Norwegian Media Recommendations

Norwegian Media Recommendations

Wanna practice your Norwegian? My first and most important recommendation will always be NRK!

NRK is the Norwegian state channel, and on their website you can stream TV-shows, movies, sports, talkshows, listen to radio, read news (in Bokmål and Nynorsk) - all for free! (Note that due to copyright some shows may not be possible to stream outside of Norway, but the vast majority of original shows are usually available worldwide.) I’ll make a separate post with show recommendations soon!

A few irregular verbs in norwegian: 

infinitive  // preterite – perfect-———— English

å dra  //     dro – har dratt —————–to go/ travel

å finne // fant – har funnet —————-to find

å fortelle // fortalte – har fortalt ——–- to tell

å få // fikk – har fått————————— to get/ receive

å gjøre // gjorde – har gjort —————-to do 

å gå // gikk – har gått ————————- to go 

å hjelpe // hjalp – har hjulpet ————— to help

å ligge // lå – har ligget ———————-- to lie

å se // så – har sett —————————- to see

å si // sa – har sagt —————————- to say

å skrive // skrev – har skrevet ————–to write

å stå // sto – har stått ————————- to stand

å tå // tok – har tatt —————————--to take

å treffe // traff – har truffet ——————- to meet 

å være // var – har vært ————————to be    

Norwegian Listening That Doesn’t Feel Impossible

After finishing the Duolingo tree I was a bit stuck for how to continue improving my Norwegian listening. The main suggestion was listening to the radio and watching Norwegian TV shows. Don’t get me wrong, these are excellent ways to improve your listening and it’s SO important to expose yourself to different Norwegian dialects, however it’s a big jump from just hearing short sentences in Oslo dialect to trying to understand the news or TV shows where everyone speaks a different dialect and there’s a lot of slang.

So, if you’re looking to improve your listening, but you feel like the radio is too big a jump from where you are now, give some of these a try:

Mystery of Nils - a story about a nisse called Nils, broken down into short chapters. The audio files are free, although there is an accompanying book with transcriptions as well as grammar exercises and vocab (10/10 recommend). The story gets more advanced as you go along, so even intermediate learners can benefit, and some dialogues can be played in Trøndersk and Bergensk too.

NorwegianClass101 Absolute Beginner - listening comprehensions aimed at beginners who haven’t been learning Norwegian for very long. First you listen and try to understand the dialogue, then you try to answer a question, before finally they show you a transcript and translation. Recommended for A1 level.

NorwegianClass101 Beginner - same as above, but for beginners who have been learning a little longer (A1/A2 level). There are intermediate and advanced playlists too.

Norsklærer Karense on Youtube - grammar explanations specifically aimed at immigrants learning Norwegian. She speaks quite slowly and clearly, so she’s quite easy to understand, even without a transcript. She also does podcasts - they’re not suitable for total beginners, but they’re great for A2/B1+

Norsklærer Karense’s Podcast - the same woman as above, still speaking slowly and clearly, but she talks about more general topics and not just grammar. Great way to improve your listening and your vocab, as she explains the less commonly-used words and phrases as she goes along. Highly recommend for A2/B1+ learners.

Learn Norwegian Naturally - audio recordings/youtube videos spoken at a more natural speed with transcriptions and translations available - more suitable for B1 learners, but having the transcripts/translations available makes it a good tool for A2 level too.

Norskkurset on Youtube - another Norwegian teacher on youtube who posts Norwegian vlogs with Norwegian subtitles (which you can turn off if you prefer) and explanations of idioms and such like. Suitable for A2/B1+

Of course I recommend listening to the radio/watching TV shows etc as well, but it’s nice to be able to practise your listening without wanting to cry!

THE ULTIMATE NORWEGIAN RESCOURCES LIST:

(original post: https://www.duolingo.com/comment/9816578)

“your welcome”

Courses, Grammar Lessons, Educational Books, Etc.

YouTube • Norwegian Teacher Karin • Learn Norwegian Naturally • Norwegian Class 101

Memrise • A1 Beginner Norwegian with Audio • 5000+ Most Common Words Part 1 • Duolingo Norwegian Vocab • Learn Norwegian with News

Interactive Grammar & Vocab Excercises • Exploring Norwegian Grammar • Norsk som andrespråk • Språkrådet  • Håndbok i grammatikk og språkbruk • Norsk start: 1-4 | 5-7 | 8-10 • Kaleido | Lek med språket • Kaleido | Main Site • På vei • Stein på stein

Pronunciation • Learn-Norwegian.net | Pronunciation Guide • Norwegian Teacher Karin | Norwegian Sounds • Learn NoW by NTNU: Alphabet | Vowels | Dipthongs | Consonants | Consonant Clusters | Retroflex Sounds • Sounds Good App   NTNU - this app helps you differentiate between similar sounds in both speaking and listening

