{"id":2037,"date":"2015-02-28T11:11:03","date_gmt":"2015-02-28T11:11:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/?p=2037"},"modified":"2015-07-19T23:31:17","modified_gmt":"2015-07-19T23:31:17","slug":"big-and-small","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/big-and-small\/","title":{"rendered":"Big and Small"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Courtesy<\/a>

Courtesy of Open Clipart<\/p><\/div>\n

The Norwegian words for \u2019big\u2019 and \u2019small\u2019 are a bit more complex than your average adjective. Let\u2019s start with stor<\/b>, which covers most instances where you\u2019d use the words big<\/i> or large<\/i> in English:<\/p>\n

\u2022 en stor tanke<\/b> (a big thought) \u2013 den store tanken<\/b> (the big thought) \u2013 tanken er stor<\/b> (the thought is big)<\/p>\n

\u2022 ei stor jente<\/b> (a big girl) \u2013 den store jenta<\/b> (the big girl) \u2013 jenta er stor<\/b> (the girl is big)<\/p>\n

\u2022 et stort fjell <\/b>(a big mountain) \u2013 det store fjellet<\/b> (the big mountain) \u2013 fjellet er stort<\/b> (the mountain is big)<\/p>\n

\u2022 store katter <\/b>(big cats) \u2013 kattene er store<\/b> (the cats are big)<\/p>\n

(As you already know, a -t<\/b> is usually added to adjectives describing neuter nouns, while an -e<\/b> is added to adjectives describing both plural nouns and definite nouns, that is, nouns that \u201dsingled out\u201d somehow: dette store fjellet<\/b> \u2013 this big mountain [and not another one]; Karis store tanke<\/b> \u2013 Kari\u2019s big thought [and not someone else\u2019s].)<\/p>\n

Okay, that\u2019s still like most Norwegian adjectives would behave \u2013 but look at \u2019bigger\u2019, \u2019biggest\u2019: st\u00f8rre, st\u00f8rst:<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2022 fjellene er st\u00f8rre i Sogn og Fjordane<\/b> (the mountains are bigger in Sogn og Fjordane)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Oslo er den st\u00f8rste byen i Norge<\/b> (Oslo is the biggest city in Norway)<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

The word for \u2019little, small\u2019 is totally messed up \u2013 it\u2019s liten<\/b> in the masculine, lita<\/b> in the feminine, lite<\/b> in the neuter:<\/p>\n

\u2022 en liten gutt <\/b>(a little boy)<\/p>\n

\u2022 et lite barn <\/b>(a small child)<\/p>\n

However, this word becomes lille<\/b> when describing definite nouns:<\/p>\n

\u2022 den lille gutten <\/b>(the little boy)<\/p>\n

\u2022 den lille jenta <\/b>(the little girl)<\/p>\n

\u2022 det lille barnet <\/b>(the little child)<\/p>\n

(Some people also use the word vesle<\/b> here \u2013 it\u2019s very Nynorsk-ish: den vesle gutten<\/b>, den vesle jenta<\/b>, det vesle barnet.<\/b>)<\/p>\n

And, even weirder, \u2019little\u2019 is sm\u00e5<\/b> whenever plural nouns are described:<\/p>\n

\u2022 barna er sm\u00e5<\/b> (the children are small\/little)<\/p>\n

\u2022 jeg liker de sm\u00e5 bygdene <\/b>(I like the small villages)<\/p>\n

The word sm\u00e5<\/b> can be \u201dre-singularized\u201d as sm\u00e5tt<\/b> (\u201dsomething small\u201d), which is used in some fixed expressions:<\/p>\n

\u2022 det er sm\u00e5tt med penger <\/b>(there\u2019s little money [left])<\/p>\n

\u2022 sm\u00e5tt om senn<\/b> (little by little)<\/p>\n

F\u00f8ler du deg litt forvirret n\u00e5?<\/b> (Feeling a bit confused now?)<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t worry, were almost there. The only thing lacking is \u2019smaller \u2013 smallest\u2019: mindre \u2013 minst<\/b>:<\/p>\n

\u2022 bygdene er mindre i Nordnorge <\/b>(the villages are smaller in Northern Norway)<\/p>\n

\u2022 sist, men ikke minst: <\/b>(last, but not least:)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

The Norwegian words for \u2019big\u2019 and \u2019small\u2019 are a bit more complex than your average adjective. Let\u2019s start with stor, which covers most instances where you\u2019d use the words big or large in English: \u2022 en stor tanke (a big thought) \u2013 den store tanken (the big thought) \u2013 tanken er stor (the thought is…<\/p>\n

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\u2022 ei lita jente<\/b> (a little girl) \u00a0\u2013 \u2013\u00a0Please note that many people tend to\u00a0\u201dgo masculine<\/a>\u201d in writing, expressing things like\u00a0jenta er liten<\/strong>, which is\u00a0felt to be more \u201dformal\u201d than\u00a0jenta er lita<\/strong>!<\/em><\/p>\n