How to write a Norwegian postcard Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Aug 31, 2018 in Holidays
Writing a postkort (postcard) can be a great way to practice your language skills. It’s also a nice way to show people you think about them. While firing off a digital message is quicker, receiving a postcard is funnier, and most people will appreciate the extra effort…
Postkort (postcards) are sold in many different places in Norway, typically somewhere like a bokhandel (bookstore). If in doubt, you can say things like:
Har dere postkort? (Have you got postcards?)
Hvor kan jeg kjøpe postkort? (Where can I buy postcards?)
Har dere frimerker? (Have you got stamps?)
Heldigvis (fortunately), there are no rules for postcards – you can write (or doodle!) whatever you want. Still, they typically do include a date/location, an intro greeting to the receiver, and an outro greeting from you. Here’s an example:
Lofoten, 31. august 2018
Hei Ola!
Hvordan går det? Jeg håper dere har det bra. 🙂
Jeg koser meg i Lofoten. Været er fint og de norske vennene mine har lært meg å fiske. I kveld skal vi lage bål på stranda.
Vi snakkes!
Klem fra Kari
(Hi Ola!
How are you? I hope you guys are doing fine.
I’m having a great time in Lofoten. The weather is nice and my Norwegian friends have taught me how to fish. Tonight we’re going to make a fire at the beach.
See you!
Hugs from Kari)
Some points to notice:
• Norwegian dates usually follow the sequence day-month-year (in the above example it could also be written as 31/8 2018)
• Hei is an easy-going word. If you want to be more intimate OR formal, go for Kjære… (Dear…)
• There are many ways to end a postcard. If hugging is not your style, you could go for (med) vennlig hilsen (friendly greetings), (med) kjærlig hilsen (”loving greetings”), or just hilsen (greetings) – like this: Hilsen Kari (Greetings [from] Kari).
Finding a postkasse (letter box) for your postcard shouldn’t be too hard in Norway. The Norwegian postal service typically has a counter in a supermarket where you can buy frimerker (stamps). Lykke til! (Good luck!)
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Comments:
Orcki:
Hei Bjørn! Jeg kommer fra Tyskland og jeg lærer norsk og liker veldig skandinavisk kultur og mennesker! Og nå kan jeg skrive et postkort også! Jeg takker deg, at du har skrivet om dette temaet.
Hjertelig hilsen, Orcki!
Bjørn A. Bojesen:
@Orcki Hei Orcki! Tusen takk for den hyggelige kommentaren! Jeg er glad du liker bloggen. Hjertelig hilsen, Bjørn