Learn how to say "to think" in Norwegian
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Intro |
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| Hi everybody! Anette here. Welcome to Ask a Teacher, where I’ll answer some of your most common Norwegian questions. |
| The Question |
| The question for this lesson is...How do I say “to think” in Norwegian? |
| Explanation |
| If you look up the verb, “to think” in Norwegian, you’ll find three words: å synes, å tro, and å tenke. All of these words come from old Norse. In old Norse, å synes means, “to show,” å tro is related to the words meaning “safe” and “reassurance,” and å tenke means “to discover” or “to understand.” |
| So, how do you know which one to use? Let’s do some examples so you can learn how to use å synes, å tro, and å tenke correctly. |
| Let’s start with å synes. Å synes is used when you have a personal opinion about something or somebody. Here’s an example: Jeg synes han er snill, which means, “I think he’s nice.” Another example would be, Jeg syntes at prøven var vanskelig, meaning, “I thought the test was difficult.” |
| The next one, å tro, can be used when you’re unsure about something or somebody. Let’s do some examples. |
| Jeg tror hun kommer hjem i morgen means, “I think she’ll come home tomorrow,” and Jeg tror han kan svømme means, “I think he can swim.” In both examples, you’re not sure if these are true statements. It's also common to use å tro when something didn’t turn out the way you expected. For example, Jeg trodde prøven skulle være vanskeligere. This means, “I thought the test was going to be more difficult.” |
| The verb å tro can also translate as “to believe.” Here are some examples, Jeg tror på Gud, meaning “I believe in God,” and Hun tror ikke på meg, meaning “She doesn’t believe me.” |
| The last one is å tenke. Å tenke is used when the act of thinking is significant. For example, Jeg tenker på deg hele tiden, “I’m thinking about you all the time,” or Gi meg litt tid til å tenke på det, meaning, “Give me some time to think about it.” Å tenke can also be used when you have planned to do something. For example, Jeg har tenkt til å rydde rommet i morgen, meaning, “I plan to tidy up my room tomorrow.” |
| Here’s one more tip. Lately, people have been using å tenke when they mean å synes when asking for someone’s point of view. For example, Hva tenker du om global oppvarming? meaning, “What do you think about global warming?” This is probably due to the influence of English and is often used by journalists when they want to get an opinion. |
Outro |
| How was this lesson? Pretty interesting, right? |
| Do you have any more questions? Leave them in the comments below and I’ll try to answer them! |
| Hade. Vi sees snart! “Bye. See you soon!” |
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