Languages · Norsk
Video Chat with Norwegian Speakers
If you want to practice Norwegian with native speakers, a short face-to-face conversation beats another round of flashcards. On Omlet you can choose Norway with the country filter and press Start to talk with someone there on a free 1-on-1 video chat, without creating an account.
Norwegian (norsk) is a North Germanic language and a close cousin of Danish and Swedish; with a little effort, speakers of the three can often understand each other. It has two official written standards, Bokmål and Nynorsk, and a rich variety of spoken dialects, which you'll hear the moment you start chatting.
Omlet's interface is English-only and there's no language matching, so you practice by filtering by country or by asking the people you meet. Below you'll find Bokmål phrases with an English-style pronunciation guide, notes on dialects, and a few habits that keep Norwegian conversations flowing.
Where people speak Norwegian
Norwegian (Norsk) is an official language in 3 countries and territories. To meet people from one of them, pick it with the country filter.
- Bouvet Island
- Norway
- Svalbard and Jan Mayen
Useful Norwegian phrases for video chat
Short, natural phrases you can use in your first minute on camera. The pronunciation is a simple English-style guide; stressed syllables are in capitals.
| English | Norwegian | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Hi! | Hei! | HAY |
| How's it going? | Hvordan går det? | VOOR-dahn GOHR deh |
| Fine, thanks. And you? | Bare bra, takk. Og du? | BAH-reh BRAH, TAHK. oh DOO |
| What's your name? | Hva heter du? | vah HEH-ter doo |
| My name is … | Jeg heter … | yai HEH-ter |
| Nice to meet you. | Hyggelig å treffe deg. | HÜG-geh-lee oh TREF-feh dai |
| Where are you from? | Hvor kommer du fra? | voor KOM-mer doo FRAH |
| I'm learning Norwegian. | Jeg lærer norsk. | yai LAIR-er NOSHK |
| Can you speak a little more slowly? | Kan du snakke litt saktere? | kahn doo SNAHK-keh lit SAHK-teh-reh |
| How do you say … in Norwegian? | Hvordan sier man … på norsk? | VOOR-dahn SEE-er mahn … poh NOSHK |
| What do you do for work? | Hva jobber du med? | vah YOB-ber doo MEH |
| I don't understand. | Jeg forstår ikke. | yai fo-SHTOHR IK-keh |
| What time is it where you are? | Hva er klokka hos deg? | vah ar KLOK-kah hoos dai |
| Thanks for the chat! Bye! | Takk for praten! Ha det bra! | TAHK for PRAH-ten! HAH deh BRAH |
Tips for practicing Norwegian on video chat
- Start with "Hei! Jeg lærer norsk" so your partner knows to slow down. Some people will want to practice their English with you in return, which turns the chat into a natural language exchange.
- Don't worry about dialects. Ask "Hvor i Norge er du fra?" (Where in Norway are you from?) and treat each new accent as a bonus lesson.
- Listen for rs, which usually turns into a "sh" sound in Eastern Norwegian: norsk sounds like "noshk" and forstår like "fo-shtohr".
- Norwegian has three extra vowels: æ (like "air"), ø (round your lips and say "eh") and å (like "aw"). The letter y sounds like German ü, which is why the pronunciation guide writes ü.
- Norway is on Central European Time, so evenings in Oslo fall in the early afternoon on the US East Coast. If matching is slow, try again when it's evening there.
Bokmål, Nynorsk and dialects
Norway has two official ways of writing. Bokmål is used by most people and in almost all learning materials; Nynorsk is used mainly in parts of western Norway. Both are taught in school, and the phrases on this page are Bokmål.
Speech is another story. There's no single official spoken standard, and many Norwegians use their own dialect everywhere, including at work and on TV. Even the word for "I" varies: you might hear jeg, eg or æ depending on where your partner grew up.
If a dialect is hard to follow, say "Kan du snakke litt saktere?" Norwegians are used to adjusting their speech for each other, so the request feels completely normal.
Du for everyone, and lots of takk
Norwegian dropped its formal "you" (De) decades ago, so du is used with almost everyone, from strangers to managers. Politeness shows up in other ways, especially in the many expressions built on takk (thanks):
- Takk for praten: thanks for the chat, a natural way to end a conversation.
- Takk for sist: thanks for last time, said when you see someone again.
- Takk for maten: thanks for the food, said to whoever made the meal.
- Bare hyggelig: you're welcome (literally "just nice").
Norwegian also uses melody to tell some words apart. Tanken can mean "the tank" or "the thought" depending on its tone. You'll absorb this by listening, so for now just copy the sing-song rise and fall of your chat partner's sentences.
A first chat in Norwegian, step by step
- Greet: "Hei! Jeg heter …, og jeg lærer norsk." (Hi! My name is …, and I'm learning Norwegian.)
- Ask "Hvor kommer du fra?" and follow up with "Hvordan er det der?" (What's it like there?).
- Talk about something easy: the weather, hiking (å gå på tur), food or what they're doing this weekend (i helga).
- Ask for one word you're missing: "Hvordan sier man … på norsk?"
- Close with "Takk for praten! Ha det bra!" and press Next when you're ready.
Keep a short list of the words you picked up and reuse them in your next chat. For more ideas on making a practice session useful for both of you, see our language exchange tips.
Practice Norwegian with the country filter
Omlet's interface is in English only, and it doesn't match people by language or translate anything. There are two easy ways to find Norwegian speakers:
- Use the country filter. Press Country, pick a country where Norwegian is spoken (for example Norway, Bouvet Island or Svalbard and Jan Mayen), then press Start.
- Ask whoever you meet. On Worldwide matching, a quick "Do you speak Norwegian?" costs nothing to try.
The country filter's first day is free (you add a card to start, and can cancel in Settings before the charge). After that it's $3 one time for that device and browser, with no subscription. It can make matching slower when fewer people from that country are online; if a match takes a while, try another country or switch back to Worldwide.
Say you're practicing Norwegian in your first sentence and ask your partner to slow down or correct you. It's a normal request.