As you may or may not know, the Swedish and Norwegian languages are very closely related. They have only been separate languages since around 800 AD, when Swedish is considered by historians to have become its own language. Therefore, a large majority of words are nearly the same, or at least interpretable. There are also many words that look or sound the same in both languages, but have different meanings, and these are the words to watch out for. Here are some examples:<\/p>\n
Norwegian word<\/strong><\/td>\n| Looks\/sounds like, in Swedish<\/strong><\/td>\n | Actually means<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | anledning<\/td>\n | anledning (reason)<\/td>\n | tillf\u00e4lle ([good] time\/opportunity [e.g. this is no time<\/span> to call])<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | bl\u00f8t<\/td>\n | bl\u00f6t (wet)<\/td>\n | mjuk (soft)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | enkelthet<\/td>\n | enkelhet (simplicity)<\/td>\n | detalj (detail)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | forst\u00f8rre<\/td>\n | f\u00f6rst\u00f6ra (destroy)<\/td>\n | f\u00f6rstora (to make larger)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | le<\/td>\n | le (smile)<\/td>\n | skratta (laugh)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | prov<\/td>\n | prov (test, exam)<\/td>\n | bevis (proof)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | rolig<\/td>\n | rolig (fun, funny)<\/td>\n | lugn (calm)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | rommet<\/td>\n | rummet (the room)<\/td>\n | rymden ([outer] space)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | snor<\/td>\n | snor (snot)<\/td>\n | sn\u00f6re (string, lace)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | straks<\/td>\n | strax (soon)<\/td>\n | omedelbart (immediately)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | utsette<\/td>\n | uts\u00e4tta (expose [to], subject [to])<\/td>\n | uppskjuta \/ skjuta upp (procrastinate on, put off)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | uvillkorlig<\/td>\n | ovillkorlig (unconditional)<\/td>\n | ofrivillig (involuntary)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | vaske<\/td>\n | v\u00e4ska (bag)<\/td>\n | tv\u00e4tta (wash)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n | These are some of the most common examples of false friends in Norwegian for the Swedish speaker. Most Norwegian, though, is perfectly understandable, so for you who likes challenges, go look up a Norwegian news website and test your budding Norwegian skills!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As you may or may not know, the Swedish and Norwegian languages are very closely related. They have only been separate languages since around 800 AD, when Swedish is considered by historians to have become its own language. Therefore, a large majority of words are nearly the same, or at least interpretable. There are also…<\/p>\n |