300 familiar Norwegian words
English and Norwegian share Germanic roots and many international loanwords, so hundreds of Norwegian words look familiar from day one.
Travel and the city
International travel words often need only a small spelling or pronunciation adjustment.
- hotellhotel
- restaurantrestaurant
- kafécafe
- barbar
- taxitaxi
- bussbus
- turisttourist
- guideguide
- museummuseum
- parkpark
- bankbank
- terminalterminal
- visumvisa
- campingcamping
- sentrumcity centre / downtown
- stasjonstation
- adresseaddress
- informasjoninformation
- reservasjonreservation
- resepsjonreception
- bagasjebaggage / luggage
- plattformplatform
- motellmotel
- hostellhostel
- transporttransport
Guess each meaning first, then check pronunciation and noun gender before using five words in sentences. Familiar spelling does not guarantee identical pronunciation, grammar, or meaning. This list contains exactly 300 unique Norwegian headwords.
Work and study
School and workplace vocabulary contains many shared European and international terms.
- studentstudent
- professorprofessor
- universitetuniversity
- skoleschool
- kurscourse
- klasseclass
- gruppegroup
- prosjektproject
- problemproblem
- planplan
- testtest
- eksamenexam
- resultatresult
- teksttext
- kommentarcomment
- rapportreport
- dokumentdocument
- kopicopy
- eksempelexample
- teoritheory
- metodemethod
- systemsystem
- programprogram
- praksispractice / placement
- aktivitetactivity
Technology and media
Digital vocabulary travels quickly between languages, although Norwegian spelling usually wins.
- mobilmobile phone
- telefontelephone / phone
- internettinternet
- appapp
- e-postemail
- videovideo
- kameracamera
- radioradio
- TVTV
- podkastpodcast
- digitaldigital
- filterfilter
- profilprofile
- kontoaccount
- kodecode
- databasedatabase
- serverserver
- robotrobot
- maskinmachine
- elektroniskelectronic
- signalsignal
- kanalchannel
- pikselpixel
- formatformat
- filfile
Food and drink
Menus are a friendly place to start because many product and ingredient names are recognizable.
- pizzapizza
- pastapasta
- hamburgerhamburger
- sandwichsandwich
- salatsalad
- suppesoup
- tomattomato
- bananbanana
- appelsinorange
- sitronlemon
- melonmelon
- mangomango
- kiwikiwi
- sjokoladechocolate
- kaffecoffee
- tetea
- vinwine
- ølbeer / ale
- juicejuice
- colacola
- yoghurtyoghurt
- ketchupketchup
- menymenu
- vegetarvegetarian food / diet
- veganervegan
Home and shopping
Look for familiar labels on household goods, packaging, receipts, and measurements.
- sofasofa
- lampelamp
- balkongbalcony
- garasjegarage
- terrasseterrace
- toaletttoilet
- dusjshower
- sjamposhampoo
- vasevase
- glassglass
- koppcup
- plastplastic
- metallmetal
- papirpaper
- produktproduct
- pakkepacket / package
- prisprice
- bonusbonus
- rabattdiscount / rebate
- serviceservice
- markedmarket
- literlitre
- kilokilo
- gramgram
- modellmodel
Health
Medical vocabulary is often international, but always confirm important health information with a professional.
- doktordoctor
- klinikkclinic
- medisinmedicine
- vitaminvitamin
- allergiallergy
- virusvirus
- bakteriebacterium / bacteria
- infeksjoninfection
- operasjonoperation / surgery
- pasientpatient
- diagnosediagnosis
- terapitherapy
- psykologpsychologist
- stressstress
- energienergy
- mentalmental
- fysiskphysical
- normalnormal
- akuttacute / urgent
- symptomsymptom
- pulspulse
- muskelmuscle
- organorgan
- hormonhormone
- proteinprotein
Arts and entertainment
Culture, music, cinema, and sports provide a large set of instantly useful shared words.
