{"id":2752,"date":"2021-04-30T22:43:42","date_gmt":"2021-04-30T22:43:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/?p=2752"},"modified":"2021-04-30T22:46:15","modified_gmt":"2021-04-30T22:46:15","slug":"norwegian-question-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/norwegian-question-words\/","title":{"rendered":"Norwegian Question Words"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Picture by mohamed Hassan<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a>; no copyright.)<\/p><\/div>\n

After some musings about Norwegian society<\/a>, it\u2019s time to get back to what you\u2019re actually learning: spr\u00e5ket <\/strong>(the language). I was surprised to discover that neither the previous blogger Kari nor I had written about sp\u00f8rreord<\/strong> (question words), so let\u2019s fill that gap immediately! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

What is a question word? Well, the answer lies in the first word\u2026 While English speakers typically use an WH- word to dig for information other than \u201dyes\u201d or \u201dno\u201d, in written Norwegian most of the question ord <\/strong>[ohr] (words) start with HV-1<\/a><\/sup>Dear Nynorsk fans, this blog focuses on Norwegian Bokm\u00e5l. In Nynorsk<\/a>, sure, it\u2019s KV-.<\/span> (though the H is not pronounced)<\/span>:<\/p>\n

HVA er det beste du vet? <\/strong>(WHAT is the best thing you know?) [va]<\/span><\/p>\n

HVEM har lyst p\u00e5 iskrem?<\/strong> (WHO wants an ice cream?) [vem]<\/span><\/p>\n

HVILKEN<\/strong> vil du ha?<\/strong> (WHICH ONE do you want?) [veelkn]<\/span><\/p>\n

HVOR ligger Oslo Plaza? <\/strong>(WHERE is Oslo Plaza?) [vohr]<\/span><\/p>\n

HVOR MYE<\/strong> koster lefsene?<\/strong> (HOW MUCH do the lefser<\/a> cost?)<\/p>\n

N\u00c5R skal vi spise?<\/strong> (WHEN are we going to eat?) [nawr]<\/span><\/p>\n

HVORFOR<\/strong> feirer vi 17. mai?<\/strong> (WHY do we celebrate Constitution<\/a> Day?) [vo(r)for]<\/span><\/p>\n

HVORDAN skal vi komme oss hjem n\u00e5? <\/strong>(HOW are we going to find our way back home now?) [vordan]<\/span><\/p>\n

Please note that these words vary a lot according to dialect, and you\u2019ll often hear Norwegians using question words with a K sound instead of the (H)V sound: KA heter du? <\/em><\/strong>(= HVA heter du, WHAT\u2019s your name). KOR er mamma?<\/em><\/strong> (= HVOR er mamma, WHERE\u2019s Mum?)<\/p>\n

If you like reading norske b\u00f8ker <\/strong>(Norwegian books), you\u2019ll probably notice some \u201dliterary-style\u201d questions that Norwegians wouldn\u2019t say the same way when talking. For example:<\/p>\n

HVIS bil er det?<\/strong> (WHOSE car is that?) [viss]<\/span><\/p>\n

In everyday Norwegian, that would be:<\/p>\n

HVEM SIN bil er det?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That said, the good ol\u2019 \u201dsplit question words\u201d that you subconsciously know in English are also very much alive in Norwegian:<\/p>\n

HVOR kom sn\u00f8en FRA?<\/strong><\/p>\n

WHERE did the snow come FROM?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Finally, some of these question words have their own natural \u201danswering words\u201d:<\/p>\n

Hvor? HER!\/DER!<\/strong> (Where? HERE\/THERE!)<\/p>\n

Hvor mye? S\u00c5 MYE!<\/strong> (How much? THIS MUCH\/SO MUCH!)<\/p>\n

Hvordan? SLIK!<\/strong> (How? LIKE THIS!)<\/p>\n

Hvorfor? DERFOR! <\/strong>(Why? \u201dTHEREFORE\u201d\/THAT\u2019S WHY!)<\/p>\n