Norwegian · Pronunciation

Norwegian Listening and Pronunciation Guide

Key Norwegian sounds, letter combinations, and pitch accent patterns. Front: the Norwegian letter, word, or sound pattern. Back: meaning plus a plain-English pronunciation note.

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kj

A soft 'ch' sound similar to the 'h' in 'huge' or German 'ich', found in words like 'kjøkken' (kitchen).

skj

A sound similar to English 'sh' in 'shoe', found in words like 'skje' (spoon).

sj

Also pronounced like English 'sh', merging with the skj sound in many dialects, e.g. in 'sjef' (boss).

rs

In many dialects, 'r' followed by 's' merges into a retroflex, 'sh'-like sound, e.g. 'norsk' can sound like 'nosjk'.

æ

A vowel similar to the 'a' in English 'cat', distinct from both 'a' and 'e', e.g. in 'være' (to be).

ø

A rounded front vowel similar to the 'u' in French 'peu' or German 'ö', with no direct English equivalent, e.g. in 'øye' (eye).

å

A vowel similar to the 'o' in English 'more', distinct from plain 'a', e.g. in 'gå' (to walk).

Tonal pitch accent

Norwegian uses pitch accents (tone 1 and tone 2) that can distinguish word meaning, e.g. 'bønder' (farmers) versus 'bønner' (beans) differ partly by pitch, a feature English does not have.

Silent d

The letter 'd' is often silent at the end of a word after certain vowels or consonants, e.g. in 'med' (with), often pronounced without a clear final 'd'.

Silent g

The letter 'g' can soften or disappear in casual speech in certain word endings like '-lig', e.g. 'deilig' (lovely).

Silent h

The letter 'h' before 'v' or 'j' is silent, e.g. 'hvem' (who) is pronounced without the 'h', starting with a 'v' sound.

hv-

The combination 'hv' at the start of a word is pronounced simply as 'v', e.g. 'hva' (what) sounds like 'va'.

hj-

The combination 'hj' at the start of a word is pronounced simply as 'y', e.g. 'hjem' (home) sounds like 'yem'.

gj-

The combination 'gj' at the start of a word is pronounced like an English 'y', e.g. 'gjøre' (to do) sounds like 'yøre'.

Compound word stress

Long Norwegian compound words usually keep the main stress on the first part, e.g. 'skrivebord' (desk, literally writing table) stresses 'skrive'.

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