- filmfilm
- serieseries
- musikkmusic
- artistperforming artist
- scenestage / scene
- teatertheatre
- dramadrama
- komediecomedy
- kulturculture
- fotophoto
- fotografphotographer
- dansdance
- gitarguitar
- pianopiano
- festivalfestival
- konsertconcert
- albumalbum
- sportsport
- fotballfootball / soccer
- tennistennis
- golfgolf
- hobbyhobby
- klubbclub
- kinocinema
- ballettballet
Science and data
Academic subjects and measurements share roots across many European languages.
- naturnature
- klimaclimate
- planetplanet
- regionregion
- temperaturtemperature
- graddegree
- metermetre
- kilometerkilometre
- elektrisitetelectricity
- atomatom
- molekylmolecule
- cellecell
- gengene
- biologibiology
- geografigeography
- historiehistory / story
- matematikkmathematics
- fysikkphysics
- kjemichemistry
- laboratoriumlaboratory
- eksperimentexperiment
- analyseanalysis
- datadata
- statistikkstatistics
- prosentpercent
People and public life
Titles, professions, and public roles often come from the same international word families.
- personperson
- partnerpartner
- babybaby
- teamteam
- sjefboss / chief
- direktørdirector
- presidentpresident
- ministerminister
- politipolice
- offiserofficer
- soldatsoldier
- pilotpilot
- journalistjournalist
- agentagent
- publikumaudience / public
- medlemmember
- ekspertexpert
- spesialistspecialist
- assistentassistant
- managermanager
- coachcoach
- trenertrainer / coach
- sekretærsecretary
- arkitektarchitect
- ingeniørengineer
Describing things
Many adjectives become recognizable once you notice Norwegian endings such as -isk and -ell.
- modernemodern
- populærpopular
- perfektperfect
- fantastiskfantastic
- interessantinteresting
- privatprivate
- globalglobal
- lokallocal
- nasjonalnational
- internasjonalinternational
- positivpositive
- negativnegative
- aktivactive
- passivpassive
- spesiellspecial
- originaloriginal
- praktiskpractical
- typisktypical
- romantiskromantic
- seriøsserious
- nervøsnervous
- smartsmart
- supersuper / great
- frifree / off duty
- klarclear / ready
Useful action verbs
The Norwegian infinitive commonly adds -e or -ere to a familiar international verb stem.
- starteto start
- stoppeto stop
- testeto test
- parkereto park
- reservereto reserve
- organisereto organize
- kommunisereto communicate
- studereto study
- praktisereto practise / put into practice
- representereto represent
- kontrollereto check / inspect / control
- akseptereto accept
- diskutereto discuss
- informereto inform
- presentereto present
- produsereto produce
- importereto import
- eksportereto export
- installereto install
- registrereto register
- reparereto repair
- kopiereto copy
- fotografereto photograph
- danseto dance
- kontakteto contact
Older Germanic relatives
English and Norwegian are related Germanic languages. Sound and spelling shifts can hide the family resemblance.
- armarm
- fingerfinger
- håndhand
- fotfoot
- kneknee
- nesenose
- hårhair
- skinnskin / hide
- hjerteheart
- blodblood
- navnname
- hushouse
- romroom
- dørdoor
- bokbook
- ordword
- sommersummer
- vinterwinter
- dagday
- nattnight
- mormother
- farfather
- brorbrother
- søstersister
- epleapple
Questions about Norwegian cognates
- Are all 300 words pronounced like English?
- No. Familiar spelling helps you recognize a word, but Norwegian vowels, stress, and consonants can sound different. Listen to the word before copying its pronunciation.
- Do familiar nouns still need a gender?
- Yes. A recognizable noun still has a Norwegian article, plural, and definite form. Learn a noun with en, ei, or et when you move it from this recognition list into active vocabulary.
- Are cognates always safe to translate directly?
- No. Some words overlap only partly, and every language has false friends. Check the meaning in context before using a familiar-looking word in an important sentence.
Put five words to work
Check pronunciation and forms in the dictionary, then practise how Norwegian nouns change.