“deh”
huset
the house
“hoo-seh”
viktig
important
“vik-tee”
jeg
I
“yai”
selv
self
“sell”: the v is silent.
Which Norwegian dialect should you copy?
Norway has no official standard pronunciation, and people speak their own dialect at work, on TV and in Parliament. For learners, the most practical model is Eastern Norwegian from the Oslo area: it is close to written bokmål and it is what most courses and materials use. If you live in Bergen, Trondheim or Stavanger you will hear differences, such as the throaty r in the west, so get your ear used to the local variety too. On the two written standards, see bokmål vs nynorsk.
Frequently asked questions
How do you pronounce “jeg” in Norwegian?
Roughly “yai”, with a silent g. Some dialects say “e”, “æ” or “eg” instead.
Is Norwegian a tonal language like Chinese?
It has two word tones, which are far simpler than Chinese tones and rarely stop you being understood.
Which Norwegian accent should I learn?
Eastern Norwegian from the Oslo area is the most practical, as most courses use it; then adapt to where you live.