Courses • Learn NoW by NTNU • Learn NoW by NTNU 2 • CALST by NTNU • FSI Norwegian • Sett i Gang

More Vocabulary & Grammar Sites • Gramatikk.com • Nynorsk Senter • Lexin | Bildteman | Bokmål & Nynorsk Picture Dictionary • Book2 | English-Norwegian Audio Course

Dialect-Specific • Dialect Database (click kart, then click a square on the map, then click the .mp3 or .wav file to hear an excerpt from Nordavinden og Sola read in that dialect) • CALST by NTNU (listening & speaking exercises for different dialects, and FYI this only works well in Chrome)

Textbooks & Grammar Guides Sometimes publishers put previews, or occasionally whole books, online. Sometimes books are so old that they become open to the public. And sometimes, I’m given a link to an awesome Google Drive folder with a bunch of ebooks in it (which are probably not supposed to be available to the public for free, so use them wisely). [RB = Recommended Book/s]

• The aforementioned Google Drive folder {RB: Håndbok i Grammatikk og Språkbruk | Sånn kan du si det | Hva vi sier og hva vi mener • GAN Aschehoug (Publisher) {RB: Nye Ord 5, 4, and 3 • Fagbokforlaget (Publisher) {RB: MiniGrammatikk | Ordriket • Cappelen Damm (Publisher) {RB: Kaleido textbooks - I can’t get the link to work so go here, search for Kaleido, then click filters> language> norsk (these are textbooks for Norwegian primary school students, so they have easy explanations and short stories) • På Vei Textbook

Culture & Life

YouTube • AmeriNorge • Teaandtoastify • Visit Norway

Blogs • Life in Norway • My Little Norway • A Frog in the Fjord

Art, Mythology, & Folktales • Stand Still. Stay Silent. | Webcomic “A post apocalyptic webcomic with elements from Nordic mythology, set 90 years in the future.” Not strictly Norwegian-themed, but very interesting nonetheless. Includes this cool comparison of Nordic languages. • Study In Norway | Culture • Norwegian folktales in Norwegian, in English, and in audio book form • Visit Norway | Arts & Culture • Norse Mythology • Shmoop | Mythology (scroll down a bit to see the sections on Norse mythology) • Internet Archive | The Heroes of Asgard: Tales From Scandinavian Mythology

TV Shows, Cartoons, Etc.

I Kveld Med Ylvis (a talk/comedy show) [PG16 for language] • IKMY Season 1 (full season & subs) • IKMY Season 2 (only 3 subbed episodes) • IKMY Season 3 (just a few clips from the season) • IKMY Season 4 (full season & subs) • IKMY Season 5: Unicef Spesial | Ep. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | (nearly all episodes subbed) Other Ylvis Shows & Videos: • Ylvis in English | ALL • Norges Herligste

NRK (a Norwegian TV channel - everything from comedy to nature programs) • NRK Super (kid’s shows) • NRK TV (all programs available outside Norway) • NRK Skole (basically Norwegian PBS or Discovery)

Other • Nickelodeon • Peppa Pig • TinySchool.TV • Pocoyo • Cartoon Network

Music & Podcasts

Radio/Streaming • Norwegian Stations on TuneIn • Norwegian Stations on ListenLive • NRK Radio • hknyildirim’s Spotify playlist • kim-gab’s Spotify playlist

Albums & Playlists • Siri Nilsen: Skyggebokser | Alle Snakker Sant | Vi Som Ser I Mørket • Jahn Teigen: Lys | Til Kongen • Bjørn Eidsvåg: Landet Lenger Bak | Hittil og Littil | En Vakker Dag | Nåde • Madcon: Contakt • Lars Vaular: D'E Glede | Du Betyr Meg | Helt Om Natten, Helt Om Dagen | Helt Ute På | La Hat-Et Nytt Dagslys | 1001 Hjem | 666 Alt | 666 Gir • Disney Songs in Norwegian • Kaizers Orchestra: 250 Prosent | Våre Demoner | Evig Pint | Maskineri | Violeta Violeta Vol. I, Vol. II, & Vol. III | Ompa til du dør • Bergtatt: YouTube playlist • Razika: På vei hjem | Ut til de andre | Program 91 • Karpe Diem: Heisann Montebello • Wardruna: Yggdrasil | Gap Var Ginnunga

