Norwegian houses are commonly made of wood. (Free image from Pixabay; no copyright.)

Ding dong! Døra går opp. (The door opens.) Velkommen til et veldig gjennomsnittlig norsk hus! (Welcome to a very average Norwegian house!) Because of klimaet (the climate), a lot of family & social life in Norway happens indoors. Let’s go for a walk in the different rom (rooms).

Entréen (the hallway) is where you – let’s listen to the word – enter… There are often knagger (pegs) where you can henge tøyet (hang your clothes). It’s customary to take off your sko (shoes) before proceeding…

Gangen (the corridor) links the various rooms. Look, there’s a trapp (staircase) leading down to kjelleren (the cellar/basement) and another one up to loftet (the loft)…

Stua (the living room) is where you’ll probably spend most of your time as a gjest [yest] (guest). There’s a teppe (carpet) on gulvet (the floor) and various møbler (pieces of furniture) – a sofa, a lenestol (armchair), a bord [bor] (table), a bokhylle (bookcase). Even in the dark season the room is quite bright, with lamper (lamps), a peis (fireplace) and a glowing TV [teh veh] that is diligently used for underholdning (entertainment). There are bilder (images) on veggene (the walls) and also some planter (plants) i vinduet (the window).

Kjøkkenet (the kitchen)… Well, there’s so much going on in a kitchen, that I’ll save it for a follow-up post! 🙂

Soverommet (the sleeping room) is where you go to – you guessed it – sove (sleep). (As a guest, you’ll probably be lodged in a gjesterom – guest room.) There’s a seng (bed) and maybe some skap (cupboards) such as a klesskap (wardrobe). In senga (the bed) you sleep on a laken (sheet) and a pute (pillow), beneath a dyne (duvet).

Badet (the bathroom) is the place to take a dusj [doosh] (shower) or a bad [baad] (bath) in a badekar (bathtub). You shower with såpe (soap) and sjampo (shampoo). When you’re done, you tørker (dry) yourself with a badehåndkle (bath towel). Of course, on the wall there’s also a speil (mirror) for you.

Lots of homes even have a hage (garden), a garasje [garasheh] (garage) for bilen (the car), a terrasse (terrace) and maybe a barnerom (kid’s room) or two. Hvor er doen? (Where’s the toilet?) Sorry, how could I forget? In Norway, as anywhere else in the world, the room you often need most urgently is the do [doh] (toilet).