Songs (I either couldn’t find whole albums or there were mostly English songs on them) • Ylvis: La Det På Is | Sammen Finner Vi Frem | Unnskyld, Kjære Oslo | Jeg Heter Finn | Da Vet Du At Det Er Jul | Ka Kan Eg Gi Deg? • Gabrielle: Regn fra blå himmel | 5 fine frøkner | Mer | Ring meg | Sitter her | Mellom skyene | Mildt Sagt (album) • Staysman & Lazz: En godt stekt pizza • Norges nasjonalsang | Norway’s National Anthem • Respekt for Grandiosa (a song about frozen pizza - embrace it) • NRK Super: Sveve på luft (yes it’s from the kids’ channel but it’s really good) • Sondre Justad: Det e over | Nu har du mæ/Nå har du meg | Riv i hjertet • Verdensrommet: Alt det du sier | Gi meg alt | Der hvor du aldri kan stå | Nytt

Podcasts • NRK Radio (this is just the link to the main site, there are many different podcasts on it) • Klar Tale

News, Comics, & Other Reading Material

Norwegian reading for non-grammar related purposes.

News • Klar Tale (made specifically for learners): Main Site | News in Images | Nynorsk News • Dagbladet • Aftenposten • NRK • VG • TV2

Comics • Nettserier • Bergens Tidene | Tegneserier • Aftenposten | Tegneserier • Dagbladet | Tegneserie

Reading Materials • Norske Folkeeventyr | Norwegian Folktales (you can also listen to folktales here) • Norsk Wikipedia • Bokselskap (free ebooks)

Norwegian Musicians Singing in Norwegian

🇳🇴 Part 1/? - Maria Mena

Maria Mena gets the number one slot, despite singing primarily in English, because she has the most beautiful voice in the kingdom of Norway. No discussion. It is even better live than in recordings, if you can believe it. 

She recently released her first original Norwegian song, Speil (Mirror), and I also highly recommend checking out her covers from “Hver gang vi møtes” (a TV-show in which famous musicians cover each other’s songs - they’re all on Spotify). Her vocals on Karpe’s song Påfugl are heart-wrenchingly beautiful. You might cry without even understanding the words. Now, you have been warned. 

(And her English discography is obviously also great. I especially like the albums Growing Pains and Viktoria). 

Dirty Norwegian: swears, insults and other bad words explained

Faen i forbanna kuksugende helvete, for noe jælva dritt. 

Do you wanna learn how to say “fuck in damned cocksucking hell, this is some fucking shit” and more like this in Norwegian? Well, you’re in luck because that’s exactly what I spent a good two hours of my life explaining to you guys.

Also let me know if you have any questions, I’m more than happy to answer!

m, f, nt. = masculine, feminine or neutral nouns

Faen 

The equivalent to fuck. If you stubbed your toe in a table corner, this is what you will yell out in pained frustration. After years of being a swear word it has lost it’s meaning but it’s original meaning comes from fanden, which means the devil. Additional fact: In Denmark they’ll still yell fanden instead of faen. 

A lot of expressions are tied to faen. Here are some examples:

Faen ta deg. (Fuck you.) Fy faen! (Fuck, but emphasized.) Faen i helvete. (Fuck in hell. Again, for emphasis.) Stygg som faen. (Ugly as fuck.) Jeg gir faen. (I don’t give a fuck.) Gi faen. (Knock it off.) … for faen.* ( … for fuck’s sake.)

*Can’t be used alone, you have to fill inn the dots with something else. Usually used when you’re saying something that may contradict what has just been said. Han er jo fæl, for faen / But he’s terrible, for fuck’s sake.

Satan og helvete 

Helvete: means hell, we use this all the time.  Additional fact: Many of you might know of the town in Norway called Hell and how it’s so far north that during the winter, Hell may freeze over. But the word “hell” in Norwegian means luck. Do whatever you like with this information.

Satan: You’ll yell this out the same way you’ll yell out fuck, but it doesn’t have the same dynamic as faen. You may use it as an adjective, however. For emphasis, add svarte at the end.

Satan helvetes fitte! Satan svarte!

Jævla, forbanna og jævel

Jævla is an adjective, kind of like “fucking”, except it can’t be used alone, then you’re not making sense. 

You can use forbanna in two ways: (1) wherever you can use jævla. It’s an adjective, and it describes something cursed. You can also combine forbanna and jævla if you’re really pissed off!  (2) to let people know that you or another person is pissed off. Basically, you ARE forbanna. Usually you add an adverb such as these in front: “fly”, “skikkelig” or “helt” forbanna. “Fly” is exclusively used for forbanna.

Jævla/forbanna idiot. (Fucking idiot.) Hun ble fly forbanna når hun så meg. (She got really pissed off when she saw me.)

Jævel is a noun (m) and means devil. It’s an insult, usually expresses dislike OR someone being mischievous. 

Han er en forbanna liten jævel. (He’s a little fucking bastard.)

MORE SWEARS UNDER THE CUT ! :^)

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